As I think I’ve mentioned before every morning I take a walk with Kara. During the week our walks are typically about an hour long, roughly two miles but over the weekend they’re frequently longer. Yesterday, for example, we walked for an hour and a half, nearly four miles.
Part of our walk this morning was along an old railroad bed from which the rails and ties had long been removed. For nearly a half mile our path was bordered with wild roses, reaching as much as twenty feet high and filling the air with their perfume. The picture above doesn’t really capture how beautiful it was. I was reminded of the old English hymn:
What though the spicy breezes
Blow soft o’er Java’s isle;
Though every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile…
About a quarter mile from there was a spot littered with trash, remains of what must have been several hundred dollars of (illegal) fireworks. Last night was the noisiest of my recollection. Fireworks being set off in all directions, starting at around 8:00pm and, my wife tells me, continuing all night. I guess that’s a shortcoming of cancelling the big municipal fireworks displays—people provide their own, at some risk to themselves and their neighbors.
Blessed to have a safe route to walk. Enjoy.
We live out in the sticks and people here have always done their own fireworks. The farm just south of us does them on a scale larger than most small towns. We sit outside and watch. My yellowwoods are done blooming so the only fragrant plants I have right now are my sweetlbay magnolias. Have to get close but a nice lemony scent.
Steve
Dammit, the picture isn’t quite clear enough for me to ID the white flowers, they look like fleabane but seem a bit tall.
Old RR beds (as long as they don’t get too shaded and overgrown) can be great places to find a diverse array of wildflowers. Some of the best remnant tallgrass prairies in Illinois and elsewhere occur along old RR Right-of-ways, with many rare and beautiful species.
And when I encounter trashed areas in otherwise beautiful sites I get furious. ATV tracks I can live with, at least the riders are enjoying the outdoors, and create disturbed habitat for those plants that need it. But filth strewn about? Makes me want to round up the perps and put them in orange and wear chains until every speck’s cleaned up.
Sweetbay magnolia is always a fun tree to find in the wild, even where it’s common. The hard shiny leaves give it a tropical look. But better wear boots and put on repellent if you look for it in its native habitat.
Yes, they’re fleabane. Other wildflowers along the route include milkweed, thistles, clover, coreopsis, chicory, blue-eyed grass, vervain, and many others.
Thanks for the flower ID. Seeing a site like that makes my fingers itch for a pen, a clipboard, and yellow foolscap to see how many species I can ID before I hit the point of diminishing returns. Illinois is approaching the limits of my botanical expertise, but I think I wouldn’t run into too many mysteries.
You would love our property. I collected trees and shrubs when younger. Have dozens of unusual specimen trees but also made sure I had a lot of native species. Killed the only Dove tree I ever found and much to my great regret have never successfully transplanted a sassafras. Being a Monty Python fan meant I had to find a larch, so I did.
Steve