Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: annoying

5 more pictures in notes above! A couple of weeks ago I went out with our Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro conversion lens and I got a macro image of Star Thistle stamens (see image above in note). When I went to link a larger picture to see the whole flower, I was amazed to realize I'd never processed the many pictures I've taken of this flower. So I went out today to remedy the situation! Star Thistle has quite a pretty flower up close, but otherwise it's nothing much to look at. Worse than that, this noxious weed is covered with nasty thorns, and should you get pricked, a tiny infected sore usually develops. I heard from a neighbor that Star Thistle arrived in the area because of the people who lived here before us. In the years they lived at the house, their kids brought home Star Thistle seeds in their clothes or shoes and from there, the plants sprouted and quickly spread to much of our property and neighboring properties. Personally, I don't buy the story, since this plant's seeds travel via parachutes and don't get stuck in clothes or socks. More likely, the seeds came from mixed grass hay fed to horses in the area and spread that way. In any event, we've got the awful stuff everywhere. It's next to impossible to get rid of, so we just try to live with it! Doug Larson (born February 10, 1926) was a columnist and editor for the Door County Advocate (1953-1964) and wrote a daily column for the Green Bay Press-Gazette (1964-1988) — both Wisconsin-based newspapers. The column was originally syndicated through United Media under the title "Senator Soaper Says"; Larson took over authorship in 1980. Previously, it had been written by Bill Vaughn of the Kansas City Star. Doug's quotes have been widely circulated on the Internet and occasionally show up on T-shirts. He was born in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Wikipedia: Doug Larson Explored on Septemeber 2, 2013. Highest placement, page 3 (#61).

This tiny, delicate beauty grows everywhere on our property, and when it goes to seed, it makes millions and billions and zillions of tiny, annoying burrs. These then attach themselves to anything passing by. Socks can become so covered that it's easier to just throw them away than to spend an hour per sock to remove all of the burrs! We can't let Molly, our Border Collie, wander off our road during the late summer and fall because when she returns, she is totally covered from head to foot in burrs! What a nightmare! Since this is such an annoying weed, I wasn't surprised when I couldn't find the name of this wildflower! So for now, it's a Pink Burr Flower! (Not to be confused with White Burr Flower, which is a similar species but pure white...that will be coming up in the Flower Count! :D)

I thought it would be fun to show the stages of this flower from bud to seed! I actually didn't want to take pictures of the burrs because I hate them so much! :D A burr (also spelled "bur") is a seed with hooks or teeth which attach themselves to fur or clothing, thus spreading themselves away from the parent plant. This is an extremely effective form of seed dispersal and seeds in this form can be carried across continents in socks or in an animals fur! There are many plants which use this form of seed dispersal, and it shouldn't be surprising to find out that many of them are weeds! :D If you'd like to know more about burrs, Wiki has a good page here: Wiki: Burr

This morning when I was making coffee, I looked out the back window to see a bunch of pteradactyls at the feeders making a bunch of racket! Ok, ok, they're actually Stellar Jays, but we think they look like their prehistoric ancestors! By the way, did you know they can imitate the sound of other birds?! They will often mimic the sound of a hawk's cry to frighten other birds away! It amazed me when I heard a hawk just outside one day and found a Stellar's Jay doing a perfect imitation! We love these birds, even though they rampage around like a bunch of skateboard punks! :D These birds are native to the Western United States, as far north as Alaska and down to Nicaragua. If you would like to know more about these birds, Wiki has a great page here: Wikipedia: Steller's Jay (In this image, I used one of Topaz Lab's b/w filters--they have a wonderful suite of filters for black and white and they're not all black! Many cool duo-tones and neat vignetting styles like this one I used here. This picture was taken through our kitchen window and it suffered from noise problems. With DeNoise and the use of one of their cool b/w filters, along with a touch of detail filter on just the birds, I think it turned out ok! :)