| Two Wildflower Blossoms | 12 July 2009 |
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Common mullein starts to blossom in the midsummer, and it has a cluster of flowers along the top of a thick stalk. |
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The wildflower was brought over to North America by early European settlers. Common mullein had a variety of uses, from medicinal to stockings (the thick leaves were worn inside shoes).
The chinkapin blossoms are perhaps not pretty in themselves, but the clusters are quite attractive as a group. |
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The chinkapin is a modest-size tree, about 40 feet high, and develops clusters of acorn-size fruit. Red squirrels are very fond of living near chinkapins.
Photo note: I used a Pentax K200D, with the SMC-A* 200mm macro lens (with a Pentax 2x multiplier) for these photos, taken in early July 2009. I would prefer not to use the doubler with flower macros, but I keep it on so the effective 400mm range would be okay for bird photos. |