flora

Balm for the soul

/ Tracy Abell / 13 Comments

This morning during a short walk on the Discovery Trail where I haven’t been for weeks due to a foot issue that may or may not be a mind-body issue, we  were gifted with all sorts of beauty. In the order in which those gifts presented themselves:

Black-tailed deer

Immature Snow Goose

Belted Kingfisher

Mount Baker

Black-tailed Deer

Horned Grebe

Glaucous-winged Gull and crab

Same gull pauses to make clear guests are not welcome at crab feast

After taking many photos of this delightful gull, we turned around and headed back to the trailhead. I was pleased to see the Belted Kingfisher was still in the tree and a bit further on, spotted this wild bouquet:

Thank you for taking the walk with me. May these glimpses of beauty be balm for your soul during these very hard days.

Lupine making the world more beautiful

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

Lupine blooming on Ediz Hook. August 4, 2025

“When I grow up,” I tell her, “I too will go to faraway places and come home to live by the sea.”

“That is all very well, little Alice,” says my aunt, “but there is a third thing you must do.”

“What is that?” I ask.

“You must do something to make the world more beautiful.”
                                                                                    ~ from Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

Garden magic

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

Yesterday while out working in the magical garden we inherited, I came across this:

July 14, 2025

As is the case with many plants in this new-to-me garden planted by someone else, I have no idea what it’s called. Until I make a formal identification, I’m calling it the “Fruit Hat.”

Who am I kidding? I’ll probably call it Fruit Hat no matter it’s proper name.

Wordful Wednesday: flora edition

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

As mentioned,  I spent part of yesterday in the backyard. However, my attention wasn’t solely aimed at birds, bees, and butterflies. I also found beauty in the bindweed blooming at the base of a clump of lamb’s ear.

Backyard.   July 2, 2024

 

Don’t get me wrong: I’m no fan of the invasive bindweed that wraps itself around other plants, choking them off. But the flowers are pretty. I still remember my neighbor’s horror years ago when I’d said as much. The funny thing is, the neighbor who now lives in that house also thinks bindweed flowers are pretty. Still, we both try to keep it at bay. And we’re both wildly unsuccessful.

In addition to the lovely blooms, I have to admire the weed’s tenacity. Bindweed and cockroaches, man. Survival instincts like no other.

I researched so you wouldn’t have to

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

I photographed this bee in the open space in early July and hadn’t looked at the image since. But I was intrigued enough just now to go down the online research rabbit hole. “Green bee” gave me too many hits, but “metallic green bee” narrowed the responses.

July 2, 2022

 

I’m pretty darned sure this is a Hymenoptera-Halictidae-Agapostemon melliventris, otherwise known as the Honey-tailed Striped Sweat Bee.

Oh, and that pink thing is a thistle. Just kidding . . . it’s a Musk Thistle (Nodding Thistle).

You’re welcome.

Bee grateful

/ Tracy Abell / 6 Comments

Today I’m grateful for many things, including the pollinators in my backyard. Here’s a sampling of the different species I spotted. A hardworking honey bee on the fern bush:

A cheery bumble bee tucked deep in one of the many sunflowers blooming right now:

I believe this is a rusty spider wasp (a better image than what I captured last summer):

And a black wasp that was very, very busy — moving from bloom to bloom and then suddenly circling my head before flying away over the sunflowers and out of sight:

No butterflies or hummingbirds in this session, despite this being The Summer of Hummingbirds. I’ve heard and seen more hummingbirds these past months than the twenty-five years I’ve lived here.

Focusing on tiny miracles

/ Tracy Abell / 9 Comments

A friend and I went to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge last Friday where we walked, talked, and communed with the natural world. First up is a Gray Hairstreak Butterfly on a Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.

This was one of two dragonflies that moved incredibly quickly as they darted together up-down-off-to-the-side-then-up-again as we spun around, trying to keep them in sight before they abruptly came to rest on these rushes.

Sometimes we didn’t know what we were looking at and took time to investigate. 

No matter what we saw, whether it was old or new to us, we took delight in the many tiny miracles. Even a much-maligned thistle made us pause and reach out a gentle finger to touch its wondrous beauty.

All gratitude to Mother Nature.

Twofer Tuesday

/ Tracy Abell

Twofer Tuesday is doing double-duty today. In addition to the two blooms in this photo,

Hayden Green Mountain Park. June 24, 2021

my online research tells me this plant (Argemone polyanthemos) is a member of the poppy family and that one of its common names is “Thistle Poppy.” (Woot! Two plant species in one!)

Also? Every bit of this plant, including the seeds, is poisonous. So, be sure not to lean in too close when admiring the photo. 🙂