If you know me, you may know that I have a degree in biology. Studying life infused me with a love of living things that I didn’t previously have, but above all it gave me an absolute fascination with botany. How alien the world under our feet and over our heads, how completely foreign their design. How incredibly necessary the plant kingdom is for the existence of animal life. What they exhale, we inhale; what we exhale, they inhale. I can’t think of a more vital and intimate relationship on any scale on this planet, and by extension-in our known reality. I’m sure the amount of time you have dedicated to thinking about this topic is…well… probably not a lot because you are a normal, functional person. But I find myself thinking of it all the time. To an outsider it probably seems like I like plants a lot, and I surround myself with them. But really, I am completely enamored by them. Their structures, their mechanisms, their functions… It’s intoxicating to me, so I collect them like a hoarder and enjoy their company like an old friend.

I had a very hard time choosing an image for this prompt, but not for a lack of choice. I am obsessed with the microscopic world. I have thousands and thousands and thousands of macro (up close for you non-camera heads) pictures. Macro is actually what got me hooked into photography in the early days. I love being able to achieve an image that you don’t experience with your eyes (this lends to my love of astrophotography). Peeking into all of the small and hidden places feels like I have a superpower. It makes me feel like I have an advantage; maybe it feels like I have a secret with the miniscule.

This is a photograph of the first flower of the season on a Musk Thistle that is about 7 feet tall in my horse pasture. Without writing 4 more paragraphs about the unique features of this organism’s family (Asteraceae, which I actually did and deleted, you’re welcome), I’ll just summarize. The large purple/pink structure you see is not in fact a flower; each of the spikes you see extending outwards is an individual flower.

If that doesn’t make you feel like you now have a small secret knowledge of the unseen world, I have absolutely no idea what will. Happy Saturday all.