A FLOWER-BORDERED ROAD 



-/ lover of nature never takes a walk without perceiving something 

 unil interesting." John Burroughs. 



A flower-bordered trail over the gently rolling prairie, a clump 

 or two of poplars or willows, overhead the deep blue sky and the 

 splendid everchanging cloud formations such a scene as this 

 is repeated in endless variation throughout the Prairie Provinces 

 during the Summer months. 



A list of the roadside flowers would be too long for this page. 

 They form a lovely natural calendar, giving to the observant 

 passer-by accurate information concerning the character and 

 progress of the season. No two years are just alike. Conditions 

 of weather may hasten or retard flowering time. A wet year 

 favors the moisture-loving plants and they make a remarkable 

 display. A dry season discourages these and brings a different 

 set into unusual prominence. One may use a road for a lifetime 

 Mini still each year will show some new floral feature. 



Just over the ridge on this road is a little pond which three 

 years ago in June was filled with slender submerged stems 

 and thread-like leaves of the White Water-Crowfoot, the surface 

 being starred with thousands of the delicate, golden-centred 

 Mossoms. The following year the water disappeared. The 

 Water-Crowfoot bravely met the new condition. It modified 

 its leaves so that they could live out of water, threw out roots 

 from creeping stems, and covered the mud with lacy foliage 

 and the same pretty flowers. Last year the mud dried up. ;md 

 only by careful search could a few weak plants be found among 

 the coarse grasses and sedjres that had taken possession. If this 

 (Mniiiir season the pond fills again will the Water-Crowfoot flour- 

 ish as before? 



This is but an example of the many stories of plant life that 

 may be read as interesting serials while one travels familiar 

 roads. 



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