Lupines and Miss Rumphius

 As the sound of thunder rumbles above -- the predicted storms are arriving--- my thoughts turn toward a patch of lupines and a favorite child's book of my daughter, Emily. As you travel west on the commuter path and as you begin climbing the incline to the bridge crossing the beltline, look to you left for an open space full of magnificent lupines. When the lupines are in full bloom you will witness a rainbow of colors. As I passed the scene a few days ago, many were already developing seed pods. Last summer I harvested some of the seeds for the Prospect Gardens and now we have a few lupines.

Every time I see the lupines, I think of Emily and one of her favorite childhood books, Miss Rumphius.  The book is based on a person who actually spread lupine seeds along the coast of Maine with the result being many fields of lupines.  I so enjoyed reading this book to Emily and she eventually read it to herself. It's a beautiful story of  Miss Rumphius, working and traveling all over the world, while recalling that one of her parents told her to do something that would make the world more beautiful. I can't remember if it was her father or mother.  After Miss Rumphius retired and stopped traveling, she settled along the coast and recalled what she was told. So wherever she went she spread lupine seeds.

The book was a gift from Shari, a  friend from Massachusetts. We once lived in Massachusetts(3 years) and where Emily was born.  We often visited with Shari, Jack, and Emma, their daughter, and Jesse, their son,  including when we returned to Boston after moving to Wisconsin. Emma came to Madison and visited Emily when both were in high school. Those were happy days and before Jack valiantly succumbed to cancer.

So much has changed since reading that inspiring book.  Yet the lupines planted by Miss Rumphius surely return every year, as do the lupines here
along our commuter path.