Monday, September 13, 2010

Franklin State Forest, Easement



My heart melts when I see these giant power easements. The ugly, looming power lines guarantee that even in the heart of suburbia there is a strip of wild meadow. I grew up with one of these endless tracks of wilderness as my back yard.

This one is a part of the Franklin State Forest. The entrance is directly across from the YMCA. Motorcyclists share the path with cyclists and pedestrians.




The meadow is covered in goldenrod right now.




Absolutely covered.




So many kinds of goldenrod!




So much goldenrod!




Oh. Heh. That's not goldenrod. That's ragweed.




This, not goldenrod, is what makes people sneeze. Goldenrod pollen is evolved to be big and sticky, to be carried by insects. Ragweed pollen is evolved to float about in the air.

Ragweed isn't a native plant, by the way. Wouldn't it be nice if it had stayed in South America?




Is this barren strawberry, or am I just being optimistic?




This weed's common name is "Gabe". He doesn't cause allergies.




Oh nuts, I had found the name of this humble flower once before, but I've lost it. It's common something-or-other, a meadow native.




No idea what this is!




Some sort of aster.




Come back Gabe! Mommy is sorry for being so obsessed with plants!

1 comment:

Hrach_Garden said...

I love areas like this too. They're great for bug-catching too!