Miami Whitewater

If you live in Cincinnati and have never taken the Miami Whitewater bike trail then you are missing out.  And the same might be said if you take the bike trail and never get off your bike, which is what I normally do.  But last time I went I let myself stop more often and I was literally "pulled over" several times by some amazing plants like the nodding thistle above. 

I know many of the plants in this blog entry are considered invasive weeds but that doesn't mean that I won't marvel at their form and structure.  The prickly, large head of the thistle in the photo above is really quite remarkable in its compact boldness.  And the many-armed star-burst structure of the wild parsnip below is also striking, but in a totally different diffuse and airy way.

About two-thirds of the way around the bike path there is a picnic table where we usually stop to take a break.  There is a horse trail that runs behind it and as I walked along the path the color, symmetry, and elegance of this spiderwort (an Ohio native) caught my eye. 

“The women loved everything that grew on God's earth, even weeds.
She knew that even the weeds were capable of doing miracles she never could.” - Emily Flim

Some of the wild parnsips (above) grow quite tall.  This one was about my height.  I love the repetition of form and scale in this plant.

The plantago below is certainly considered a weed by most everyone.  But there was something so lovely about its ephemeral, white tutu and riotous bloomers that I had to take its photo. 

I am always in awe of what I see when I slow down.  And I think this applies whether one is on a bike ride, a walk or just going about one's day.