Sulphur Butterfly and Chicory

“The grass grows long in the meadow,

It’s russet under the sun,

And Chicory, like a blue-eyed girl,

Rises as if to run.”

Louise Driscoll, July Meadow.

Mother Nature can certainly paint a lovely picture and here on her palette are the spring-like colors of chicory, grass and a dainty yellow butterfly. Every summer I am delighted when I see the chicory flowers starting to bloom along the roadways in our area. It is such a hardy wildflower or weed (depending on your point of view) that it sometimes even grows out of cement sidewalk cracks. Although the plant is weedy and not attractive, the flower color is fabulous, as you can see in this photo that was taken in a field, not far from the fish hatchery, at the Connetquot River State Park.