Venus' Looking Glass 2008

@Anita: Anita, according to this map (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=TRIOD) you should be able to find one of these. The area in which I live is oak and hickory forest on rolling hills interspersed with open meadows and sometimes stretches of what was once tall-grass prairie. There are still the tall grasses but they are generally grazed low now. Wildflowers like the open prairie. Probably due to the competition with the grasses, some of the best finds are in disturbed areas or areas with poorer soil due to underlying sandstone where the grasses are kept at bay and the flowers can flourish. The terrain and microclimate in this area of Oklahoma is extremely varied so within less that a few hundred feet one can walk from a parched and dry sandy field into a watered, cool shaded glen with huge black oaks, pecan trees, and other water loving species. Anyway, the "walking" verb I use in the name of my blog is most applicable. I have always loved walking the countryside away from the roads... bugs and all.. :) It gives me a lot of pleasure to be able to bring back photos of some of the wonders. I've been taking walks weekly for a couple of years now and it is a rare occasion when I don't come upon some new wildflower. (I often think I MUST be getting near to having all of them). As you know, there's a lot of other stuff to photograph out there besides wildflowers... I enjoy that too. Often just standing in a spot for a few minutes reveals subjects one might never notice otherwise. To finish this long-winded discourse, I'll just say that I located many of these meadows long ago and they are always productive and the flowers in them change with the seasons so that gives a lot of combinations to cover, a seemingly endless variety.