Today’s guest bloggers have both been inspired by showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa), a native wildflower that grows in abundance along the Horan Natural Area trails in Wenatchee. These encounters independently inspired local writer Glen Carlson and photographer Bruce McCammon to create art generously shared and paired here. Be sure to read their bios at the end of this post.
Glen introduces his Bee Kind essay by saying, My writing is not for a publication, but is rather a series of ongoing reflections directed toward to the Mind-Full Living group that I am involved with. We are a local circle of fellow travelers who strive to pay attention to the world around us and the treasures it releases every day.
Bee Kind by Glen Carlson
Earlier this week I was flitting though my photo gallery, foraging for new images to refresh my screensaver. In the early June section, I landed upon this photograph of Showy Milkweed taken in the Horan Natural Area. At the time, I recall dropping to my knees before this plant, drawn by the visceral whir of its life-wheel spinning.
This milkweed is well named, it is Showy indeed! In a single glance I saw the entire flamboyant horizon of its spring transition from bunched green bud to dazzling explosions of pulsing color. At eye level, the flowered head became a bobbing pink island of five-point flags signaling hard-to-resist temptations to pollinators near and far.
Glen continues: Milkweed plants are known as magnets for butterflies, hummingbirds and bumblebees. They are also non-discriminatory; ants, beetles, mosquitoes, and moths are welcome to their party. Any and all who land here will partake in a give-and-take relationship with the plant. Some will scatter bits and pieces of diverse plant pollens and others will carry off the vim of Showy Milkweed pollen and vigor of energy-laced nectar.
The honey bee in the photo was certainly attracted by the show. She flew into the frame as I was clicking photographs, a walk—on to the scene, an afterthought. But, with my second viewing of this picture, the solitary bee slid from the wings into the center of my attentions. In doing so, she-bee alerted me to the tug of my own tendencies.
I didn’t squat down in trail dust to watch bees. Like the pollen-bearers, I was drawn by the lure of showy beauty. Today you will find this Showy Milkweed not so showy. She has long shed her fancy garments in exchange for a more practical coat of working green. These days, her energy is turned to producing seed pods that will grow, rupture and release silken wisps of promise into the winds of late fall.
Glen concludes: Between here and then, honey bees will continue on their humble, day-to-day rounds of service for the greater good of the colony, both theirs and ours. They will gather life-giving nectar and pollen from now to fall, following the flowering cycles of plants through the seasons. All this work feeds their kin back at the hive and the overflow is deposited into honeycomb cells as an investment for the future.
I will forever be drawn to the beat and beauty of light and color, but personally, I seek to live life farther from the flash and closer to honey-bee-ways which inspire me to be less ego centric and more caring and better connected to the community around me.
A flowering Showy Milkweed appeals to the eye, as well it should, but listen closely and you may hear the honey bee whisper wisdom which may its way into your heart and soul… “Bee Kind.”
Enjoy this next series of Bruce’s photographs artfully documenting showy milkweed’s mid-August seed development
Ways to Learn More about Showy Milkweed and Monarch Butterflies
Showy milkweed plays a pivotal role in the life cycle of monarch butterflies with adults laying their eggs on the underside of this species’ leaves. The western U.S. population of Monarch butterflies is in steep decline. Read more about the complex issues and learn ways you can engage and advocate on the Xerces Society webpage, “Western Monarchs in Crisis.” In Washington, the Western Milkweed Mapper project invite people to become community scientists and report sightings data for both showy milkweed and monarch butterflies.
At home, consider planting species that provide habitat for monarchs and other pollinators. The Xerces Society recommends, One of the most significant actions you can take to support monarch populations is providing nectar-rich flowers and milkweed host plants. Adult monarchs depend on diverse nectar sources for food during all stages of the year, from spring and summer breeding to fall migration and overwintering. Caterpillars, on the other hand, are completely dependent on their milkweed host plants.
Oh yes. I have a tiny wildflower note card business and go to The Dalles Farmer’s Saturday Market to sell my cards. Of the Showy Milkweed my card relates: “Coming upon the bloom
at the top of a 2 to 4 foot stem and cupped in the two arms of tough green leaves and then add the cluster of soft pale pink bloom, this can stop anyone in their tracks. Be glad when you see them”.
I collect one flower and place it on white paper then rush it to the printer with a very good camera, then have a few printed. I follow your web site. Thank you for the news and
photos. Mary E. Soden