Last Cardinal bloom Millpond

If what I do with my natural history documentation can be considered a job—I see it more as a calling—then one of my routine tasks is to serve as chief phenologist of the neighborhood I walk every day. In less high-falutin' language, I make note of firsts and lasts. So it was that I logged the premier of this year's Cardinal Flower show on about the 24th of July, and since that date, the wetlands around the millpond have been resplendent with intense Lobelia cardinalis red. But the blossoms are fast fading, and this one may be the last of the flowers. I think their pollinators, both the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and the hummingbird moths, are either gone or about to leave. The departure timing is right. I suspect we've captured alpha and omega in the wetlands. Now, all that's left is to gather some seeds to try to bring this color to my garden.