Rough Blazing Star: A Field Study of Sorts

The summers of the early 20s have been filled with a new type of grief that has had me clinging to the earth to steady the rolling waves. Life is hard, but there are wildflowers — and there is a special patch of Rough Blazing Star — or as we commonly call it here, Gayfeather — at Sequoyah State Park. Last summer, we were in a terrible drought and none of the flowering stalks showed up. So when I saw them start towering green in the fields, I got excited. Consider this my 2023 photo field study of our beloved gayfeathers.

July 6, 2023

The Gayfeather stalks began to show up.

July 11, 2023

The first burst of purple seen on one stalk at sunset.

July 20, 2023

Before driving into Tulsa for mybirthday, we took a brief detour to check on our favorite field of flowers.

July 27, 2023

The field is almost at peak flowering and the butterflies love it. Tiger Swallowtails, Monarchs, Black Swallowtails, Bees..

July 29, 2023

It’s a lot of much, but when a photographer friend asks to take photos in your favorite field in 100* evening heat, you put on that dress and sweat it out.

August 7, 2023

The purple continues to show off, but is starting to go.

August 22, 2023

The bottoms of some gayfeathers are hanging onto their final blooms, but most have lost their color for the year.