Saturday, June 29, 2024

The Litter Thing

Something caught my eye in the grass just off the road near a bend in our country road. Something suspiciously white. “Litter,” I muttered to myself in disgust.

I am especially sensitive to litter on our mostly quiet and remote country road. Upon reaching the place where I spotted the litter, I stopped the car and prepared to open the car door so I could trot out to retrieve the offending white whatever-it-was.

I didn’t even bother to open the door after taking a closer look alongside the road. Instead, I blinked a couple of times, rubbed my eyes, and then drove on down the road toward home.

I have become jaded and am likely spending too much time looking for signs of something wrong instead of simply enjoying the ride. At the end of this blog, I have posted an image featuring a specimen of the suspicious white flag I spotted just off the road. It’s an evening primrose. Some call these little beauties a gumbo lily. The flowers are nearly the size of my fist and a brilliant white when they first open. The petals fade to pink as they slowly clasp together again and then shed. The image I am sharing was captured several years ago not far from where I mistook this one for litter.

These are nice flowers, and I need to lighten up a bit.

Tufted Evening-Primrose

—Mitchell Hegman

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