Tuesday, June 22, 2010

BEAUTY IN THE DITCH

Small town living sometimes is more rural as are the amenities offered by the small government. The basic amenities a city or town offers its citizens is fire and police protection which may be shared with other nearby rural communities.
Each living unit may have its own well for water and septic system. As for storm water sewers....it is called a drainage ditch.

Queen Ann's Lace
In my small Arkansas city, Police and fire protection are city units of the city government and have mutual aid agreements with nearly units. Water from Bull Shoals Lake is treated and delivered by a rural water association; the city operates a waste water (sewer) sytem. Yes, our storm water sewers are open drainage ditches.

Filled with various weeds and debris, many consider the ditches ugly. I prefer to observe that which is beautiful, the native wildflowers which populate the ditch in front of my home.

"I don't know--but cute!"

Today I salute the wildflowers in my ditch, some of which I know names. Other flowers I hope others may identify for me.
Ox-Eyed Daisy
Ox-Eyed Daisy



Ditch Black-Eyed Susan









8 comments:

Arkansas Patti said...

You know I love ditch "weeds". Just lovely. I have a small section in my swale that I just let go nuts with what ever wild flower God has in mind. II think it is prettier than my culitvated patches.
Great shots.

Rosaria Williams said...

As long as citizens don't dump pollutants, ditch water and weeds form a great symbiosis. Love it.

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

I think wild flowers are just as pretty as cultivated flowers and they tend to survive more easily. Nice pictures!

faye said...

If not for the hardy wildflowers,
I would be flowerless...
didn't inherit the green thumb.

Amber Star said...

We don't have ditches where we live, but out in the country we do and I love the wild flowers so much. A weed is only a flower that isn't popular at that moment in time.

Sniffles and Smiles said...

We grow both varieties of Daisies in our garden...I LOVE the Queen Anne's Lace...wish I had some of that! Your photos are absolutely exquisite, you know!! Love, Janine XO

Dimple said...

Your flowers are pretty. I think the cute one is self-heal, maybe. I also liked your insect and coneflower shots, the colors are intense and lovely!
Thanks for the visit!

Liz Hinds said...

They are very pretty.