Queen Anne's Lace is one of those flowers of my childhood. Mom delivered papers for the Lansing State Journal and when she was on the day shift, I rode along. We'd go everywhere from city to suburbia to rural farm country. Sometimes we'd stop for fresh rhubarb or a "big wheel" ice cream sandwich from Quality Dairy. There were lots of wonderful perks to this life, at least for the very young me--Mom might not have found it quite so rewarding. But I know she loved being able to spend time with her daughter(s) when a more traditional job might not have allowed it.
As a consequence of driving around so often, I got very familiar with the flora and fauna of the surrounding ditches, fields, and sides of the road. And there are few things that say "Michigan" to me more than Queen Anne's Lace, those little purple flowers that are on every roadside during the summer(ETA: Chicory! I knew that once, but I had to track it down again), and red-winged blackbirds. I don't know why those stick out in my mind so much, but they really, really do--especially in combination.
It's also lovely to photograph.
Did you notice this bloom's passenger? How about now?
This post is dedicated to my wonderful mum.
Thumbs up on happy early queen anne's lace memories! :)
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