Still golden after all these weeks*

Click for greater clarity.

Now I get to tell you that as of today, January 6, the solitary goldeneye plant growing wild on a low limestone embankment by the side of Morado Circle in my Great Hills neighborhood has kept on flowering. Every day for weeks I’ve looked to see whether the little daubs of yellow have still been there, and so far I haven’t been disappointed. You’ve seen this fall-blooming species before, on October 19 and more closely on October 20, but never as closely as now, in a photograph that comes from some roadside sitting I did on December 28.

I like to show different stages in the development of a plant, and even more than one stage simultaneously, as here. The stylized star-shaped remains of the seed head in the foreground are characteristic of many plants in the sunflower family, while the daisy-like flower heads of Viguiera dentata also identify it as a member of that large family. That the radiating floral yellow in the background is a softer echo of the dried-out central form is a pictorial bonus.

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* The title is reminiscent of Paul Simon’s song “Still Crazy After All These Years,” which some might be tempted to apply to the photographer rather than the songwriter.

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman