I feel it’s time for another picture post!

My morning walks are full of wonder at each new bud I find this time of year. 

I love all the different stages in the life of any one wildflower. I recently did an experiment (inspired by this post) where I photographed one echinacea plant from bud to brittle! 

I’d love to do the same with this wildflower, Western - or Baldwin - Ironweed (Vernonia baldwinii); maybe next year. Too late for this one. According to my wildflower books, it’s very bitter and the cattle don’t like it. Which is good news for the pollinators; they love it! It’s also incredibly drought resistant, which explains their endurance here on our little patch of prairie!

If you do a search for this wildflower, you’ll find many beautiful images of the flowers, and they are gorgeous, but my favorite stage is the seed pod.

They look so magenta as they’re popping, but really what you see on the prairie are the deeper jewel tones more in keeping with the first photo above.

It never fails to amaze me how this plant transforms itself through so many color changes!