A Wildflower Story

Several years ago my wife and I moved into a residential neighborhood just outside of town. The area had been a farming area, but was being developed into home sites for folks like us. We were one of the first homes built in this area, and so most of the land around us remained in a natural state. Just up the road was a field that had grown into weeds that stood over six feet tall, and became one of my favorite spots to find and photograph birds.

Late one summer I arrived on the scene to discover that the entire meadow had been mowed right down to the bare ground. What had once been my favorite birding habitat, now looked like something that would never hold interest for me again. But, I was wrong.

In late September I decided to grab the camera and head out for a walk, and I found myself back at my favorite old spot. What I saw was amazing. Apparently, hiding under all of those tall weeds were thousands of wildflower seeds just waiting for the chance to germinate. Once the weeds had been cut and the sunlight could penetrate, the seeds found the strength to blossom into an incredible floral display. As though planted by some award winning landscape architech, the array and diversity of flowers transformed the field into one of the most dynamic photographic scenes I had ever witnessed. Not only was it beautiful, but the birds loved it.

Maybe a lesson can be learned from this..........sometimes it pays to take a second or even a third look at things. They may not always look the same on a different day.