Tracey in Maine

the wildflowers’ lesson
bloom with abandon

Send a single packet of seeds through the mail enclosed in an envelope not much bigger than the seed packet.  Include a single slip of paper with words, to the effect of, I can’t wait to see how you photograph these.  That’s what my cousin did.  A simple gift of great encouragement.

It took me a while, I must admit, to plant the seeds in a cereal bowl.  I was lazy on occasion, not watering the dark earth and letting the top get so dry it seemed an errant breath would blow everything away.  But I did water, pouring on cups at a time and then walking away.

If you follow my blog, you know I grew impatient. I moved the bowl from room to room trying to follow the sun. But then, as happens often in nature, sprouts did appear and then stems and leaves and soon blooms. …

in the stillness
the beauty of everything
was amplified

unexpected
burst of joy
zinnia in orange

each petal
wore a glimmer
of lavender

I was a bit early for an appointment in Boston’s Back Bay, so I decided to take a brisk walk around the block. This is what I saw.

perfection squared
tandem bloom
of festiva maxima

It’s been quite a while since I’ve had the opportunity to see so many butterflies in one day. It looks like my timing was just right as I found and photographed a few today. The first I discovered was a Little Wood-Satyr shown below:

Photos Copyright Jeffrey Foltice

I used my Canon 50mm Macro lens. I’ve found it rare that butterflies will allow me to approach so closely in nature, but this and others today didn’t seem to be disturbed in the least by my presence, no matter how close I was.

The next was a small butterfly enjoying butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa).I spotted it at the base of a fairly steep hill about 40 feet away, but I was determined to get close enough to use my macro lens and reveal the beautiful detail I knew would be there.

Finally, I saw an area of milkweed that several Great Spangled…

The sunflower seeds that I sent to one of my brothers are doing well.  During the most recent heat wave in Virginia, he described diligently watering their stalwart green stems along with his green pepper plants.  I asked him this morning if they have yet to bloom and he replied, “No.  They just keep growing taller!  They are already taller than the porch.  The landlord worries they might overgrow the house. The stems are so thick and the leaves so broad, you can’t see anything. They are creating a natural wall.  The landlord may want to cut them down.” I encouraged him not to allow that to happen.  While they are not beanstalks for Jack to climb, who knows what’s to be found at the top of those flowers once they pierce the clouds?

As for these sunflowers, they were to be found in Boston’s Copley Square as I dashed…

flowers after the rain….