The photographs were taken August 24 and August 27.
Listening List
Somei Satoh‘s Birds in Warped Time II, performed by pianist Sarah Cahill and violinist Kate Stenberg.
Sarah Kirkland Snider‘s You Are Free (2015), performed by GVSU New Music Ensemble. The piece was a GVSU New Music Ensemble commission, as part of its Music in their Words project. The opening voice is that of Arvo Pärt, in an interview with Björk. He observes, among other things, “You can kill people with sound. And if you can kill, then maybe there is also the sound that is opposite of killing. And the distance between these two points is very big. And you are free–you can choose. In art everything is possible, but everything is not necessary.”
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Credits: The photographs, as always on the blog unless otherwise indicated, are mine.
Prufrock's Dilemma 
The ongoing luxuriance of it all! Are the triffidesque looking seedpods those of the lotus?
Yes, lotus seedpods. You are right on top of the ID, as always. I do love the way they look, and they’re so photogenic, too!
I just looked at your photo of the swallows and realized our swallows are gone. I don’t know when it happened, but the season’s clearly turning. Yesterday, I heard a single cry from an osprey — perhaps the first of the fall and winter.
I was so surprised to read Arvo Pärt’s comment. I’ve always believed that, and sometimes said so, although I tend to offer a more homespun version: “Just because you can [fill in the blank] doesn’t mean you should.” It applies in contexts as widely diverse as medical ethics and raising a child. I think that quotation’s going on my About page, in the list of favorites.
Not one time have I made it to our local lotus-land this summer. The boggy refuge where they’re found isn’t so far, but getting there requires dealing with Galveston, tourist hordes, and ferry waits that can be as much as two hours. Still, I need to find a day now to do it, before everything has shut down for the season, vegetation-wise.
I just recently learned the identity of that feathery, purple flower in your photographs: ironweed. I suspect your photo is of New York ironweed. What I’ve found is slightly different, but there are several species, and I’ve not yet decided among them. I’ve learned to be cautious about impulsive identification!
Your plant ID skills are so far beyond mine. Thanks to you, I not only now know buttonbush, but also ironweed–looking at the link you provided, it does seem to be that, though, like you, I know it’s best to be cautious about these things. The Part quote is a great one, isn’t it?