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Moods and Walks- Ponderings and Meanderings in Alberta

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cohan:
I thought I'd try something a little different here-- lots of photos, of course, but some poetry as well. Not just strict plant information, but some moments and days that had a particular feeling for me which I might try to capture with the camera, but also words, musings, verse, forays into mythology (as a way to relate to and integrate with the natural world- in particular the Latvian heritage of my mother's family-- though they certainly never spoke about any of this old pre-Christian stuff ;) ).
Photos will be from my garden, from wild areas on the acreage, on the farm and roadsides outside the acreage-- and maybe, it if fits, stuff from brief sojourns in town and elsewhere, maybe even photos from the passenger seat...
I'll often have related content posted on my blogger site, but there there may be more content on the mythology and other blabber, and I will use a different set of photos here, with plant info added.

cohan:
First set is from a warm and humid day a while back, a day of buzzing, redolent air, a riot of green and flowers and the hint of storms.... (that day had only modest thunderstorms and showers later on-- last night and this morning after a couple of days in the mid-20's, probably nearer 30 in sunny confined spots in the afternoon, with humidity in the 60-100% range, we had a darmatic lightning show last night, hours of thunder and rain, and hours again this morning.... a bit of sun late morning, darkening again now at 1pm.....)..

On a warm summer day with cooler air to come,
Gausu Mate, Mother of Slowness and Laziness, holds temporary sway
while her siblings jostle carelessly for supremacy.
Moist heavy air rises from soil and  transpires from leaves,
carrying scents of wild rose, swathes of clover and a thousand other flowers
in garden, lawn and thickets and meadows all around.
Great Mother herself, Mara, urges the small ones, shimmying bees and droning flies,
to hasten their work in the blossoms while Saule yet shines down.
Lapu Mate, Leaf Mother, leads the swirling chatter of anxious poplars and murmurs of staid spruce
in the breeze and gust of passing clouds,
Lietus Mate, Rain Mother, dances high above, weaving in and out of storms drifting from the foothills
and Thunder Brother, Perkuns, rumbles uncommittedly in the patchwork sky.

more photos, and thoughts on Animism/Nature Spirits at the link
https://cohanmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/07/ive-been-enjoying-exploring-ancient.html

1-native Erigeron philadelphicus etc in a slightly overgrown garden area ;)


2-native Halenia deflexa these grow in various places on the acreage, I usually mow around some patches, but with this year's lawn mower issues, delayed mowing in many spots, and rain rain rain, they are all over the place :)


3- Oxyria digyna in the rock garden, with a sea of Saussurea riederi sweeping in from behind... the time for some serious control of that species is growing near ;) I probably need to situate some in a fend for yourself meadow type of setting with some other robust species..


4- Platanthera- I've shamefully yet to get a grasp on the local bog orchids, this one is in a garden mini wet spot created to house Primula viallii (if only flowering more nearly overlapped with this!) etc-- at least having it here has confirmed for me that size of the orchid is situational or age related, not species diagnostic-- when planted here, it was fully flowering at maybe 1/4 this size..(50cm at a guess?)

cohan:
Still on that sultry mid-July day that inspired the above poem...
1-2 Peony.. I have an odd relationship with these flowers, planted some time ago by my mother and/or aunt; they are clearly ridiculous flowers, no proper flower parts visible even, and they can't even stand up on their own-- the large plant shown makes piles of buds every year, most of which never open fully, and many begin to rot on the plant... However, they've survived many years of no particular attention, they remind me of Old Dutch still life paintings, and they are photogenic with their pastel shades and crazy forms contrasting the dark foliage and shadows and light around....




3- Zigadenus /Anticlea elegans a survivor from my teenage gardening years, it survived the overgrown rock garden for a couple of decades, and has been happy in its spot as I rebuilt and extended everything around it... Anaphalis that appeared on its own, behind...

Maggi Young:
Super initiative, Cohan, thank you!
 I've  added  the  photos  in attachimg=   form to the  place  in the  text  where they are  relevant- I think it  makes  for  a  better "read" 

Hoy:
Very good, Cohan!

You are certainly more poetic than I am :)

My grandma was fond of those "ridiculous flowers"! She had white, pink and red ones at the summerhouse. The white ones were like cabbage in size.

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