On the Land

Where I live, spring arrives by air, by water, and by land.  In the air, the first sign of spring appears in the neon blue form of bluebirds.  Bluebirds arrive first.  The second sign of spring is the full expansion of open water on the valley lakes.  The final and surest harbinger of spring is Hooker’s Townsendia.

As a point of fact, I may find a few random “outbursts” of white or purplish phlox before I spot a Townsendia in bloom.  But Townsendia has my heart.  These tufted plants favor open to rocky shoulders of ground on the dry prairies.  In bloom, the Townsendia display like miniature wedding bouquets—one after another.  Though the flowers are small, only slightly larger than your thumbnail, they are showy and bright when caught in the sun.

Posted is a twice-as-smarter-than-me-phone image of a Hooker’s Townsendia.  I found a collection of the flowers near my solar array yesterday.

--Mitchell Hegman