Sego lilies and sunflowers

Now that the Fourth of July is over, it is the Pioneer Day season. (I have wondered if I'm the only one who thinks of it that way, but Fox 13 News is doing a special history series between the Fourth and the Twenty-Fourth, so I'm not the only one!)

I have always found it a bit sad that sego lilies, our iconic state flower and symbol of pioneer heritage, are out of season by the time of Pioneer Day. But this week, for the first time ever, I was able to see sego lilies in bloom during the Pioneer Day season! (Well, there was that time I saw them in California, but that was in California, so I don't count it.) I closely monitored these flowers in North Canyon over the course of a week, and I was surprised at how quickly they died out. I think they last longer in June than they do in July.

I think they are all gone now.

But even though one Pioneer Day flower is gone, we are just beginning with another. I love how every summer, huge sunflower plants grow like weeds in sidewalk cracks and along the side of roads. They are spectacular! I think they peak in August, but they start in July. A century ago, sunflowers were more often considered a symbol of Pioneer Day. In the late nineteenth century, it was common for Pioneer Day celebrations to show Utah as it was "then" and as it was "now." In the "then" displays, they would often use sunflowers and sagebrush. Even though today sunflowers might not really be associated with Pioneer Day, I will gladly embrace the connection.

Sego lilies weren't the only interesting thing in North Canyon this week. On Wednesday, I was running up when suddenly I found myself three feet away from a curled-up rattlesnake on the side of the trail. Eek! It rattled, and I think it hissed, so I backed up, and it slithered off the trail. It gave me goosebumps and a good case of the heebie-jeebies. I think I have a healthy fear of snakes. I keep my distance, but I don't think of them when I think of my phobias. I didn't think it was necessary or reasonable to stay away from North Canyon the rest of the week, just because I saw one rattlesnake. But rattlesnakes have been haunting my dreams, and I get a little jumpy when I hear movement in the vegetation.

During the pandemic, I've been spending a lot more time on the trails, especially during the day, so I have seen a lot more snakes. I would estimate that 70 percent have not been rattlesnakes, 25 percent might have been rattlesnakes but I didn't get a good enough look, and 5 percent have definitely been rattlesnakes.

At one point on the trail, about a third of a mile from Rudy's Flat, there is a shortcut on the trail. But I hate shortcuts! They cause erosion, they don't really save time, they're harder, and they're less pretty. So every time I pass the shortcut, I pile rocks to discourage people from using it.There's a pile at the top of the shortcut and at the bottom of the shortcut.

As I was placing a rock on the top portion of the shortcut this week, there were three teenage boys coming up it. So I kindly said to them, "Please don't take the shortcut, because it causes erosion and it's unsightly. That [motioning to the main trail] is not harder, and it's prettier." The first boy said, "OK." They seemed like good kids, so I hope they don't use the shortcut anymore.

I'm trying to be more open about addressing problems and concerns, but doing so in a kind way and not being passive-aggressive. Now I have to figure out what to do about the neighbors who let their dogs wander.