Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: common media

6 more pictures and one note above! :) The weather here has been very dry but cold and sometimes frosty in the morning, and there is always dew to enjoy! Most of the wildflowers are gone now except for wild mustard, star thistle, moth mullein, and this awesome beauty, the stinky and sticky but always lovely Showy Tarweed. Their wonderful show is just about over, so the flowers are much smaller than the first blossoms of the season. However, every day I appreciate their bright and cheery faces, and a few days ago I was delighted to see dew sparkling on the petals and thought it was time to feature this flower again as a Picture of the Day! I had a wonderful time taking pictures, and I actually got a bunch of really nice choices, but am only posting this one tonight as there are so many other pictures I'm putting up! :D I'll try to slip in more pictures of these dew-laden beauties in the coming days! By the way, today is Thursday, and that means BOKEH THURSDAY! HOORAY! I was late last week, but this week I was ready and rarin' to get out and get my images for the "Destruction" theme. You'll see them in pictures 3-7 of tonight's upload, or just roll your mouse over the image above to see all of my pictures for today! :) (Picture 2 is another "Autumn flower"!) Enjoy! :) Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an African-American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Wikipedia: Ethel Waters Explored on October 25, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#51).

This flower is also called Autumn Tarweed because it peaks during September and early Ocbober. I found the first one at the beginning of June and there are still small blossoms now in November! As you can see, this sticky, stinky flower is extremely beautiful in all its stages, and transmits lights in a very breathtaking way. I took so many pictures that I've decided to devote my three entries to them, each with sub-photos to look at. I hope you like them and visit my other two entries! I would be interested to know which is your favorite (if any!) (Please see my other two entries today to see more views of this elegant beauty!) I am behind in my commenting, and I apologize about that. The moment I got back from SF, there was so much to do, and now we have a new project to begin. I will do my best to catch up on my comments before posting any more images after this set. Thanks so much for your patience, comments and favorites!!! I really miss your photostreams and can't wait to visit!!

As a nature photographer, it's nearly impossible to stop taking pictures of this flower, aptly named "Showy Tarweed"! The petals unroll from the center and are very interesting to look at. The fuzzy hairs and sticky resin balls are very pretty, and these blossoms simply glow in the afternoon sun! Showy Tarweed is found all over the Pacific Northwest and you'll notice that some flowers have maroon "wheels" in the center, while others have none. The seeds of this flower are like strawberry seeds, which are actually tiny fruit nuts called "achenes ", which have tiny seeds on them! Native Americans gathered these as one of their staple foods; the harvested achenes were toasted or ground into flour. If you would like to know more about this flower, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Showy Tarweed (Madia elegans)

As beautiful as this flower is, it's got some negatives. It's called "tarweed" because it's covered with tiny, sticky balls of resin that rubs off onto anything it contacts. The resin gives off an odor that is reminiscent of lemon in small doses, but when rubbed onto clothes or fur, it begins to stink to high heaven and smells horrible! Trying to get the gluey stuff off requires rubbing alcohol or a pair of scissors! YUCK! We have to keep the dogs out of the meadow when these flowers are in full bloom or the house reeks for hours! Livestock will eventually have lower legs that are matted with this tar-like resin! ICK! (I have one more picture set following this one! :D)