The Dandelion

"A weed is just a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

We love dandelions at our house. What's not fun about blowing the seeds of a dandelion all over the front yard? I decided to find out about this common wild flower, and was surprised at how little I knew. For instance, I never knew that the flower head changes into the white seed head and can do so overnight!

We are always on the look-out for something unusual when we are outside. Chloe won this time by finding this dandelion seed head. Look how fat its stem is!

I have pictures of all my kids when they are little blowing dandelion seeds. I was almost too late getting a picture of little Chloe! We took care of that today.

I Spy a Firewheel

Last night, we took a walk along the trails in the foothills of the Sandia mountains. A game I like to play with the kids is "I Spy". The object is to spy something on our walks that is interesting or different to them. Last night, Chloe spied this pretty little flower that we think is known as a Gaillardia, or Firewheel. The red and yellow center was unique to us!

Allison and Chloe collected lots of little wildflowers on our walk, and Allison helped Chloe press them today in her new flower press!