Black Holes & September Flowers

Shucks, we weren't pulled into a black hole generated by the Large Hadron Collider. Then again, the thing won't really be racing particles until next month. How do you prepare for a journey into a singularity? What do you pack for a one-way trip past the event horizon? Even experienced travelers don't have a clue.

Meanwhile, back in the human-sized world, summer flowers are still with us in the northwestern suburbs:



Visiting a new cemetery wasn't enough for last weekend. I also had to stop and see the Ruth Macintyre Conservation Area, a 36-acre patch of wetlands and fields, along with a five-acre pond, that I'd also driven by many times, but never walked through. It's ablaze with yellow flowers now, of a kind I couldn't name. But naming is optional when appreciating such an array.