There are lots of flowers, both cultivated and wild, along the southern Oregon coast. Just south of Brookings is the Elk Valley, which bills itself as the Easter Lily Bulb Capital of the World. There are acres of lilies about four inches tall and currently in bloom. Laborers are in the fields harvesting the bulbs.
Along the banks of the Chetco River, where we are staying, are a variety of flowers in bloom, including the daisies shown above. We harvested a few, and Honey made a bouquet for the trailer.
Included were Daisies, Marigolds, Sweetpeas and Bird Vetch – the tall spikes with the trumpet-shaped purple flowers; all collected along about 150 feet of riverbank.
It looked really nice and brightened the living room, but about an hour after it was finished we started smelling puppy poop. We scowled at the dogs, checked under table and chairs and behind the couch. Honey inspected the bottoms of all our shoes with no result, but we were still getting an occasional whiff that was unmistakably doggie doo.
We endured it for several hours; then, just before bedtime, Honey smelled the bouquet. Wild Oregon Daisies smell just like dog crap! We had noticed the smell in spots along the path – blamed irresponsible pet owners –but we never made the association.
Who would have thought those pretty flowers would smell like that?
