Friday, August 23, 2013

A Blaze of Glory

Friday Finds

This is the time of year when a good part of my town turns purple.  There are 1600 acres of conservation land where you will find over a million Northern Blazing Stars.


These plants bloom from late August to mid September and this area contains 90% or the world's population of the Northern Blazing Star.  I have driven by here hundreds of times but never stopped and walked through these fields - until yesterday.



Sharing my find at Kim's Friday Finds.

A LITTLE RANDOMNESS

Dear City
Whenever I visit you it reminds me how much I miss living in the city.  You are  a smaller version of the city I grew up in.  You are both situated on the water with a working harbor. Tourists flock to you.  I sat for awhile on a bench downtown and took it all in.

He looks like he is singing and playing but he actually isn't.  Maybe he doesn't even know how to play.   All I could think was Gee, his feet are filthy.  Is that a cigarette butt stuck to the bottom of his foot?

Dear PediCab Driver
You're new in town.  You say "Pay me what you think it's worth."  I hate that.  I have no idea how much to pay you.  Is it enough?  Is it too much?  If I took the bus it would be a dollar.  If I took a taxi it would be $10.  Where do you fit in that ?   Just tell me what you charge and I'll pay and probably even tip you too.


Dear Man on the Bench
I love that you are enjoying that ice cream.  It looks like plain chocolate.  I like chunks of stuff in my ice cream. 


Dear Kids
I wonder where you are going.  You all look so nice - pretty dresses and fellows wearing suits and ties.  Did you just come off the ferry from one of the harbor islands?  Is it the end of summer celebration?  At least you have a designated driver.



Dear Anonymous Person
It wouldn't be a city if there wasn't a pair of sneakers hanging on the wires.  Urban lore gives these reasons for flying sneakers:  It marks a crack house location,  End of school year or basic training, or loss of virginity.  Judging by the location of these sneakers and the number of pubs on this block I'm going to say it was just a drunken act - by a guy.  Girls are too attached to their footwear to toss them.



Time to visit Nancy at Random 5 Friday.

13 comments:

  1. Well, you learn something new every day. I absolutely love those fields of flowers! How pretty! I never knew that about sneakers before..I think girls wouldn't do it because most of their shoes don't have laces. Too bad the barefoot guitar player can't go get them.

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  2. Love this post. I have always wondered why someone would throw a perfectly good pair of tennis shoes on the power lines....I figured they were just drunk and wanted to see how high they could throw something....and they got stuck....and then people thought that was funny and imitated them. I didn't know there was urban legends about them.

    And I love the picture of the guy with the dirty feet. Funny that the cigarette is stuck to his foot! Love the black and white, too!

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  3. Great glimpse of society - wonderful photos and editing.

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  4. Great photos! They show interesting slices of life. And those purple fields are stunning. Purple is my favorite color, so I would be entranced if I lived nearby. :-)

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  5. Great post and photos! And i adore the city you speak of here. Spent lots of time there growing up. And i can never decide which offshore island is my favorite. :)

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  6. Wow those fields of purple flowers are stunning. I've never heard of this flower.

    Enjoyed your thoughts on the city. - Funny about the guy playing (or not) the guitar and his dirty feet. There was a guy in the grocery store yesterday that was filthy looking. I didn't want to get to close (I know, shame on me).
    The shoe thing was interesting. Partly because there is a house here in town that started out with one pair of shoes over the wire and now there are 3 or 4 pairs hanging from the wire. I wouldn't be surprised though in that area if it wasn't something of the drug related nature.

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  7. I never heard of these flowers. Remains me of the bluebells blooming in Texas.. Beautiful images. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  8. WONDERFUL FINDS! I love those flowers!

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  9. This is the first I've heard of Northern Blazing Stars. They are stunning! Your black and white photos are very effective. I especially like the one of the people rushing around.

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  10. I've never heard of Northern Blazing Stars, they are beautiful! Your random 5 cracked me up, especially the guy with the guitar and cigarette butt? LOL I like chunky stuff (mostly nuts or chocolate) in my ice cream, too.

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  11. I knew nothing about Northern Blazing Stars -- how gorgeous! I love your random 5 and the trip into town. I just love ice cream -- any kind. Your photos are great -- so expressive. Great 5!

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  12. Gorgeous liatris. I've only seen the kind you buy as a bulb -- what a beautiful sight!

    And loving the city images you captured. Well done. xo

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