We Began in the Heart of a Wildflower
A bee and a fading Arrowleaf Balsamroot in a cosmic dance across time. By Kris Cochran
The wildflowers invited me into the forest.
There was no trail, so I entered through the light.
Wildflowers bloom in pools of light between lodgepole pines. Island Park, Idaho. By Kris Cochran
What shall we do with paradise?
Wildflowers wrote the story of humanity’s evolution.
Before nature dressed her bare grasses in blossoms, the few small, warm-blooded mammals on earth were under-fueled for growth.
As the Age of Reptiles faded, the universe shifted fractals like a gentle twist of a kaleidoscope, and wildflowers appeared.
Warm-blooded mammals grew larger and smarter, fed by the wildflowers’ protein and fat-dense fuel. Finally, wildflowers cooled the earth, and the ruling reptiles yielded their dominion.
Moving faster and escaping quicker, one of the mammal species eventually stood upright and began to think.
What shall we do with paradise?
Spreading the love
Woodland Strawberries unfurl across the forest floor. By Kris Cochran
When I kneel beside wildflowers to capture their beauty with my camera, they whisper of their intentions for us, launched in an explosion of color and variety about a hundred million years ago.
Just what makes that little old ant think he can move a strawberry plant? By Kris Cochran
While the bee is the king of pollinators, several thousand species provide nature’s backup, including the ant.
Wildflowers provide critical habitat for the insects spreading the love from plant to plant. A third of the world’s food source relies on pollinators. Since the bees and butterflies and all their cousins are four times more attracted to wildflowers than our cultivated crops, the native plants provide a nursery of sorts for the tiny beings we rely on for food.
Both wildflowers and pollinators need protection from the pavers of paradise.
Diversity by design
A Thin Leaf Sunflower brightens a dark corner of the forest. By Kris Cochran
Nearly half a million species of wildflowers grow on earth. Each thrives in unique combinations of soil, moisture, temperature, and light from region to region across the continents.
If a species fails due to drought, disease, or fire, life continues through the survivors.
Nature designs diversity into every system on earth—plants, animals, ecosystems, and geological features.
And, of course, man.
Nature has spent billions of years on her plan. It is beyond me why we challenge her wisdom.
The question remains: What shall we do with paradise?
A Wild Geranium is a reminder of the origin of cultivated flowers. By Kris Cochran
A wildflower wilts almost instantly when picked. I sense nature intended this warning. While her blossoms have the power to feed the world, they’re fragile. We cannot plow and pave them, then ask her to repeat a hundred million years of effort.
Unless we want to return to being mousy little critters.
An Arrowleaf Balsamroot offers both food and medicine from the root up. By Kris Cochran
“To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wildflower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.” William Blake
Tread lightly.
Thanks for walking with me,
Kris
Learn more:
“How Flowers Changed the World” by Loren Eiseley, Nature Science Writer, 1907-1977.
