One thing that I have seen a lot of during my many years as a runner is ditches.

I have spent countless hours running alongside of them on sidewalks and shoulders of the road.

I can’t say that I’ve seen much in the way of beauty in these ditches over the years, as they have a way of collecting runoff, roadkill, trash, and other unsightly things.

Back when I lived and ran in the country I’d come across the occasional discarded appliance or piece of furniture in the ditch, along with the occasional porno mag that I’m guessing was tossed there by a teen or husband  who didn’t want to get busted by their mother or wife when they got back home.

Something else that I came across in a ditch while running along the dirt shoulder of a country road was a badger. I heard some rustling in the grass just a few feet to the right of me, only to look down and see my home state of Wisconsin’s mascot.

Needless to say, the sight of a badger that close definitely put a spring in my step.

Most of the time, though, there’s not much going on in ditches. Except, that is, during the middle of summer here in west-central Wisconsin.

That is when flowers start to pop up in ditches along rural roads.

While I don’t know the name of most of these flowers there is one that I am familiar with—lilies. They are the biggest and brightest of these roadside flowers, which is probably why I got to know them.

They are officially known as day lilies and their blooms come in a variety of colors, the main ones being orange, yellow, red, pink, purple, and near-white. Orange is the main color that I see in the ditches here in west-central Wisconsin.

Seeing lilies and other flowers in full bloom this time of year while running or driving down the road is a welcome reminder of how summer has a way of bringing even drab things like ditches to life.