What splendor and abundance of wild beauty in the meadow this morning! Impossible to choose a favorite to feature - I love them all, in all their color and texture, scent, shape and spirit, blooming wild and luxuriously in the bright sunshine of August.

On the way to the road I crossed to get to the second meadow of the morning, I passed the ground nut without seeing its blossoms. On the way back, I almost missed it - and doubled back - what? What is this beautiful flowering vine, I wondered. I hadn't seen it before and didn't know its name until I returned home and searched my guides to identify it. Every weed and flower I encountered is one whose presence sweetened and inspired every moment of my day:

tiger lily on the edge of the sun drenched trail

cardinal flower lighting the shade of the freshwater brook

button bush in the milkweed

wild blackberries, ripe, under a cloudless sky

evening primrose, wide open, in the morning 

chicory in leaning bunches over the grassy path

an entire field of blooming lace

and the first glimpse of the bold-bright red sumac

All photos and text copyright Kelly DuMar 2017