I wanted wildflowers on our land, but I didn’t know anything about wildflowers except that I love a field full of wildflowers, and I thought at least a portion of our newly acquired 3-acre parcel should be given to them.
We went to a greenhouse that specialized in native Wisconsin flowers and bought, among other perennials, six cup plants. I loved the story of the cup plant, so named because their upturned leaves capture rain water to nourish insects and other critters that might happen along.
Fifteen or so years later, those half-dozen plants have grown into a veritable forest, and every summer around the first of August, their distinctive yellow flowers start popping out. I spotted this first bloom on July 23, and I’m seeing more of them every day. They’re not as big and bold as sunflowers, but the joyful effect is similar.
My life has seen a bevy of milestones around the first of August. I met Red, my fourth wife and the one who lasted, around the first of August 1997. My first day as editor of the Door County Advocate, my favorite job, was Aug. 1, 2002. We moved into the house we built on our three acres around this time in 2012.
And on Aug. 1, 2020, I started blogging every day after 15 years of blogging whenever I felt like it. More on that tomorrow.
Besides the cup plants, Leinenkugel releases its annual Oktoberfest beer this time of year, so I have two distinct reminders every year that August is upon us.
I used to think they were bittersweet reminders heralding the coming end of summer, but that’s a misnomer. We think of Labor Day as the end of summer, but the season actually continues for three weeks after that. We are barely five weeks into Summer 2025 — Aug. 1 is midsummer, not near the end.
It’s called Oktoberfest beer but October is still two months away. And so I raise my glass of wonderful Märzen beer and savor the taste of midsummer, and in the morning Summer (the golden retriever) and I will take a walk past the cup plants.
