hiding in plain sight

i love love love that i am still discovering new-to-me STILL subjects right in my own backyard. these exuberant little wetland plants were found along our dock. i have never noticed them before. it turns out that they are a native form of loosestrife–not to be confused with the much maligned invasive purple loosestrife. a little digging, and i have leaned that we have at least ten kinds of native loosestrife in this state of abundant wetlands. this makes me realize that when i walk on my lakeside trails, i always stick to dry ground. the mucky, boggy, swampy edges of wetlands are almost entirely undiscovered territory for STILL. time to pull on some wellies and get busy!

tufted loosestrife (Lysimachia thyrsiflora)