Has anything ever triggered a tune in your head and you end up humming it for hours? While on the prairie this morning and lamenting the dearth of color, a lyric from the song Me and Bobby McGee comes to mind, "...I’d trade all of my tomorrows for just one yesterday." I’m not quite that desperate, but, one day of yesteryear’s high plains Prairie Garden of Eden would surely improve my tolerance of drought conditions.
Amazingly wildflowers continue to exert their presence on the Northern Llano Estacado. The most prominent are Silver Leaf Nightshade, aka Trompillo, and Yellow Spined Thistle. Prickly Pear Cacti and Cholla have once again regressed into survival mode. The drought-stressed prickly pears have an unusually high incidence of Cochineal Scale infestation.
Here are some images of yesteryear’s prairie. I remember well the gleaming summer snows on baked earth, the alluring fire wheels of gaillardia blankets, the porcupine-like quills of Purple Threeawn swaying in the winds, and silvery sprays of Trompillo accenting luscious shoots of Wax Goldenweed.
© Ilija Lukić 2011
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Summer Snow On Baked Earth
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Silverleaf Nightshade
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Firewheels And Marbles
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Porcupines
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Trompillo Fenceline
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