This is central Illinois. Corn and farms. And more corn. Some soybeans. A small town here and there. And a city of moderate size once in awhile. And more corn. I grew up in west central Illinois. I grew up in a river city on the Mississippi – and still was surrounded on the other three sides by corn.
Vintage Vanilla
In the Pink
This wildflower was blooming in abundance in the meadows on Washington Island. It is referred to as the “everlasting” pea because of its long flowering season – mid June through the end of September. The plant has a fruit which looks like the cultivated garden pea pod, though it is inedible. The showy flowers attract butterflies and sphinx moths for pollination.
Washington Island, only 22 square miles, is sparsely populated. The island is 6 miles off the northern tip of Door County and it is hailed as “North of the Tension Line.” In this meadow, one of many wide open spaces on the island, the pea was prevalent; elsewhere there were stands of Queen Anne’s Lace and orange Day Lilies.
Sunset Harbor
The weather was changeable in Door County – sunny skies followed by thunderheads and a brief storm just after sunset. Then at midnight, the skies cleared and the Milky Way poured a hazy band of white light that spanned the sky in a celestial arch. The moon was fully new and the stars put on a deafening show.
Can stars be deafening?
In the northern part of Wisconsin, with no light pollution to diminish the show, yes – the stars were truly deafening in their splendor.





