Sweet Joe Pye

With the decline of small field farmers, this hay field is no longer mowed.  It has overgrown with . . . 

 

Eutrochium purpureum

 

. . . Sweet Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum).  

 

Up close with Joe:

 

Flower head

Each flower head has many florets.  The nectar rich flowers are enjoyed by bees, bumble bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.  The scent of sweet vanilla is wonderful.

 

 

 

Turn three

 

Roaring by

Close together and in a bunch, this pack of lawn tractors rounding turn three makes for an exciting afternoon of racing.

 

Hay field

Hay field, No. 1

Hay field, No. 2

Hay field, No. 3

As the clouds move by, sun and shadow create different moods in the hay field waiting to be cut.