A Walk on the Wild Side
We passed a display of chicory and a field of cabbage. Joe pye weed loomed tall over a row of goldenrod along a farmer’s fence. Around the corner a cluster of happy faced jewelweed seemed to greet us. She pointed out boneset. I opened a milkweed pod and shook the silky platinum hair loose.
It didn’t take long to reach the Blue Ridge Parkway meadow where all the late summer wildflowers have converged in one place. Our eyes went straight to the spiky blue and cardinal red wild lobelia. We climbed over the fence to get closer.
I remembered the crown of wildflowers she made for me to wear when Joe and I got married. The dogs drank from the creek as we mingled with the flowers of all colors. Something yellow in the sunflower family made us happy. The rich perennial purple of ironweed made me swoon.
We talked about the roots of loneliness and how memory loss can cause people to live from their hearts, rather than from their minds. The subject of ticks, the best light for photographing flowers, and favorite apple trees for picking all came up before we hugged goodbye and headed back to our separate houses with smiles on our faces and a spring in our steps.
August 28th, 2010 8:32 pm
I think those are cardinal flowers in the last photo:
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/plantstrategies/images/cardinal_flower_lg.jpg
Beautiful pictures. Thanks.
August 28th, 2010 11:11 pm
They are cardinal flowers but I looked it up and was surprised to learn that that they are also a type of lobelia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobelia_cardinalis
August 29th, 2010 1:06 am
That first photo is exquisite!
August 29th, 2010 7:50 am
Sounds like a wonderful time!
August 29th, 2010 8:11 am
I love wild fields and gardens. A beautiful chaos.
And your wedding pictures were lovely.
August 29th, 2010 3:33 pm
A very nice day, I believe. Love the flowers. They are beauties.
August 29th, 2010 4:47 pm
Sounds like a lovely day. What beautiful wildflowers!!!
August 30th, 2010 9:45 am
What a wonderful walk! And what lovely flowers. I love all flower gardens, but I do believe I love a field of wildflowers more than anything. I’ve really enjoyed the Queen Anne’s lace this year, especially when paired with chicory.
August 30th, 2010 6:51 pm
This entry is bittersweet. I went to the 10th anniversary page of your wedding and there I cried!!! I remember that day very well and I, too had a crown of wild flowers!! It was a fun time and Dad was alive too!!!
PS Thanks for the beautiful memories!!!
August 30th, 2010 6:55 pm
Jayn made your flower crown too. When I look at that post I am also amazed at how many bloggers commented and how so many of them gave up blogging.
I’m so glad you came to the wedding and that ma and dad did! xo
August 31st, 2010 6:15 pm
Beautiful photos and lovely flowers!
September 1st, 2010 9:09 am
Finally got to see this! Thank you for the acknowledgement of a truely wonderful simple walk down the road to visit my favorite neighbor–my soul sister. May we enjoy this paradise forever!!!