A Wildflower Community, My Lifelist, and a National Obsession

Back in March, when I was suffering through the stubborn persistence of an Ohio winter, not to mention the stubborn persistence of my mother-in-law's red-necked and opinionated winter, a dim, flickering light bulb of low wattage switched on over my head. It was the proverbial "idea!"

My idea was a community of kindred spirits, fellow wildflower lovers, and similarly enthused folks. And so I started up the Wildflowers of North America listserv (the link is at the bottom of the article)...

It didn't become the Grand Central Station of botany buffs I hoped for, but there are folks from all over the country on the list, sharing their regional tales of wildflower outings, asking questions, and engaging in the occasional nature-loving, wildflower-specific conviviality. And, given the grand year of wildflowers I've had, it's in keeping with the karma of 2005.

And then the "bzzzzzzzzt" of a second low-wattage and flickering light bulb switched on. As my wife and I prepared to drive back across country, through spring wildflowers in Texas and Arizona and California, it occurred to me that I've seen a heck of a lot of wildflowers. That, coupled with my desire to turn wildflowers into the sort of passion warblers bring out in bird-watchers, I decided to start a wildflower lifelist.

It's possible some folks think it was just a bit of grandstanding on my part. After all, I have been all over the country these past six years; I have been able to enjoy wildflowers in a variety of habitats and locations. But I wasn't grandstanding; I'm not grandstanding. I'm just youthfully enthusiastic. And I'm hoping my list inspires others to keep a lifelist and make an effort to seek out wildflowers.

As I sat down to start my list, my wife asked me, "How many flowers do ya think yer gonna have?"

"1,000," I replied succinctly, not entirely convinced that was possible.

"1,000? Yer crazy."

"Yeah. Maybe. But I'll get 750 anyway."

My lifelist hit 1,000, and kept going. Wow. And there are flowers I've seen I've not been able to identify to this day. I wonder if I can get to 2,000?

All of this ... the listserv and the lifelist ... are indeed a part of the wildflower karma of the past year, but more than that, it's me sharing my passion. And I do have the goal of turning a love of wildflowers into a bird-watching-like obsession. Not my obsession ... that's already established ... but a national obsession, or at least a hobby. I envision folks planning trips around wildflower bloom periods, or hoping to add specific flowers to their own lifelist, or sharing tales of some rarity.

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