Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Watching the grass grow


There's so much to see this time of year as one season begins to slip into another that it's hard to know where to begin, but the monsoons have lifted and it's time to start figuring the beginning out.

Jerriann suprised me during a dose of dawn-breaking WHO weather by announcing that we need more rain. Not here, please; not for a while. That 5-7 inches last week was more than enough. Bill, driving up from Corydon for Bible study yesterday, concluded that we'd had so much rain that Wayne County had lost its footing in the mud and either slid farther south or stretched. That was the only explanation he could come up with for being late both on Sunday and on Tuesday while executing a drive made for years and heretofore timed perfectly.

I wish you could have been with me for the show near sunset yesterday down at the marsh as the cormorant regulars that roost in the dead trees opposite the observation deck were joined by snow-white guests, alternating black and white airships appearing from nowhere and from all directions, circling over the pond and coming in for landings. It was magic. (I also wish my camera had telephoto capabilities so that close-ups had been possible.)

It's also a great time of year to watch the grass grow, or rather the seedheads emerge on varieties of prairie grass that have been shooting up unobtrusively all summer and now are ready to put on their show.


Indian grass (above; that's a Union Pacific freight in the distance) is my favorite with its showy plumes. But big bluestem (below) comes in a close second. I have a big clump of indian grass in the back yard in town and confess to going out there now and then, sitting down and just looking at it. Can't do this for too long or the neighbors begin to wonder, but at the marsh there are no time limits.

2 comments:

Arian Schuessler said...

Great photos!

Frank D. Myers said...

From the master himself --- wow! I'm sure you remember the camera. Best deal I ever got and still going strong. Hope all's well. One of these days I'll actually write.