RoyGBiv: Pink

In the Search for Roy G. Biv, hosted by Julie Booth and Jennifer Coyne Qudeen, we have rotated through all the "official" rainbow colors and are now on to pink. Pink is a color that has been on my mind a lot lately, as the bridesmaids' dresses for my son's upcoming wedding are in shades of blush and pink. Here's one:

Pretty, yes? I, however, have not been having so much luck finding a suitable pink dress, which is the reason my brain has been so stuck on pink.

 Here's a lovely wildflower called meadow pink...

 ... and another which for some inexplicable reason is known as joe-pye weed...

 I love this delicate pink primrose, which grows in my own garden...

This bright pink azalea is a joy every year, and the butterflies love it, too...

... a beautiful carved jade vessel at the Smithsonian in Washington.

Thanks for joining me on the search for pink. To see more, please go to Julie's or Jennifer's blogs for all the pink links!

Peace

It is quiet here.

Peace wraps around my heart.

 

Hemmed in finest lace, the field is dressed in green and pink. 

There, a fairy ring of joe-pye weed

is guarded by a weathered fence post... 

 

 

If I stand very still, and listen, 

I can hear a bird calling,

and the hypnotic drone of bees at work.

Wind shushes softly 

through the Queen Anne's lace and iron weed.

 I peer inside a secret world

that smells like sunlight...

I hold this peace inside my heart

so I can always find it.

Goodbye to Summer

The end of summer is always a bittersweet time for me: while I do love the cool, crisp days of fall, I'm just not that fond of winter. The winter skies in Kentucky are gray and cloudy much of the time, and since we don't usually have much snow, everything else is just dirty brown. It's such a contrast to the lush growth of the other three seasons, which spoil us with rich emerald greens and golds, purples, pinks, oranges, and reds. Maybe it's because I'm a teacher, but winter just seems to last forever!
At this time of year, the plants appear determined to put on one big final show. It's like they're saying, "Uh-oh, we're running out of time- better set some seeds right now!" The blooms burst forth in a profusion of mostly purple and yellow, and it's easy to be lulled into the belief that summer will never end. Here are some photos of the wildflowers of late summer, taken in Lewis County, Kentucky. I hope you enjoy them!



These three are either Downy Lobelia (Lobelia puberula) or Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia spihilitica), or some of each.


Heal-all (Prunella vulgaris)


Joe-pye weed and Ironweed


Joe-pye weed (Eupatorium fistulosum)


Ironweed (Vernonia gigantica)


Tune in next time for more wildflowers!