Indian Paintbrush

For the past 15 years or so, my wife, Ann, and I have been collecting plants twice weekly to display at the live plant exhibit at Headwaters Science Center. It is interesting to note how every year unfolds differently as to the sequence and species composition of the wild flowers. This year for example, Indian paintbrush is unusually abundant in the fields and roadsides, probably due to the abundance of rain and just the right temperatures. It surely does look like a paintbrush with red paint was applied in random strokes across the landscape. It’s too bad so many people have decided to mow down everything from the edge of the road to the woods edge, replacing plants like Indian paintbrush, black-eyed Susans and gay feather with the monotony of short, green grass. Why do they do that? Riding mowers just make it too easy! - John and Ann Mathisen