Thank you for this important, informative post. I live in the mid-Hudson Valley in New York State beside the Shawangunk Ridge. There a hay field next to my yard. Last year it wasn't mowed. This year it was. Several plants I've never seen before began to grow. I still can't identify a wildflower that I first took for a small variety of Joe Pie Weed, but unlike that plant it formed seed pods, similar to butterfly weed and milkweed. Also appearing in the field were many clumps of what looks exactly big blue stem. I had looked it up some weeks ago and it seemed as though I was seeing a midwestern prairie grass. I don't know how it has traveled here, but I have fallen in love with it and visit it every day. Thanks again for this post.
This is an intriguing story, Elizabeth. Maybe you could post a picture and we could get some identification and comments going. Thanks for reading and responding.
Not sure how to post a picture here. You can see the grass on Maeve Rhuad's FaceBook page. It is her cover photo! If you can tell me how to post here, I will try.
It's Maeve Rhuad's page where the grass is featured, not my author page. It's a pretty good image. The striations of color along the stems may not show as clearly as I'd like. I am not even an amateur photographer. I only recently learned how to take pictures with my phone! Oh and it is also taller than it looks in the photo.
Great read! In just a year, I have seen a lot of changes in my tiny prairie plot. The indian grass is the one that surprised me the most. The warblers ate the seed avidly before migrating south, the turkeys hid behind the clumps while looking for bugs. Next year will bring new surprises. Hope to see the swamp milkweed and the cup plant take off.
Thank you Joshua for this inspiring piece that ended with the potential of reclaiming what the earth has lost. My hope is that this will indeed preserve the landscape for future generations.
Thank you for this important, informative post. I live in the mid-Hudson Valley in New York State beside the Shawangunk Ridge. There a hay field next to my yard. Last year it wasn't mowed. This year it was. Several plants I've never seen before began to grow. I still can't identify a wildflower that I first took for a small variety of Joe Pie Weed, but unlike that plant it formed seed pods, similar to butterfly weed and milkweed. Also appearing in the field were many clumps of what looks exactly big blue stem. I had looked it up some weeks ago and it seemed as though I was seeing a midwestern prairie grass. I don't know how it has traveled here, but I have fallen in love with it and visit it every day. Thanks again for this post.
This is an intriguing story, Elizabeth. Maybe you could post a picture and we could get some identification and comments going. Thanks for reading and responding.
Not sure how to post a picture here. You can see the grass on Maeve Rhuad's FaceBook page. It is her cover photo! If you can tell me how to post here, I will try.
Okay, we can look at your FB page.
It's Maeve Rhuad's page where the grass is featured, not my author page. It's a pretty good image. The striations of color along the stems may not show as clearly as I'd like. I am not even an amateur photographer. I only recently learned how to take pictures with my phone! Oh and it is also taller than it looks in the photo.
Great read! In just a year, I have seen a lot of changes in my tiny prairie plot. The indian grass is the one that surprised me the most. The warblers ate the seed avidly before migrating south, the turkeys hid behind the clumps while looking for bugs. Next year will bring new surprises. Hope to see the swamp milkweed and the cup plant take off.
Mni Wiconi- Water is life! We must safeguard our water!
Thank you Joshua for this inspiring piece that ended with the potential of reclaiming what the earth has lost. My hope is that this will indeed preserve the landscape for future generations.