It took summer to bring Dickcissels to Pheasant Branch Conservancy. Though a little late this year, I knew they would eventually return. Now the morning choir of the prairie and meadow has an additional voice to compliment the songs of Sedge Wrens, Willow Flycatchers, Common Yellowthroats, Brown Thrashers, Indigo Buntings and more.
Purple Cone flower, Hoary Vervain, Bergamot, Spiderwort, Black-eyed Susan are among a crescendoing array of wildflowers adorning the fields, bursting with color surrounding the central hill. Also, I don't think I've ever seen so many Red Admirals around...and rabbits animate the drumlinoid reminiscent of something from Watership Down (a favorite book of mine, incidentally).
Overall, the scenery is playing out much as it has over the past decade, but my mended senses are rendering true – a fogged mind uncharacteristically veiled them last summer, though perhaps not necessarily evident here. Wellness restored, birdsong is an aria not to be eclipsed by any other sound, and each entity that reflects a color of the prairie surpasses the most masterful brush stroke on an artist's canvas.
All images © 2007 Mike McDowell
