Mules Ears Flower. Santa Clara County, California. April 29, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A spring mules ears flower in the early stages of decay.
Someone suggested that this might simply be called “The World’s Saddest Flower.” It also occurred to me that it might be a fine metaphor for certain political events currently transpiring, or possibly for a number of other things. I find a kind of poignant beauty in this flower, still brilliantly colorful but also clearly falling into decay.
I found this flower on a short hike at a place not far from where I live, a spot that I have gone to for perhaps twenty years in spring to find local wildflowers. It is not a place that most would find remarkable — in fact, I was able to hear urban sounds including heavy equipment in the distance — but it is a place that I know well. I knew that I would find certain flowers — blue dicks, larkspur, Chinese lanterns, California poppies, and a few others — but this one was a surprise. I had never seen it or anything similar in this place, and I wasn’t sure of what it might be. Friends who know more about flowers than I do suggested that it is probably mules ears — a very sad specimen at this point!
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email
All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.