Stay on the path

In years past one occasionally found such plants as argemone and corydalis in Wichita’s Sedgwick County Park. However, careful management has eliminated most of the pesky wildflowers, so that nothing distracts visitors from the splendid displays of Toxicodendron radicans throughout the park.

The same drive toward tidiness has also simplified the flora of the fields east of the park. Formerly, one would sometimes stumble across Mentzelia nuda, for instance, or Delphinium carolinianum, but gradually such conspicuous species disappeared. A few still remain, such as Oenothera rhombipetala and Dalea villosa, but if current trends continue, eventually the area will be just neat and tidy grass.

Stereo mud

We finally got some of the rain we’ve been needing. One consequence is that everything in the garden is mud-spattered, including the little daffodils above. Click to embiggen, cross your eyes to see in three dimensions.

A bit of yellow, and some grumbling

I see that the Lords of WordPress have decided that I don’t need to see previews of my posts any more, unless I use their “visual” editor, which I dislike. I also don’t see a way to schedule posts for future publication, despite the claims in the “Help” tab in the editor. I’ve been using WordPress for about ten years now, but if there are many further “improvements,” I may look for another platform.

Update: the editing page is back to normal.

Cross your eyes

It will probably be six to eight weeks before colorful botanical subjects are available outdoors again, so here’s another toy soldier in stereo. (Cross your eyes until you see three images, then focus on the middle image.)