Trustom Pond milkweed

If my so-called career as a naturalist has a starting point, it would have to be the summer of 1976, which I spent leading walks at the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge. Four decades later, Trustom remains a treasured place, both in my memory and in fact. I try to visit at least once a year, but I hadn't yet stopped by in 2013. Today, I had to visit my dentist to get a replacement crown put in place—there go my chances for a macro lens—and since Trustom is on the way home, I opted to ignore those "angels" urging me to get back to work. The highlight of the refuge in autumn, besides the plethora of migratory birds Trustom attacts, is the large, rolling meadow that now sports native grasses. The Big Bluestem, the Panicums, and all the other members of what had once been coastal prairie, are in prime fall colors, and it's a joy to walk paths that are overshadowed with swaying grasses, some of which are almost eight feet tall. Lower down, there are other species, including milkweed. Its ubiquitous pods have opened in profusion, adding a snow of seeds to those raining down from on grass-plant high.