“Happily we bask in this warm September sun, which illumines all creatures… .” –Henry David Thoreau
***
That certain slant of light.
The fierce blank blue brightness of a cloudless sky.
The scrabble of motion on (so it seems) every leaf and grass blade.
September moves in and sets up housekeeping on the prairie. It’s a month that seems obsessed with metallics. Gold sawtooth sunflowers.
Rusts of aged prairie dock leaves.
Drifts of every possible variation of silver, gold, copper and pewter.
September brings with it sharp contrasts: bright seeds of Jack in the pulpit in primary colors…
Softest airbrushed pastels of prairie dropseed.
Summer-only tallgrass residents are shopworn, like tourists who have overstayed their welcome. The non-migrating dragonflies look a bit bedraggled; their season about to end.
Monarchs and hummingbirds are already on their way south; other birds like this green heron won’t be far behind.
October is only a few weeks away. But for now, it’s enough to pause and enjoy the season. Soak up its diversity of sound, motion, and colors.
Reflect on where we find ourselves.
Read the pages of the September prairie without missing a word.
Then, prepare for the next chapter.
***
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), whose words begin this essay, is best known for his book Walden.
***
All photos copyright Cindy Crosby (top to bottom): unknown insect on bur marigold (Bidens cernua), Nachusa Grasslands, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL; cloudless sky, Nachusa Grasslands, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL; praying mantis (Mantis religiosa) in the tallgrass, Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; sawtooth sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum) leaf, Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; Nachusa Grasslands in September, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL; Jack in the pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) seeds, Nachusa Grasslands, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL; prairie dropseed (Sporabolus heterolepis), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; white-faced meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum obtrusum), Nachusa Grasslands, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL; green heron (Butorides virescens), Nachusa Grasslands, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL; reflection of black walnut (Juglans nigra) leaves turning gold in Willoway Brook, Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; reading in the tallgrass, Nachusa Grasslands, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL.
Thanks to Susan Kleiman for her help with plant ID.
Tuesdays in the Tallgrass 