Today, before heading off to a Labor Day picnic at our nextdoor neighbors' house, I took The Dotter for her naptime drive. I like to drive along the Three Lakes Road for about a half an hour, then turn around and drive back--this is long enough so that by the time we return home, The Dotter is back in the land of the living again. (Digression: The Dotter is the only person I know of who wakes up from naps even snarkier and nastier than I do. The only thing to do is to grit your teeth and hold on for about half an hour, then she's all bright & sunshiny & cheery. Just don't pee in her Cheerios in that half an hour.) The roads are lined with sunflowers right now. The scarlet gillia--which have had a banner year--are fading, and the little yellow flowers--goldfields, showy goldeneyes, goldenrod, etc.--are starting their September explosion to take their place. The March of the Flowers is very orderly hereabouts. In the spring, the first thing you'll see are wild pink phlox. They hide out in clumps in the woods, dainty, delicate, pink little flowers, shy and hideaway. Next comes the lupine. We have at least three varieties of lupines here, and they last all summer long. There are the tall blue/purple ones (with an occasional sport sporting pink or white blossoms), and there is the tiny, matted, fuzzy-leafed lupine whose blossoms fade into the background in the shadows. Categories: [This 'n That]