7-7-13:
Today is a flora day. I think it was too hot for most critters to be out, including insects. Plants, fungus, and lichen do not have that luxury, so to speak.
I really feel that cattails are completely under represented, and way under appreciated. I thought this was interesting because it shows both last year's leftovers and the current year's crop in progress.
Generations
I just love the way the sunlight hit the petals of this purple cornflower and made some of them almost translucent.
Sun-Kissed
Being the good science teacher that I am, one cannot look at flora and not consider all those happy decomposers, mushrooms and lichen.
What intrigued me about this particular one was all the detritus littering the top of this mushroom. Also, this image is almost monochromatic with so many shades of brown in it.
Detritus on Decomposer
More of the fungus among us. Yes, I realize lichen live symbiotically with algae but the main part is still a fungus.

Shelf lichen is just amazing, as lichens go.
Stair Steps
Yup, more of the same type of lichen. If you look closely at this image, just above the upper left part of the lichen itself, you should see a daddy long legs crawling on the tree bark. I didn't realize it was there until I uploaded today's photos to my computer. That little critter blends in so well with the tree bark.
Shelf Life
