Microflora + Mice
Do the monkey flower and shake your goose foot!
The microflora bloom after all the snow melts, after its rained off and on for a month and a half, after we have had a few days of warmth in the mid-70’s, and just as the sand lilies begin to merge once again with the sand.
I say microflora because I mean very small flowers on very small plants. The kind of plants that one would likely just step past (or on) if they didn’t realize there were teeny tiny blooms on very small plants. Plants like narrow-leafed collomia (Collomia linearis), lowly penstemon (Penstemon humilus), dwarf monkeyflower (Diplacus nanus), and goosefoot violet (Viola purpurea). Amazingly all of these little blooms grow along paths on our property in the Central Oregon steppe here at 3,240 feet in elevation.
When the microflora bloom, it must be the best time to be a mouse.
I imagine the mice emerging from their subterranean homes after being snowed in for months and deciding to host a party with dancing and flowers and fresh green salads topped with grubs.
Some mice gather the flowers of narrow-leafed collomia, lowly penstemon, dwarf monkeyflower, and goosefoot violet—the perfect sized blooms for a wee mouse—before the sun comes up and take them to the underground dwellings to warm up so the blooms open fully. Using wiry twigs as a base, they weave wreaths of penstemon, monkey flower, and goosefoot violet to adorn their little heads for when they eat and dance together at the party. Narrow-leafed collomia are used for arranging big bouquets to flank all the entrances and exits of the communal hall.
Others gather fresh greens of tumble mustard starts and wild rye shoots. They find grubs buried in the sand, disrupting a flying insect’s lifecycle for a dose of protein. The greens and grubs are arranged on long platters that run the length of very long tables. There are no plates and no silverware (mice are horrible at doing dishes), so they eat off the platters together, feeding themselves and each other.
After they have supped, all the mice dance moves named after the flowers they had gathered —do the monkey flower! shake your goosefoot! They begin the dance at dusk and dance all through the night (they are nocturnal after all). They allow themselves to sleep in the next morning just a little, because mice are industrious creatures, not partial to frivolity. The flowers demanded a celebration and so the mice acquiesced for just one night.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe that such small things like microflora exist and so, I like to think that these tiny blooms are intended for the enjoyment of tiny creatures we share this land with. The beauty in this place is a constricted kind that only reveals itself with patience, a curious eye, and a willingness to kneel as low as the lowly penstemon grows.
***If I have misidentified these blooms, please tell me so! I am a very amateur botanist, so am unsure if I identified the flowers in the photos correctly.***