Inspiration
Earlier this year, I explored the local flower called snow buckwheat. I’d discovered that Native American children once played a game with its stems, which could be hooked together. When they pulled the stems, the last one whose “hook” did not break was the winner. As we walked the dog today at Crescent Bay I discovered the dried version of yarrow that we’d seen this summer, as you can see in the photos above. So I wondered if this stiff autumn stem of yarrow could become a game?
In the review of yarrow on WikiPedia, I discovered those stiff stems were played as pick up sticks! I also found some interesting bugs that feed on yarrow, although not ones in our area. I illustrated a picture with the interesting bugs: a beetle, a cuckoo wasp, and a moth.
Poetry: I Wonder Poem
Yarrow Dancing
I was just
#writeout
thinking,
if I were a kid,
I could make this
into a game;
It’s yarrow—
stiff
in the autumn,
waiting
for spring
Sheri Edwards
Photography/Poetry
10.19.24
JOIN IN!
This post is part of the October WRITEOUT adventure, October 13 through the 27th, partnership of the National Writing Project and the National Park Service — a chance to enjoy the outdoors with poetry, prose, and parks for Write Out 2024. Organized as a public invitation to get out and create, supported by a series of free online activities, Write Out invites educators, students, and families to explore national parks and other public spaces. The goal is to connect and learn through place-based writing and sharing. Check out this infographic for the flow of the this week and the Choice Board to get you started for WriteOut’s Poetry for the Planet.
Learn more and sign up: https://writeout.nwp.org
This is my seventh year with WriteOut with all my WriteOut posts here.