Fields of Gold

How a meadow measures wealth

If riches are measured in bank account balances, I have a long way to go. If riches are measured in meadow gold, I am accumulating wealth by the hour. I have been visiting my meadow daily with a fascination for goldenrods, but this place is flashing bling at me around every turn of the path. I’ve got to be honest, I am enamored with its never-ending extravagance. This is surely what a profiting community looks like.

As the sweat drips down my back, I can tell you no expenses are spared on the cloak of warm sunshine that sweeps across these acres. The lavish light ignites a grand spread for every over-indulgent photosynthesizing being willing to hold its leaves to the glow. The light eaters, in turn, lay out a grand feast for every plant-eating being. Before you know it, the protein bingers arrive to join the party. There is plenty for all right now and excess is being stored away for the future. It all begins with the sun. The affluence of the meadow economy is based on the abundance of golden light.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Evidences of riches are everywhere. I pass by opulence flaunted in swanky stalks of grass fringed out in flaxen flowers and marvel at the stunning jeweled insects donning their red carpet outfits.

Golden cassia, or partridge pea, flowers are worth their weight in the gold-ringed bumblebees hanging heavily on their petals.

I look more closely at the base of the stem and see a golden chalice filled with sun-sweetened nectar.

Ants, beetles, and flies live in the lap of luxury with this never-ending supply of cocktails.

The leaves are crawling with sulfur caterpillars waiting for their turn to live on fluorescent wings of excess.

In the air, a charm of goldfinches indulge in an affluence of asters, their undulating canary bodies rising and falling into the golding grasses with the confidence of futures stored.

Tiger swallowtails with full bellies and the luxury of time float lazily from one bloom to another, gorging on flowers filled with more sweetness than they can take in. I am surrounded by a buzz of confident pollinators checking on their investments, watching sugars rise and fall with the weather. All around me glimmers in gold.

But the real revenue in this place ascends by the millions in the golden scepters of solidago flowers.

I watch them dancing in the wind like hundreds of tiny suns.

In 5 minutes I count 5 species of wasps and 3 different types of bees delighting in the abundance of gold. The philanthropist of the field offers its riches to all who will partake. Solidago, or goldenrod, fills every open space it can squeeze its slender body into. The meadow holds no resentment towards its land-grabbing tendencies. For every square inch it occupies in the field, it gives to its community twice over.

Pollinators depend on the rich, fatty pollen of gold to sustain them. A substantial food source is essential for monarchs migrating thousands of miles to the mountains of Mexico. Goldenrod, alone, is one of many gracious hosts to over 100 species of moths and butterflies

And even though I may see this plant as just one of many species in my meadow, some flies and midges depend on it to be their entire golden world. These insects lay their eggs in the stems causing a stem or leaf growth to form on the plant. The larvae form within these growths.

The growths become ecosystems for spiders and wasps while the larvae become food for birds like the Downy Woodpecker to feed their young. The singular generosity of goldenrod builds a foundation for a diverse community and its present and future wealth is immeasurable.

If the wealth of a meadow is measured in gold, there is no such thing as poverty in this economy. Every living being is living off of the riches of each other’s bounty. And when I walk in these fields I feel rich too. Times are tough. Expenses are rising, paychecks feel smaller than ever. Scarcity and excess are all part of the living condition. As we watch the grocery store prices rise, we may feel more scarcity than excess right now. But if we measure riches as a meadow does, in light and golden generosity, maybe we can find our way back to excess. In the meantime, I borrow from the generosity of the meadow to make a delicious goldenrod cornbread. Come on over, there is plenty to share!