Take a walk with Frankie and me down the creek as we go hunting wildflowers. Every spring I try to find a good day, at least once and even better twice, in the spring to go wildflower hunting. It’s not an easy quest. The path down to the creek is steep and rocky. You can slide down if you’re not careful and you can pant coming back up that hill, careful or not. But at the bottom of the cliff there’s a cave and a creek and wildflowers that bloom abundantly in the spring.
I’ve been down the creek dozens of times, but this was Frankie’s first trip. Last year Oscar was with me on my wildflower hunt, but the bone cancer was already working on his leg. I thought it was arthritis then. Only later did I get the dire diagnosis. But last year he would look at the rocks he needed to climb over as though they were impossible mountains and sometimes he found an easier way around. But for me, he came down the creek. That makes me sad when I think about it now. Later on, I did leave him at the house and walked without him 
because he would try to follow me even though it was so hard on him he’d have to sit down to rest every few yards.
Frankie has no such problems yet. He ran up and down the hillsides with abandon just the way Oscar did when I first got him. Up Frankie would go, first on one side of the creek and then the other. While he cared nothing at all about wildflowers and tromped them without care, he did love all the new scents and trails to chase. And I actually got him to sit still with me long enough to snap a selfie. Not an easy task to accomplish with my energetic dog.
After all our spring rains, the creek had an abundance of water to ripple over the rocks. Such a lovely sound. Again, Frankie wasn’t worried about the sound, but he did enjoy cooling off in the creek with water that stays cool even in the middle of summer. It was plain cold the other day. Just right, Frankie said. I posted a video of him having fun in the creek on my Facebook author page.
But I was looking for flowers. The yellow one is a trout lily that I’ve been missing the last few years because I waited too late in the spring to go hunting it. If you give this picture a close look, you’ll see something sort of neat. See the shadow of the flower on its leaf? The other flowers here are trillium (the reddish flower) and twin leaf (the white flower). Bet if you give the plant a close look you will know why it’s called twin leaf.
I’ll aim to go wildflower hunting once more. I did find a Jack in the Pulpit but I need to see more and then there are those lovely bent head trilliums that weren’t bloomed yet when I was there last week. But I did see the purple phlox and the Dutchman’s breeches.
Thank you for taking a walk with Frankie and me and for allowing me to remember last spring with Oscar.
Which wildflower do you like best?
Comments 14
By the way, Frankie is beautiful! 😊
What beautiful wildflowers! Our Mother was like you. We would walk in the woods with her and she seemed to know the names of all the plants and flowers. It’s hard for me to choose a favorite. I like them all. I saw the shadow and the twin leaves. How interesting! Thank you for taking me on a walk with you and Frankie and allowing us to reminisce with you. I’m sure Oscar forgave you immediately. That’s the nature of dogs. We sure do miss ours. 😢
Loved your essay. I grew up in Anderson County, and our farm had a several wooded areas where we’d find all sorts of interesting plants. It was great when I got into high school and took biology — I could bring in a lot of specimens!
Author
Hi, Edith. Great to hear from an Anderson County girl like me. Did you have to do a flower project for Mrs. Boggess? That made it hard on those wildflowers for a while.
I love reading about your walks, though I miss Oscar, and know you do, too. I’m reminded of my girlhood when we lived in the country with acres and acres of woods. My brothers and I hiked all over the place. Early spring was my favorite time to go. Not so many bugs and snakes around. Trout lilies are my favorite–I love yellow.
Author
Spring is a great time for walking, Betty. It’s before the weeds get tall and make walking harder and there are those bug problems. I have already had ticks hitch a ride back to the house with me. I put tick stuff on Frankie but they haven’t made any for people as far as I know.
I miss Oscar too. He was my buddy.
I enjoyed your walk with with Frankie, I pictured myself there with you both. I love all of the flowers , each with its own beauty. I also think of my dog Lucky as I walk my trails with the two dogs I have now. I see the place where I made the last picture of him in a March snow, not knowing that he would succumb to a sudden illness the next week. He was the love of my life. Thanks for inviting me along, I especially enjoyed Frankie splashing in the creek ; a young , energetic dog lifts our spirits and helps soothe the pain of the loss of our old timers.
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You are so right, Nancy. I miss Oscar, but Frankie is a fun dog too. Not the nicely behaved dog Oscar was, but each dog is different. I’m glad you have good memories of Lucky and thanks for walking along with Frankie and me.
My favorite? It’s gotta’ be the purple phlox–’cause it’s purple, of course!
Thanks for inviting us along on your walk along the creek. My creaky, grumpy knees especially appreciate not having to negotiate the rocky access. I’d have needed more than just Oscar-style sit-down rests.
Around here (the Florida Panhandle, also known as Lower Alabama), the azaleas have already taken their bow after their flamboyant show. Various wildflowers and colorful grasses now flaunt their colors and textures along the roadways, looking especially brilliant in the waning sunlight as it slants across the landscape. And the colors will keep coming as the temperatures climb steadily the next weeks and months.
For now, we enjoy the balmy spring breezes and take in the blue skies that contrast so wonderfully with the green of the pines. Our Creator paints with such breath-taking colors!
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You paint a lovely picture with your words, Jolene. I love azaleas and always think the best time to visit my daughter in SC is when the azaleas and the dogwoods bloom. But I don’t always get down there at the right time. The more flowers the better and sounds as if your live in a flower wonder world. Glad you enjoyed walking along with Frankie and me. We’ll watch out for those knees of yours and do all the heavy climbing for you.
I like the twinleaf. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those. My Jack-in-the pulpit are not up here yet. I do have some Spring beauties though. Always nice to see them. And I’ve seen a couple of violets trying not to shiver and coming into bloom.
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The twin leaf are one of those early flowers that bloom and then are gone right away, Birdie. I still see the twin leaves however and know where I would have seen the flowers if I hadn’t been too slow. This year I got to see a few of them. Violets are blooming all over here and the redbuds have finally managed to actually bloom. They’ve been trying to break open for weeks. That Jack in the pulpit I found must have been in a protected spot because I couldn’t even see any leaves of any others poking up through the ground.
I like trilliums and the trout lily.
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I do too, Paula. I’m a big trillium fan.