Wild Thing! You Make My Heart Sing!

Had to take a trip to Nashville this week and while

driving on the Natchez Trace Parkway I was falling

into that trance you get when mile after mile of road

starts to look like the previous 100 miles, boring! All

of a sudden as I round a curve there is this beautiful

field of yellow daisies. Talk about a mood changer! It

was like I had just drank a V-8, Ha Ha! I had to stop and  

snap a picture or two and as I left I was surprised how

much better I felt after seeing the field of beautiful "Wild"

 flowers. A little further down the road as I pondered the

field of "Wild" daisies, I remembered a song from the

Troggs in 1966 that kinda spoke about "Wild Things" 

and put me in a whole lot better mood for the rest of

my trip. It is amazing how flowers just bring a smile

to your face and a little joy to the heart!

Narrowleaf Sunflower - Helianthus angustifolius

footnote: I know the song wasn't referring to flowers, but on

"this occasion", they kinda gave me the same feeling as the subject

in the song!  They did make my heart sing! Ha Ha!

Have a great week, everyone!

"Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity."

John Ruskin(1819-1900): Art critic, social thinker & philanthropist

Suprise Suprise Suprise!

What a nice suprise every fall when these beauties

stick their stalks through the grass and flower beds

to burst open this beautiful flower. Though short

lived, they are gorgeous while they are here.

Red Spider Lily -  Lycoris radiata

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."
Bible New King James Version-Matthew 6:28-29

Indian Pipe

On a recent walk in the woods I ran across another plant that I can

add to my list of new plants or flowers this year called Indian Pipe.

This plant lives without chlorophyll, thus the white or clear color. It

grows in rich, shady areas of leaf litter much like mushrooms. It gets

its nutrients from a mutual relationship with a type of wood rotting

fungi that generate nutrients for the plant to use.

Indian Pipe  - Montropa uniflora

When fertilized, it turns a pinkish color and 

 when picked it turns black, thus the reason it is also

called Corpse Plant, Ice Plant and Ghost Flower

Native Americans used the juice from

the stem for an eye medicine.

     .

"Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men or animals. Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock."

   Henry Ward Beecher(1813-1887): Clergyman, Social Reformer, Abolitionist

To some of my blogger friends, I have been trying to leave you a message on your blogs but for some reason, blogger is not acknowledging my blog name and will not allow me to leave a message. I have tried to comment in the open ID also but no use either. Hopefully they will get the issue resolved soon. I am still able to comment on some blogs but not others. Go Figure! I am still enjoying your posts and will comment as soon as this issue is resolved.  Randy

Green Thumb of Nature!

I know, I know, another bee on a flower picture! Hey, what can I say. I just love the relationship between the insects and the flowers. It is an amazing cycle of dependence, mutual benefits, and life, that I struggle to understand in more detail.



                                     Yellow Cone Flower - Rudbeckia laciniata

These beautiful flowers were adorning the summit of Mt. LeConte 

on a recent hike up to the Mt. LeConte Lodge for an overnight stay. 

Nature has the most awesome green thumb!  



"Tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes!"                                              

William Wordsworth(1770-1850): English Romantic Poet                                                                       

A Priestly Flower?

I got to go back to one of my favorite places this past week and that was LeConte Lodge on top of Mt. LeConte near Gatlinburg, TN. The lodge is at 6593' elevation and is a wilderness lodge and is only accessible by foot. The shortest trail to the lodge is 5 miles and the longest is just over 8 miles. The flowers were in full bloom around the lodge area and I added another beauty to my list of flowers I have never seen(or at least never noticed) before. These were growing right beside the dinning hall along with Bee Balm and Yellow Coneflowers. 

Monkshood  -  Aconitum uncinatum

The flower is shaped similar to a Monks hood.

 It has been used as an external pain reliever but is considered         

poisonous. Indians used this flower as a poison for their arrow tips.

"Nature is the art of God."

     Thomas Browne(1605-1682): English Author in various fields including medicine, religion and science.

A Bloom For A Day!

A beautiful, large flower that is related to Althaea officinalis which is a plant brought from Europe from which marshmallows were originally made. Each bloom may reach 8" across.  

                                Swamp Rose Mallow - Hibiscus moscheutos

Today, marshmallows are made from corn syrup and gelatin.

Each flower of the Mallow bloom for only one day and then they fade away. Most plants have many flowers that open sequentially, giving the apperance of the blooms lasting much longer.

“Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.”

    Gerard de Nerval(1808-1855): French poet

Beauty With a Purpose! The Passionflower

For those flower loving friends out there, do you ever ask why some flowers are shaped the way they are? Well, I ask that question when I took this first photo of a Passionflower, Passion Vine or Maypops as some call them. Why all the elaborate setup of the pistil and stamens? 

Passiflora incarnata 

It all seems like a lot of overkill! Why not something simple like some of the other flowers? 

 Well I know there is a more technical anwser but the next picture I took a few days later gave me the anwser I was looking for.What we look at as beauty, the flower definitely has a purpose in mind for the elaborate display and setup.

Below a carpenter bee lands and is drawn by the pretty rose color of the corona for a possible treat of nectar and at the same time look at where the back of the bee is in relation to the anther of the stamen. Right in perfect position to transfer and receive the pollen from the accumulation on the bee's back. Is this not the perfect design? The anther is shaped perfectly to be touched by the bee when it lands on the flower seeking the nectar it loves. 

Fruit of the Passionflower or Maypop. I remember as a kid finding these along the field edges and jumping on them to hear the "pop" when the fruit busted.

And thus the web of life continues in one small part of the great creation!



Humankind has not woven the web of life.

We are but one thread within it.

Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.

All things are bound together.

All things connect.

Chief Seattle, 1854

July Beauties!

July and early August can be a really hard time to find much in the way of wild native flora to photograph due to the hot days and low moisture(usually). But if you are vigilant, persistent, and willing to do a little rambling in some unlikely places, there are a few specimens that usually go un-noticed by the everyday passerby. Here are a few friends I found on a couple of outings over the last two weeks. Some of these I have never noticed before myself and have passed by their abodes for many years, but just too busy to stop, get out and "Walk In The Woods" for a bit.  ( I am not a flower expert so if I have mis-identified any of these beauties, please don't hesitate to let me know.)                          

                                Pencil Flower - Styloanthes biflora



                                Naked-Flower Tick Trefoil - Desmodium nudiflorum

                                Seedpod for Trefoil

                                Woodland Sunflower - Helianthus divaricatus

                            

                                Maryland Meadow Beauty - Rhexia mariana

                               

                               Urn-shaped fruit of the Meadow Beauty

                               Spurred Butterfly Pea - Centrosema virginianum   

                               Unidentified bee that lit just as I clicked the shutter!

                                                           

                     
                               Butterfly Pea - Clitoria mariana

                                 Can someone help me with this one? The flower is like a dandelion

                                so I thought maybe False Dandelion but stems and leaves not right.

                                Garden or Fall Phlox - Phlox paniculata

To Cast My Eyes Your Way

How oft have I passed your way

And never a glance gave you

Off to more important things

The things I must daily do

If only I had cast an eye

From down the path I followed

To gaze upon the beauty there

Along meadow, brook and hollow

All shapes, sizes and colors

Yellow, Gold, Red and Blue

Asters, Iris, Lily and Violets

To name but just a few

All made by God and placed for me

To brighten up my day

If only I had took the time

To cast my eyes your way

             Randy J. Schultz   October 1st, 2009

Hope everyone has a wonderful week and may all your paths be gentle, your tread ways be soft and your endeavors fruitful.

Randy

Wild Potato Vine

Also called Man-of-the-Earth, Man Root and Wild Rhubarb, this plant was an important food source for Native Americans. It's root can grow up to 30 pounds and 4 feet in length. It is similar to the sweet potato to which it is related but said to be more bitter in taste.

 

"May the stars carry your sadness away,

May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,

May hope forever wipe away your tears,

And, above all, may silence make you strong."

   Chief Dan George

Attention!

The moment I gave my attention to this Black-eyed Susan, a myriad of insects began paying a visit to this particular flower. And the flower suddenly became a world all it's own, with a story that continued to evolve the longer I gazed upon it's beauty. 

After watching the interactions of the insects with the flower for a few minutes the following things came to mind: Beauty, Diversity, Dependence, Co-dependence, In-dependence, Inter-dependence, Tolerance, Competition, Acceptance, Desire, Need, Co-existence, Appreciation, Sharing, Relationships and the list could go on. Further pondering rendered the simple fact that: just because we humans have intelligence, doesn't necessarily mean we are intelligent. Sometimes nature can make us feel so small, so insignificant. We like to think we understand so much, when in fact we understand so little.

"The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself."

       Henry Miller(1891-1980): American novelist and painter

Crimson Bee Balm

Crimson Bee Balm, Oswego Tea : Monarda didyma     

Interesting fact: The events of the Boston Tea Party in 1773 led to a shortage of tea in America and the leaves of this plant were sometimes used as subsitute. 

"Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell in written words.  They are the hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all men for the beauty of their character, though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning."

       Lydia M. Child (1802-1880): American abolitionist and women's rights activist, novelist and journalist.

The Beauty and The Beast!

Well after several weeks of no rain, we finally got close to 1 inch today and it was sure welcome. The flowers in our yard really appreciated the drink and they just seemed to burst out with life. I had to grab the ole shutter box and go take a few frames to add to my trillion or so pics. This Althea was just begging me to take it's picture so I had to oblige.

Just as I was getting into the soft light breaking out of the clouds and trying to get the best shot possible, I noticed a little visitor. Well it was a most unusual looking beast so I turned my attention to it. I am sorry but I don't know the name of this member of God's creation but I thought it was harmless enough and worthy of a closeup.

The sun came out strong and the soft light departed so I retreated inside my house to soak up the coolness provided by the good ole AC unit. Later in the evening just before the sun dropped behind the trees, I looked out my window and saw the most beautiful soft light hitting the Althea flowers again. So I went out to get one more shot to add to the hard drive and low and behold, my ole buddy the beetle had been enjoying an afternoon snack, courtesy of the Althea flower I was planning on shooting again.

 

Needless to say, this presented me with a problem. Who wants to see a flower full of bug holes??? But just as God intended, His creation proves once again His genius in designing all things on this earth. Each has a purpose and is here for a reason and these shots show the beauty and the beast as He intended them to be.

"Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

          Holy Bible-New King James Version        Genesis 1:24-25

Thistle Flower

 

While they may not be a real desirable plant to have around, their flowers sure make for a beautiful photo!

"Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow."      Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865): 16th President of the United States 

Dandelion

"If dandelions were hard to grow, they would be most welcome on any lawn."
       Andrew V. Mason. M.D.

A Cup of Blessing!

 Well I had a little fog on my lens when I snapped this shot but I thought it was still worthy of sharing just because it looked so lovely.

But when I looked away and turned back to the flower a few seconds later, look who paid a visit! A Sulphur Butterfly decided to adorn an already beautiful flower and make it even more worthy of sharing. How awesome to witness first hand a relationship in God's natural world as it was meant to be. The butterfly seeks the flower for its nectar; we seek it for its beauty. I think God must smile when two of His own come together at the same time and recognize our seperate need for His wonderful creation!

"Never lose and opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting-a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing."
     Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): American Philosopher, Essayist and Poet

A Ray of Beauty!

"Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world."

        Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): Philosopher, Poet, Author, Essayist

And Spring Arose!

Beautiful spring blossoms at Bay Springs Lake in North Mississippi.

"And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of it's wintery rest."
   Percy Bysshe Shelley(1792-1822): English Poet

First Sign of Spring!

Well after a winter that has brought us 4 measurable snows in north Mississippi, everyone is looking for that early spring. There are a lot of different signs folks use to indicate spring is on the way, but one sign that is universal in the south is watching for the first flowers to bloom. That usually without fail is the Daffodils of which there are many varieties. One such variety in the southern U.S. is the Jonquill or Johnny Quills as my grandma used to call them. When they burst out of their winter hybernation, you can rest assured that spring will not be far behind. It doesn't mean we may not have more cold weather and yes even a flurry or two has been know to fall after they bloom, but in general terms, "Spring has Sprung".

"Look at us, said the violets blooming at her feet, all last winter we slept in the seeming death but at the right time God awakened us, and here we are to comfort you."
    Edward Payson Rod