I am in a hurry to reach Gastineau Meadow so I can see its wildflowers glow in early morning sunlight. Aki, color blind, has never shown an interest in flowers unless another dog peed on them. She stops often to eat grass blades after first giving them a sniff. I try not to think on what she smells on grass.

Even with the little dog’s delays, we reach the meadow with the light and find clumps of shooting star flowers at their peak. Soon they will change from pollinator attractors to seed cases. But now their magenta beauty reminds me of my father, not a physically beautiful man, but a man who always smiled while looking at beautiful shooting stars.