Hello Everyone. It has been a long time since I checked in with you. How are you? I hope that you have found something wonderful this summer, something that brings your heart joy. I have found something that brings my heart joy. Wildflowers.

Way back in May, I was reading a fun little book that played with the idea of time and time distortion. I had no idea how incredibly profound this topic would soon be in my life. It seems, time has gone the way of “Groundhogs Day”. This classic Bill Murray film conceptualizes time on an infinitely looped day. Time goes out the window, as Bill wakes every day to, “I’ve Got You Babe,” exactly where he started the day before. Doesn’t it feel like we have entered “Groundhogs Day”? Each day has infinite possibilities, but the culmination of the past days has not brought about change. We are all just waiting.

Which brings me back to wildflowers, back when time stopped (in my world that happened in March) these harbingers of change started to meticulously work their way through frozen ground to the blessings of sunshine above. Their work continued as our schedules and daily routines continued to be disrupted. The seasons have no need of calendars and plans, they just happen. And so, the wildflowers continued to grow. Their dedication to an inherent life-pattern is the concrete passage of time to which my mind clings. Sitting here in my office, I realize it is the end of July and the only recollection of how we got here is the brave crocus of April and May, the prairie smoke and sticky geranium of June, and my most favorite, the lady slipper of July. Along the way, alpine forget-me-not, arnica, Canada violet, and mountain bluebell have grounded my calendar. Wildflowers have always captured my attention and it is only this year, with a gift from my mother, these tenacious growers have shared their names with me. I was gifted “Wildflowers of Montana” by Donald Anthony Schiemann early in the season. Schiemann offers both a color-coded and familial guide to some of Montana’s many wildflowers. The descriptions are informative and reassuring to even the amateur seeker. This mighty little book has guided my wanderings this summer. Luckily, the Lewistown Public Library has a copy and many other works that describe wildflowers and guide the wildflower enthusiast. As July slips silently away and August nudges yet closer and our calendars remain unpredictable, I look to the paintbrushes and blanket flowers to offer my impatient heart solace. Time is passing.