Sunny and 85°F. Wind 25-30 mph. 
It was very windy, which caused the flowers to move all over the place, but it was a gorgeous day. I took off down Route 66 between Luther and Arcadia and made a ton of stops along the way. There were so many wildflowers blooming! We had our only good rain shower of the year a few days earlier, so all the plants and animals were happy and abundant. My first stop was slightly shaded by Black Walnut trees and I saw this adorable Spring Beauty. These are tiny flowers.
Also in the shaded area were Blackberry flowers. This will be a great area to revisit when the berries are ripe.
I haven’t identified this fern, it was so delicate.
After the shade of the Black Walnuts it was all sunshine and pollination! I couldn’t get a picture of these Prairie Penstemons or Foxglove Penstemons without a bee being in it. Bees love these flowers!
Bees weren’t the only critters out today, this Red Thorax Beetle is hanging out on some Wild Parsley. I saw so many bugs I have to dedicate another next post to them.
I absolutely love this Sensitive Briar bloom! It’s an amazing little plant. When the leaves are touched, they close up to prevent critters from eating them. The flowers are very showy and can be seen from quite a distance. They’re like nature’s fireworks.
Penstemons are hairy little things.
These leaves are vicious looking. I don’t know what they are, but they are beautiful. I love the shapes and textures.
Another of nature’s fireworks is the Common Milkweed. These are very popular with Skipper butterflies and many other insects. The leaves are so pretty.
The flowers of the Common Milkweed are very unusual. When they open, the sepals fold all the way back to the stem exposing 5 tubular petals.
This bloom is from a Wild Onion or Wild Garlic. I ate some earlier in the season with the Morel mushrooms. Tasty! The brown bulblets are edible as well, like mini garlic cloves.
Wild Onion blooms and bulblets.
I have no idea what this green flowered plant is besides interesting!
I passed several lovely fields of wheat. When the wind blows, which it was on this day, the fields look like waving water. It’s beautiful. Get out there and see some.
Spiderwort is the bluest flower to be found. I love the fuzzy center with the bright yellow stamens.
Giant Coreopsis wins the prize for the brightest flower of the day.
This Yellow Evening Primrose is filled up with a Digger Bee. I didn’t even know Digger Bees existed! I didn’t wait to see the front end, he seemed content to hang out in the Primrose for quite a while. Maybe he was napping.
This is new growth on a cactus of some sort. There are no thorns on this part yet, which makes me curious as to what exactly it is. Maybe it is the bloom? It appears to have hairs and maybe pollen by each tip. I’m obviously going to have to investigate it further. The bugs are very creepy, but cool! Possibly Milkweed bug nymphs.
Scurfy Pea.
This is the bloom of Green Milkweed. I’m amazed at how different it is from the Common Milkweed bloom. These are some tough looking flowers.
Yucca, another tough looking bloom. Did I mention the weather is harsh here in Oklahoma?
A cute Skipper Butterfly on a crazy globe shaped flower. Somebody tell me what this flower is! Straight out of a Dr. Suess book.
Indian Paintbrush is very popular in Oklahoma. I read that this bloom consists of leaves as well as flowers. The leaves are red to match the blooms, but only the tube shaped parts are the actual flower.
Showy Evening Primrose. Gorgeous.
Winecup Poppy Mallow resembles the cup it is named after.
The red is so vivid that I can’t take a photo without the color being so saturated that it looks like it’s glowing. The white specs are pollen that has fallen onto the petals.
Hope you made it through all those photos! It was a busy day for sure. I will write another post soon dedicated to the critters I saw along this same stretch of road. I was lucky to be near Arcadia Lake at sunset. If you look in the water you can see the last swimmers of the day enjoying a perfect, refreshing view of the sky.
Great pics! Loved seeing all the bees…that makes me happy!
Thanks Kathlene! I will post more bee photos very soon. I couldn’t believe how many I saw, and they are pretty entertaining.
These are just beautiful. A very enjoyable post to peruse. I particularly liked the prairie penstemons, they looked like two eyes with petal lashes. I didn’t even notice the bees until I read it. One of your best, thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much Jimmy! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! I too saw the eyes in the prairie penstemon photo, I’m delighted that someone else noticed it too. Those bees were super busy.
Stacy, these are beautiful. Great work or pleasure…thanks for sharing….
Thank you Fran. It’s true that if you do what you love it’s not work ; )
Such a good job, Stacy. I probably see more through your lens than I would notice if I were walking through them. I can really tell you enjoy your nature walks.
Thank you Vicky! That means so much. My goal in starting this blog was to get people to notice all the beautiful things that they might be overlooking. These amazing flowers are alongside a country road for everyone to enjoy, but I was given some strange looks by the passing locals. I hope next time someone passes a wildflower, maybe they’ll stop and give it a closer look!
I love reading your blog, Stace! I have to say that my favorite flower was the wine cup poppy! Such a pretty color!
Your blog & the pictures are fabulous.
Gorgeous photos Stacy! What type of camera/lens do you use for those close-ups? Simply incredible…..
Thank you Mary! I use a Nikon with a Nikkor Micro 105mm. I LOVE the Micro lens, it lets me see and capture all the wonderful little details in nature.