I gazed upon the hill, basking in its slightly elevated majesty. My family’s roots in farming told me that it was likely too steep to have been plowed and was thus used for grazing livestock and having afternoon picnics. The uncomfortable steepness of the hill and proximity to the road told me the area had been disturbed and that soil was used to build up the road. This hill was not as small as I had expected and hope swelled in me as I thought of the other populations of Echinacea angustifolia fighting for survival.

A single tear gently rolled down my face as I observed the dominant species in the area: brome grass. Most of it was not yet flowering but I knew that without proper management, it would continue its grassy conquest. Though my identification skills are far from complete, I saw what I believed to be alfalfa or possibly pea plants. I saw a single wild rose beckoning me forward like the sirens of old, but alas, for fear of stepping on the Echinacea unseen I refrained and returned to my wheeled metal stallion.

As I left, I observed that the grass went around the hill and stopped only at the edge of the farm field and at the road. The experience left me humbled and eager to explore the vast fields of K-town and beyond.