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One day late last summer I was photographing wildflowers along the side of the road near where I live. I noticed there were several thistle plants – which are pretty common site here in Montgomery County. Instead of ignoring them like I usually would do – I decided to stop, take a closer look at them, and take some time to photograph them. I was really happy that I did. For a plant that many people consider to be a weed – I was surprised at just how beautiful they can be.

Field Thistle (cirsium discolor) is a member of the aster family native to the eastern half of the U.S. Also known as pink thistle, purple thistle and pasture thistle, cirsium discolor is considered a noxious weed in Iowa and Arkansas. It prefers to grow in full sun with good soil, but can grow in soil filled with clay and/or gravel. It’s preferred habitats include open prairies, woodland areas, pastures and along the roadsides.

Field Thistle is a perennial that grows between two and eight feet tall. The leaves are very distinctive – spiny, green on the top and white with fine hairs on the underside. The flowers are pink/purple and up to two inches across. At the base of the flowers are a series of overlapping green bracets that resemble fish scales.

Thistle’s of all sorts have had a poor reputation over the years. In the Bible, God told Adam “Cursed is the ground because of you. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you.” Shakespeare referred to them as “rough thistles.” In the early twentieth century, Australia fined people who didnot destroy thistle plants in their fields.

They have also been appreciated by humans and wildlife. Goldfinches love eating thistle seeds. It is the larval host for the Painted Lady butterfly. In Scotland, the leaves were used as a food source for livestock. The leaves can be used in salads or roasted. The flowers of the Golden Thistle are used to make golden thistle wine. Thistles have long been used for medicinal purposes. A poultice made from the roots was used to heal wounds and treat boils. An infusion of the roots was traditionally used to treat stomachaches. As always, information about traditional uses is providing for informational purposes only – and is not a recommendation of medicinal use.

If you’d like more information about Field Thistle (cirsium discolor), some online sites with additional information include

Illinois Wildflowers

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Native American Ethnobotany

USDA GRIN Taxonomy for Plants

USDA Plants Profile

WildCrafting

Wonderful Peonies

by hankinslawrenceimages | Jan 25, 2011 | Flowers, Paeoniaceae Family

When I think about late spring and early summer in the garden – I immediately think about peonies! Their big bold flowers are an absolute joy to see and smell.

Peonies are native to parts of Europe, Asia and North America. Most are herbaceous perennials growing up to 8 feet tall. They tend to have lobed leaves and fragrant flowers.

Peonies were named after Paeon – a student of Asclepius – the Greek god of healing and medicine. According to traditional myths, Zeus turned Paeon into the peony flower to protect him from the wrath of Asclepius.

In Asia, peonies have a long symbolic tradition. Along with plum blossoms, peonies are one of the traditional floral symbols of China. It has often been used symbolically in Chinese art, and is often referred to as the “flower of riches and honor.”

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing some of peony photos. I don’t know about you but I’m about ready for spring and summer flowers.

Morning at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona

by hankinslawrenceimages | Jan 23, 2011 | Arizona, On the Web

One of the more unusual photo shoots of my trip along Route 66 in December was the morning we spent photographing at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona. The trip itinerary had us meeting in the parking lot about half an hour before sunrise and we were scheduled to be photographing for a couple of hours. I will admit I had no clue what we’d be photographing for that length of time

But I figured – Alain knows what he was planning – so I was ready to photograph before the sun was up. I was really glad I did get up for sunrise – it was a beautiful sunrise – with pinks, purples, oranges, reds & yellows.

Once the sun was up – I was a still rather perplexed and unsure what we’d be doing for the next hour or so. After all – we were in a motel parking lot – surrounded by wigwams and old cars. It turns out the cars were what we were going to be photographing.

My guess is there were probably 20 cars from between the 1940s and early 1960s in the parking lot. Now I’ll be honest – old cars aren’t something I know much about – much less have much interest in photographing. So it took me a while to get into the spirit of the photo shoot. Fortunately, some of the guys in the group were able to help me see some interesting things to photograph on the cars. Once I started looking at the details of the logos, the chrome and the hood ornaments, I was able to find some things to photograph.

As I spent more time looking at the details of the cars I realized they were actually pretty neat – and had a much greater sense of style than the details of any car I’ve ever owned!

So here are a few of my photos of the cars at the Wigwam Motel – and no – I have no clue what type of cars these were from – but I’m sure some of the guys on the trip can tell you!

Hood ornament on a Ford

Side mirror on the same car

Airplane shaped hood ornament on another Ford

Even the gas tank covers had a sense of style

And one last hood ornament – practically glowing in the early morning light!

Despite my initial skepticism about finding anything to photograph – I did get some interesting photos that morning. However – it wasn’t interesting enough that I’m likely to seek out more old cars to photograph! So chances are this is the only set of photos like this you’ll see from me. Hope you’ve enjoyed them! 🙂

Links – January 21, 2011

by hankinslawrenceimages | Jan 21, 2011 | On the Web

Here are some sites I found interesting recently. Hope you enjoy them.

Photography and Art Links

Mike Spinak has How to Isolate Subjects Part 1 and Part 2

Christopher Schneiter at Luminous-Landscape has Do You Need An HDR Intervention?

PhotoAttorney has The Other Side to the DMCA Takedown Notice

Flowers, Plants & Gardening Links

Smithsonian Science has With specialist pollinator absent, Himalayan gingers must adapt

Freshare has Wildflowers Give Subtle Direction to Butterflies

National Wildlife Federation has Garden for Wildlife

NYTimes has Tiny Flower Saved from Extinction

Karen’s Garden Tips has Botany for Gardeners: The Leaf-Shape

National Park and National Wildlife Refuge Links

National Parks Traveler has Civil War Preservation Trust Saves 49 Acres of “Wilderness Battlefield” From Development, A Day At Big Cypress National Preserve In “The Dry”, Watching Climate Change Across the National Park System and National Park Service Looking For Kids Interested in Becoming Junior Civil War Historians

NPCA has Coalition of Clean Air Groups Bring Actions Against Federal Government For Failure to Protect People and National Parks

Wildlife Links

Friends of Blackwater NWR has Welcome to a New Season! The blog will have updates on the Blackwater NWR Eagle Cam. There are 3 eggs in the nest this year!

The Telegraph has Cameras for tiger study capture poachers at Orang and ‘Extinct’ Bornean Bay Cat spotted in Malaysia

Refuge Watch has Stranded Dolphin Calf Rescued at Ding Darling NWR, USFWS Proposes Wolf Killing at Alaska Maritime NWR and Birds Die During Rat Eradication at Alaska Maritime NWR

St Petersburg Times has Lovesick whooping crane Romeo gets home with his Juliet in Homosassa Springs

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