Figure 1 – Magenta hibiscus or swamp  rose-mallow. Great Meadow National Wildlife Refuge, Concord, MA, August 2, 2021. (c)n DE Wolf 2021

I have been thinking of something very simple, yet elegant, for today. Among the many flowers heralding in these August days have been the magenta hibiscus, the swamp rose-mallow.  Figure 1 shows a cluster that I photographed on Monday at the Great Meadow National Wildlife Refuge in Concord, MA.  All of these blooms seem to define midsummer. By July we seem to be taking summer for granted, particularly the long sunlight. As halcyon August emerges thoughts of the coming fall and winter start to creep in. Flowers such as these hibisci seem to define August with all of its marvelous ambiguity.