In what can only be described as a miracle of nature and engineering, the field of yellow dandelions has overnight turned to a collection of white sylphlike cushions. For the time being – that is, before a wind blows over the feathery heads of the plants and spreads the parachutes of seeds abroad – the field is dotted with fluffy motionless bulbs. The rigour and precision of the metamorphosis from yellow to white, from substance to levity, from days of absorbing sunshine until the natural evolution of casting seeds abroad, is a display of mechanical production governed by incalculable routine and design.
LIFE CYCLE OF A DANDELION
The florets develop from the center, blooming into a circular flower head. After flowering for a couple of days, the flower head closes and the seeds develop inside the closed head. As the seeds form, the flower stalk extends higher so that it can reach the breeze.
The name “Dandelion” is interestingly derived from the French phrase “dent de lion,” which refers to the plant’s leaves’ teeth-like serrations and means “lion’s tooth.” An herbaceous perennial known as a dandelion grows from a big, unbranched tap root. The deeply serrated leaves are basal, which means they don’t rise on stems but instead appear at ground level from the plant’s crown.
This Nature’s spectacular is heightened by “one of almost 300 recordings of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 — and no wonder, given its status as one of classical music’s best-loved concertos. Its secret lies in the composer’s skill in placing technical pianistic demands at the service of the heart-rending music: Rachmaninoff never needlessly dazzles despite there being plenty to marvel at. Combine this with achingly beautiful and masterful orchestrations and the result is irresistible, a piece whose popularity has endured ever since its wildly successful premiere in 1901.”
Living as we now do in a newly constructed modern building with many convenient electronic features (for opening the Main Entry, Parcel Room or Garage Overhead) one cannot but sense the contrasting simplicity of the adjoining rampant fields (now tinged with a burgeoning purple heather colour) and the progressively narrowing river as the spring freshet diminishes and the flooded shorelines recapture their predominance of luscious green vegetation. So verdant is the watery shoreline that a distant dilapidated wooden shed contrasts magnificently and enriches the floral and grassy carpet. The trees throughout the fields and along the shore of the river as it wends towards the Village of Appleton (from my current upriver perspective) complete the idyllic picture which is cast as far as one can see.
Yesterday, during our bicycle ride, we investigated a nearby landing along the river’s shore where one may choose to launch a boat or skiff. I’m guessing that this year will mark an interest in moderate boating upon the river as the opportunity increases for riparian travel.