Not Just Another Color in the Crayola Box.

-posted by Jayne

My first recollection of the word "goldenrod" was describing a crayon.  It was always just another muted yellow in the crayon box.  Kind of a dull mustard color.  It wasn't until much later that I realized, the crayon color is describing a flower.  

So I dug out our crayon box and took a look.  Yep.. it's still there.  Still the same color.  But I'm not sure the color accurately depicts the actual flower.  The color changes as the season progresses.  It starts off as a dark greenish-yellow, then ripens to a vibrant bright yellow (seen below in the bright mid-day sun).

As the flower matures, it becomes the deep yellow color you see below, more like the actual color of the crayon.  Depending on the time of day, and how the sun is hitting it, the color of the flower can change drastically.  

This week we took the kids out for an evening hike, for the sole purpose of checking out the goldenrod.  I wanted to see what kind of pictures I could get as the sun was setting.

 I didn't do anything to these photos... no adjusting for color or anything.  This is what goldenrod really looks like when the sun is setting over the horizon, lighting up the flowers in such a beautiful way!

 The tiny white flowers you see interspersed with the goldenrod below are asters.  These are the next big nectar source for the bees.  They are just beginning to open.  Perfect timing.  Fall honey, primarily from goldenrod and asters, is deeply robust, with tones of butterscotch and mint.  I have been eating more Fall honey than anything else this year.  It has really grown on me!

As we approached the bee yard surrounded by this field of goldenrod... the smell was there.  While the bees are ripening the goldenrod nectar, it has a distinctly strong smell.  Some people think it smells like dirty laundry.  But I commented to Isaac... I don't really smell that anymore.  To me, it just smells like Fall honey.  And it smells pretty good.    Have a good weekend!