Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The Last Petunia ...



... Maybe. 

I'm not discounting the ones in planters, inserted purposely into specially prepared soil by landscape contractors. I'm just giving a shout out to this little volunteer, peeking from a fissure in the sidewalk. It's survived in spite of being so close to the drive, in danger of being squashed by a car or drowned by the rain in the gutter, or from very little rain at all.


And here is the creek near the Speedway. It bisects a grass-covered lot as large as some family farms. During race weekends, the lot becomes a camping area for RVs. A lot of people choose to park near the grove of trees lining the creek, finding shelter in their shade. I go there at least once a week to check for turtles sunning themselves on rocks, red-winged blackbirds or the occasional heron. I've marked the seasons with pictures taken of the creek and its trees. 
In the middle of the city, it's my little piece of wild.

1 comment:

dive said...

Hoorah for the triumph of nature over concrete.
Take a look on Google Earth at the town of Pripyat next to the old Chernobyl reactors to see how soon nature reclaims what's hers.
I love the idyllic spot in the lower photo. To find something like that in the heart of a US city is a wonderful thing.