nature surprises

I am constantly awed by the variety and beauty of the plants I find growing at the fringes of my property. A small stand of milkweed has found an ideal location to grow amongst my rhus aromatica. As a child I was aware of milkweed for its pods full of seed parachutes that float on the wind and fill the air every summer. But I never realized until yesterday that milkweed flowers are so voluptuous and fragrant, like round lilacs. From the bees gathering nectar, the ants marching in orderly columns up and down the stem, the as yet unidentified predator insect patiently awaiting its next meal, to the earwigs hiding in the shady folds of the new top growth, these plants play host to an entire ecosystem.