Weekly update: wildflowers closer to home and reading

 The Lake County Forest Preserves have published the 2021 Hike Lake County Challenge list. Every year they designate 13 of the preserves for HLC and put up trail markers.  Go to at least seven of the designated sites and walk the trails between August and November, then send in the completed log to get a souvenir medallion.  We're off to a good start -- we've checked off three!  

New England aster or Michaelmas daisy -- first aster I've seen. Fall is coming.  (Michaelmas is September 29.)

 

Bridge over Sequoit Creek at Sun Lake

Touch-me-knot or jewelweed. 

Fencepost at Waukegan Savanna

Brown knapweed.  (Flowers are purple, seed head is brown.)

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I finished only one book this week.  (If you've read this flurry of posts you will understand why -- but I add that I had a business lunch with a friend on Monday and the woman's club board meeting on Tuesday and an online P.E.O. interest group meeting on Saturday.)

Michael Pollan's latest foray into human-and-botanical interaction is another delight. This time he writes about three mind-bending and potentially addictive substances: opium, caffeine, and mescaline. Interestingly, the opium article was written and published in a somewhat difference version in the 1990's -- had he included the additional material that he does here (2020) he'd have been arrested just for writing about opium production. He points out that attitudes toward drug use have changed in 25 years. We cheerfully acknowledge that caffeine is addictive because our society pretty much operates on caffeine. Pollan goes off the stuff for three months and survives. Mescaline is legal for Native American religious use but not for anyone else. Pollan is able to participate in a ceremony and writes that it was cleansing and illuminating. The combination of science, cultural context, and personal experience make this interesting and informative.