Katie Daisy - How to Be a Wildflower: A Field Guide

Copyright 2016 by Katie Daisy.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. : Quotation from preface to DESERT SOLITAIRE is reprinted by permission of Don Congdon Associates, Inc. 1988 by Edward Abbey. : Excerpt from THE IMMENSE JOURNEY: AN IMAGINATIVE NATURALIST EXPLORES THE MYSTERIES OF MAN AND NATURE by Loren Eiseley, copyright 1946, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957 by Loren Eiseley. Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Random House LLC.

All rights reserved. : Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. : 2015 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. : From the Penguin publication, THE GIFT, POEMS BY HAFIZ, copyright 1999 Daniel Ladinsky and used with his permission. : April Rain Song from THE COLLECTED POEMS OF LANGSTON HUGHES by Langston Hughes, edited by Arnold Rampersad with David Roessel, Associate Editor, copyright 1994 by the Estate of Langston Hughes.

Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. : Marie in the Meadow from SING THROUGH THE DAY, 1968 Plough Publishing House. : Excerpt from A SHADOW PASSES used by permission of The Royal Literary Fund, 1918 Eden Phillpotts. : Excerpt from JOHN OF THE MOUNTAINS, edited by Linnie Marsh Wolfe.

Copyright 1938 by Wanda Muir Hanna; copyright renewed 1966 by John Muir Hanna and Ralph Eugene Wolfe. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4521-5265-3 (epub2)
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5266-0 (epub3)
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5267-7 (mobi)
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www.chroniclebooks.com I meander down the path between cornfield and fence, my daily ritual. The sun lights up the wild daisies growing along fence posts while red-winged blackbirds sing hymns to the meadow. This is Lindenwood, Illinois, and I am a wildflower.

Im a single stem of wheat, swaying in the sun. A hummingbird drinking from a columbine plant. A fluttering tadpole, stretching her new legs in the pond. Lindenwood is a town of 505 people nestled on the banks of the Kilbuck Creek. It was my home ten years ago, and remains home to me always. When youre a child in a Lindenwood summer, time does not exist.

The days are long, full of wonder, and the setting sun is not a marker of a days work done but an invitation to explore the night. The yard becomes dappled with fireflies, the sky spread with the brightest of constellations, and the distant coyote howl becomes a lullaby to it all. Ive grown up in nature. My relationship with it has shaped who Ive become, and continues still. Since age ten Ive been grasping onto that smell of the sun-drenched cornfield and the touch of a warm, gentle breeze on my cheek. I weave the muddy creek and Queen Annes lace through my hair, becoming one with the landscape I hold so dear.

In the same way, I attempt to take that wonderment of a rural afternoon in Lindenwood and lace it into every choice of my adult life. I take the prairie with me everywhere I go, into every new adventure. Lindenwood is an actual place on the map, but it will always be something more to me. While I now live some two thousand miles away, in a very different part of the country, I have found a way to venture back to this idyllic land whenever I need to. I remember the eyes I had as a child and how easily they perceived the magic of the world. I remember that I still have those eyes and can still see the magic.

And I find again a world of wonders, as full of magic now as it has ever been. This is a book that can help you find this truth, this magic in the world, in you. It can help you see it when it is hidden, to take hold of it while it is flying by, and to know what to do with it when youve got it. When it is forgotten, this book can remind you that it is still there. This book is a field guide. It is best used in the fieldunder a giant willow tree, in a dew-kissed garden, or on a train ride down the California coast.

In its pages youll find inspirations of many kindsthings to do, things to make, places to go, places to stay, quotes, meditations, and guides to flora and fauna, clouds, and other things. It will serve you well through many years and many adventures. It is a book meant to be lovingly, yet fearlessly, used. Throw it in your bag with all the other adventure things, or tie it up with string and sling it over your shoulder. Write in it, and draw things. In each new day, wherever you may be, there is always waiting for you some beautiful discovery. In each new day, wherever you may be, there is always waiting for you some beautiful discovery.

The more you go in search, the more you find that every day will have at least one moment where the beauty is simply and abundantly clear. In that moment your eyes will openand the beauty becomes a part of you, as you have opened your heart to it. Then youll find that each day is stitched of such moments. Youll begin to gather these beautiful things and stitch them together yourself, finding life itself a patchwork quilt of beauty. It is waiting to be found, to be made. It waits for you.

So love, look with eyes for seeing beauty, and get out into it. Dear explorers, please be aware: It can be a wild and dangerous world out there. This is, of course, a part of why we love it so. May common sense and intuition be your constant companionsespecially when adventuring alone. Leave a note, let someone know, take your phone just in case. Use a careful step on wet logs and river rocks.

Watch out for sharp sticks and sharp-toothed animals. Carry water, and a flashlight at night. Dont be fearful of going where youve never been; this is half the point! Keep an eye on where the sun hangs, and take note of landmarksrivers, roads, and things like that. Go with preparedness, awareness, caution, and joy. May your trails be
crooked, winding,
lonesome, dangerous,
leading to the most
amazing view.
Edward Abbey