(ABOVE: Cyclists often wear bright colors anyway. St. Patrick's Day provides an excuse for me to wear green socks.)St. Patrick's Day was celebrated as usual on March 17, and for 2011, I joined friends for a bicycle ride. A few folks wore Irish themed cycling jerseys. I contributed by wearing green socks!
(ABOVE: Mike Neal and Terry Englert show their St. Patrick's Day spirit with appropriate jerseys. BELOW: The green tires on my bike are always ready for March 17!)
I enjoy the rides for the conversation as much as the exercise, and sometimes a little education too. On the ride into the country, the usual wisecracking Mike Neal noted the small pink flowers blooming in the open fields. I've seen these flowers before, but I never thought much about them.
Visually, the pink is stunning. The flowers can really illuminate an otherwise bland field. The zillions of pink blooms appear clustered into a field of solid color in the distant horizon... really pretty!
Mike told me the flowers were Henbit. I learned these are weed flowers which bloom early in the Spring. Like most wildflowers, they lose their intense color and disappear when temperatures warm up toward Summer.
(ABOVE: I showed this on TV. A field of Henbit overtaking this farmland near Bixby. Beautiful!)I stopped my bicycle to snap pictures of the Henbit. I showed the photos on the TV morning news, and a few viewers emailed saying "thanks" as they wondered what they were too.
Thanks Mike. Now we know!
(BELOW: I should have worn this green jersey on the St. Patrick's Day ride. Would have matched my socks AND tires! ;)
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