The one thing in life that never disappoints me is an expansive, tumultuous storm sky in late spring and early summer. Add a little wet heat and the crackle of electricity and everything around you suddenly seems charged with boundless energy. Big clouds. Shimmering reflections. Huge energy. Sums up the story of my bike ride on Deckers Creek Tail this past Sunday. Oh, and how about the absolute crush of June wildflowers now in bloom? They seem to grow bigger and bolder by the week. None being more fabulous than the cascading snowballs of my beloved common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius), whose exfoliating bark results in its common name. The bees and I were most grateful for the endless procession of blooms along the trail, of course.
From top: Arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum), so named because Native Americans crafted arrow shafts from the stems of the plant; silky dogwood (Cornus amomum), also known as swamp dogwood due to its affinity for streambanks and wetlands; common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius), whose densely-packed clusters of white flowers give way to striking red seed capsules; poke milkweed (Asclepias exaltata); whose white flowers plummet from naked stalks arising at the leaf axils; and four-plus feet of “Go ahead and make my day“ (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) warming up on one of the trail bridges.
