Pretty Purple Flowers (aka WEEDS)

"What are those pretty purple flowers?" I asked.

"It's vetch. And it's a weed," my farmer informed me.

Well, OK. But it's not a weed when it's in the ditch, is it? While the "pretty purple flowers" were blooming, Randy teased me when we'd see large patches of it.

But I still think it's pretty ... even if it is a weed. I must agree with A.A. Milne:

That's a very Winnie the Pooh kind of thing to say, isn't it?

“To see a world in a grain of sand

And a heaven in a wildflower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour.”

                                                       ― William Blake

On the 4th of July, we went to check cattle in the Ninnescah Pasture. I'd gone along for the ride a month before, too. While the pasture is no carefully-tended garden, it has different flowers blooming at different times.

A month ago, the milkweed was blooming. But now its glorious blooms have faded.

These "flowers" looked like miniature bridal bouquets to me.

 

The bright blue erect dayflowers are tiny, but I love finding them hidden in plain sight among the grasses.

This not-yet-furled purple poppy mallow almost mimicked a rose. They were abundant during both my June and July pasture trips.

They weren't the only things hiding in the grass. I turned off my 4-wheeler for a moment while Randy went to check another fence. Some killdeers were my companions while I waited.

On our 4th of July trip, I saw more purple flowers, but they weren't vetch. 

It's called wooly verbena.

 

The insects really liked the verbeba flowers, too, though I didn't realize it until I was back at my computer, looking at the photos.

These white flowers always look prettier than they feel on the stems. I guess you'd have to expect that when you find out they are called hedge hog prickly poppy. But they, too, are insect magnets, it appears.

These yellow coneflowers are abundant in the pastures during this time of year.

I love these visual bouquets across the Kansas pastures. 

Yesterday, Pastor Nate talked about the wildflowers blooming along the Kansas roadways this time of year. It made me think again of the hymn, "All Things Bright and Beautiful," one of my favorites from childhood that I still love today. (More photo illustrations for the hymn are found at that link.)

All things bright and beautiful

All creatures great and small

All things wise and wonderful

The Lord God made them all.

 Each little flower that opens

Each little bird that sings

God made their glowing colors

And made their tiny wings.

It's a good way to start a hot and busy fair week, don't you think?

A Time to Think

All the world is an utterance of the Almighty.
Its countless beauties, its exquisite adaptations, all speak to you of Him.
 –Phillips Brooks, clergyman and author

A Time to Act

Open your heart to the beauty that surrounds you.

A Time to Pray

Dear Lord, please help me to see the beauty of every day.
 Thank You for all of the blessings in my life
and the vision with which to recognize them.

From Guideposts daily email devotional