Compass Plant

Sunday 30 June
Roger was going sailing with his friend Phil and a couple of other people at Caesar Creek Lake this afternoon, so we took two cars to church, and R left after the service, while I stayed for Bible study and returned home later. It was a beautiful day, cooler and less humid than it has been. I just had a lazy afternoon, sitting out on the patio, reading and watching the birds, then going for a walk round Pioneer park, where their little meadow flower area is dominated by these really tall plants with bright yellow flowers. My nature app told me they are compass plants, a tall sunflower-like perennial, growing 3-10 feet high, bearing yellow flower heads with large hairy-edged stems and bracts. Its name refers to the large deeply-incised leaves which ten to orient themselves in a north-south direction. It is said that early settlers on the Great Plains could make their way in cloud or dark by feeling the orientation of the leaves.
Roger got back from his sailing about 5.30, so we decided to head down to catch the last hour or so of the Greek Festival I mentioned yesterday. Obviously it wasn’t the same as usual, being at the end of the festival, the live music and dance performances had stopped - they were still playing recorded music, and some people were dancing. Some of the food items had been crossed off the menus, but we still got our Gyros and Spanokopita and some pastries to bring home -:though that choice was significantly depleted, but then again, the line was much shorter than usual! The parking and admission were a reduced price, so all in all not a bad deal!