Morning Thanks

Garrison Keillor once said we'd all be better off if we all started the day by giving thanks for just one thing. I'll try.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Morning Thanks--Royalty on the prairie


If Big Blue Stem is the grass that was the West, the Purple Prairie Cone is the flower. Hardy?--no kidding. They make raw-boned, ratchet-faced pioneers look paltry. Freezing winters and blazing summers are just a few more afternoons on the calendar, and they flower for weeks. They're big and bold and beautiful; and despite the bad press of fly-over country, they love it here.



Anything that blossoms out here in the wilds isn't going to have the Sunday-shine of greenhouse stock. Just won't. What lights up prairie out here steps out entirely without make-up, but still dresses what's out back in finery, purple finery. 






In our backyard they don't make an appearance until mid-July, but once here, they'll stay for a while, and that's a blessing. This morning's thanks are for the purple royalty of prairie flowers. Right now, out back, I wish we had at least a half-dozen more patches. They're wonderful.