Summer Fireweed

As the summer progresses, by June Fireweed is just starting to bloom its flowers on top of its stalks. The tallest stalk in this photo, you can see the lower stems that are bright red, those pop and open letting their cottony-fibrous seeds fly in the air, typically 6 weeks from the first frost giving all onlookers the first clue that summer is about done, and winter is coming! (Polychrome mountains in the background.)

Denali National ParkAlaskaFireweedPolychrome