Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Wordless Wednesday 65: Pasture Thistle



Cirsium discolor (Common name: field thistle or prairie thistle)




14 comments:

Bernie said...

Nice, but man, do they hurt when you brush up along side them!!

Mines up as well at AussiePomm - Cymbidium Orchids

Have a great WW!!

kayerj said...

very pretty--but it is quite a noxious weed isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Hi Heather, Visiting from Wordless Wednesday. These are such pretty pictures. Love the sun light. I'm your newest follower. Mildred

Heather said...

Yes, you certainly don't want to get too close to them. There seem to be a lot more in the area this year, due to lack of deer. Deer go where the water is, and levels are really low - even nonexistant - near the Arboretum this year.

Heather said...

Kaye: Yes, they can be quite invasive and are considered noxious in nine states, including Wisconsin. Bees, butterflies and finches love them and, of course, there are some people who like to cook up nettles as "greens." Deer also like them, but there has been a scarcity of deer in the area with the drought.

Heather said...

Hi Mildred! Thank you for the compliments, for visiting and for following. :)

Jana said...

I love these. The backlit, especially. :) Don't guess I've ever run across these 'round here.

Heather said...

Thanks, Jana! They seem to be common in nine of the northern midwest states, though there is a similar-looking one in the south called a Texas thistle.

colleen said...

Thistle may be my favorite flower to photograph. These are gorgeous!

Yvonne said...

Very nice pictures!

Heather said...

Colleen: Thank you. I was quite pleased with how these two turned out. I know some people don't like them, but they add such cheerful color to prairies and roadsides.

Yvonne: Thanks! : D

CountryDew said...

Lovely! But very hard on the cattle.

Alice Audrey said...

Great macro! Mine never come out that good.

Heather said...

Anita: True, can be very bad for cattle.

Alice: Thank you. Some days I am in extreme like with my camera, and then other days it annoys me. Like when it refuses to recognize a particular flower type as a flower and blurs the image, no matter how hard I try to focus in on it. Sigh...