Deptford pink at the Occoquan National Wildlife Refuge today for hike 21. For my 10th birthday I got my first “grownup” field guide and this was the first wildflower I identified using it. I remember my Aunt Lynn and I sitting at a picnic table on Father’s Day looking through the book and comparing all the pictures to the flower we saw on our walk. Still have the field guide — it’s been rained on and battered but I still use it. Technically no more Aunt Lynn though. Right after that Father’s Day we moved from Columbus to Erie and she and my uncle and cousins moved from Columbus to Long Island. Six or seven years later she and my uncle got divorced. She still sends me a Christmas card though.
Sweet, sweet memory. I'm so impressed that you actually have a field guide that you use in the field - "rained on and battered" is the highest compliment a field guide can get!
