Springtime Wildflowers

Oh lovely little yellow (I don't know your name) wildflower, how the odds are against you! Choked by those rocks, you would much rather be by the others in the grass. Don't worry, I will step around you as not to do you harm and wish you some luck!
This wildflower/weed growing against the odds gives me strength as I understand it's hardship. Beautiful things come from struggle. I have to remind myself.


Look your friend, Mr. Purple (I don't know your name either) wildflower is having a swell time in his pebbly surrounding, you two have something in common!

If any wildflower/weed specialist can give us a name for these two, it would be like receiving a present! I always appreciate people who are smarter than myself (and there are many of them), to help educate this site!
Thanks ahead!

Artistic License

Inspired by the Orange Jewel Weed from the other day, I decided to paint a little watercolor picture and write a poem, giving their trumpets reason to sound.

As His gentle breath breathes,

They begin to wave and nod.

Their trumpets make a sound

Of Autumn growing near.

Not to human ears they sound…

But to bees, to trees, and the deer.

“Find food fast my friends.

For Autumn’s hold is broad.”

“Least she finds you not prepared

And leaves you nothing but awed.”

In this poem, I tried to describe how the jewel weed's trumpets warn the animals and plants to prepare for the coming cold. And how does the trumpets sound? By the breath of God of course. Now, I know that probably doesn't really happen, but I'm using an artistic license to escape reality and create whatever I want! HA. It's soooo much fun to use an artistic license, it never expires and you renew it every time you use it. I highly recommend using yours. Don't worry if you feel as if you don't have one yourself, you're never to old to receive one!

Orange Jewelweed

I was just about to name this post, Another "I Don't Know Specie". However feeling rather lucky, I did an amateur search on google images in which I typed, "orange horn wildflower." Tadaaaa.... I just recognized this flower as Orange Jewelweed.


Just beautiful, delicate, precious. Amazing orange, yellow and browns! I was so excited when I spotted these, of course I didn't know what they were, that will come in time, I just knew I had to find them out when they stopped me in my tracks. Funny how a plant has that kind of power to stop a giant human in her tracks. This Orange Jewelweed was growing on the side the trail that went over a small creek. Creek is the key word because Jewelweeds like to grow by water, as I now have learned.


Bad picture but good side view. Here is where I got the "horn" description. They all look like little trumpets dangling in the breeze. Here is an interesting tidbit, Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds and long tongued bees like to visit, but it's the bumblebee that will sometimes chew a hole near the spur of the flower to steal nectar. YOU GO bumblebee, that's using your fuzzy little head! My kind of worker, get straight to the good stuff, no waisting time!

Here is the big picture. Lush and healthy. These will bloom from mid-summer to fall, so we have a little time left to enjoy them still. They will reseed themselves and hopefully we'll see them again next year. Hummmm... orange seems to be my color lately.

Trail Time! Tinley Creek Woods

This is the beginning of our PAVED trail in Tinley Creek Woods, Tinley Park, IL. This trail definitely has something for everyone. You can see the black topped trail to the left and to the right a prairie, a lovely sea of goldenrod growing right now. Isn't it beautiful? There were deer feeding in the distance, too far for me to get on camera.

Here is our first stop on the left side of the trail, away from the prairie, there are more trees on this side. I love the shadows and sunlight playing off each other. The tips of goldenrod illuminate from afternoon sun. This will be a painting one day.

OH BOY, Tall Coreopsis, these wildflowers can grow up to 8' tall but these were only about 4' tall. This picture was taken in shadow light and seem more blue than in real life.

Man made vs. God made. This is at the edge of the prairie right before the scenery starts to change. You can hear the buzzz sound from the high wires when standing in this spot. Probably not the most healthy place to be, I don't know why the wires buzzz, I'm not sticking around to find out! It is a pretty sight, the architectural structure riding in the distance. In this spot I heard many blue jays and spotted 3 crows. Go Crows! Go Blue jays! I say that because Wst Nile virus killed many of these in our area. Crows and blue jays are related which explains why both were affected.

This trail now goes under a major busy street. It's fun to walk under the cars into the forest........WOW! Just steps away, quiet peaceful forest! Look at how the light peaks through the branches. Just the best fun one can have! This is about as far as I got, about 1 mile. If I had more time I would have gone on, we'll save that for another day!

Hope you enjoyed!

Trail Time! Moraine 2 of 2

Ok! Let's continue our trail through the Moraine Valley Nature Study Area in Palos Hills, IL. If you remembered yesterday, I described Grassy Trail #1. Today, I'll describe Grassy Trail #2 (see yesterday's watercolor map). You're going to love trail#2 as much as I did! It has the same grassy covering in the beginning with some different highlights. Let's start with this beautiful Queen Anne's Lace.

Yes it's true, Queen Anne's Lace is a weed, you can find them in fields, road sides, along trails, by garbage dumps, pretty much anywhere. This is a true story: When I was just starting to garden, I actually asked for Queen Anne's Lace at a very expensive nursery (Sids) to which the employee laughed, "Why, that's a weed!" That really happened. I am not ashamed. I didn't know it but I still love them. We can't just love the beautiful ones (there's a life lesson in here somewhere), it has beauty in its own way, with that teeny, tiny little purple flower in the middle. Next on our trail are the more "beautiful ones" the wildflowers.

Here is a delicate Fascicled False Foxglove. I know it because my field guide told me so. The book I'm referring to is Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers, Doug Ladd and Frank Oberle (A Falcon Guide). I like this book because the flowers are grouped by color. It allows you to quickly identify your flower in seconds! Most rewarding. Notice the fuzzy edges of the petals, reminds me of a comfy sweater in the fall. I'm sure there is a reason for the edges, maybe we'll learn that someday. Just steps away from the foxglove we see our next wildflower. This is Obedient Plant, I really like this one. It gets the name "obedient" because if you wrap it around the the stem, it remains like that. Had I actually brought my wildflower guide book with me, I would have learned that and been able to try it out, but it was another object at home collecting dust! A few feet along our trail, suddenly the trail goes from grassy to..... sandy! Doesn't it look like the bottom of a lake? Or maybe the shore? Is there water near by? From the observatory deck I could see water, but because we've had sooo much rain, I just thought it was flooding. I didn't know...... there was a secret water entrance!!!!! Yes! Boy, I just hit the jackpot. Do you remember when you were a kid and you discovered something new all by yourself? I was feeling that way! I might have done the "happy dance", I'm sure the wildlife thought I was nuts.

This is our reward. The treasure at the end of the journey or at least Grassy Trail #2. The water so calm, the sky so blue, the air abundant with fragrant. Here is where I can find peace and where I talk to God our Creator, who placed the Queen Anne's Lace (because He loves the "not" so pretty ones) and the foxglove, and the obedient plant just for us to enjoy.

Thank you for taking this trail with me!