Stormy Prairie Morning

As I busily prepared for a burial last week on a stormy summer morning, the colorful bloom of the Foxfield prairie proved to be a delightful distraction!

A pair of tree swallows were running in and out of this box, enjoying the garden we’ve planted outside their door.

Beautiful blooms at the entrance to the Preserve insisted that I pause to appreciate them.

I was incredibly happy to see such a plentiful supply of wild bergamot blooming this year – and so were all the happy pollinators buzzing around the prairie.

The gray coneflower is beginning to pop up on the hillside overlooking the Sugar Creek valley. Soon this area will be a lovely sea of yellow.

I was lucky enough to catch a quick glimpse of the spiderwort just as it was beginning to close up for the heat of the day.

A glimpse of red caught my eye and stopped me in my tracks. This is the first time I’ve seen cardinal flower blooming on the Preserve. What a delight!

And then I was tickled to see it in among the prairie docks near the entrance.

One of the biggest highlights of the day for me – The many milkweed seeds we’ve been collecting are beginning to produce plants throughout the prairie. Now bring on the Monarchs!