Goldenrod Everywhere!

In our Great Rivers ecoregion we are seeing goldenrod all over the place, bringing to mind Mary Oliver’s poem Goldenrod which honors this month’s special native blooming flower with delightfully descriptive phrases like

“On roadsides, in fall fields, in rumpy bunches, saffron and orange and pale gold, …full of bees and yellow beads and perfect flowerletsand orange butterflies… All day on their airy backbones they toss in the wind, they bend…they rise in a stiff sweetness, in the pure peace of giving one’s gold away.”

The spirit of this month in nature seems to be giving oneself away. Observe your local area and make a list of all the beings giving themselves away. Rest in the peace of the season and the giving away– and observe this same spirit in yourself.