Last Saturday - is it really that long ago? -
Cynthia very kindly did a posting on her blog entitled
Moonflowers and Purple Scottish Thistles for GB. It was a beautiful thing to do and I cannot say how much I appreciated it. I also appreciated the Moonflowers of which I'd never heard. I thought they were exquisite and would love to have some. Obviously they would never grow in the Hebrides (and probably not in the UK) but I wonder if they grow in New Zealand? Anyway, as usual, I digress.
Cynthia asked if the Thistles were the same as in Scotland and I was hesitant. Certainly the colour of one seemed bluer but Cynthia explained about that. I would have been 98% confident that I knew exactly what a Thistle looked like. After all I have seen thousands and have photographed many - possibly hundreds. Now one of my problems is that, unlike most people, I don't carry images around in my head easily. I can't look at a map and remember what it looks like 3 minutes later and that goes for most images. However when I came to look at my photos even I was surprised by what I thought a Thistle looked like. What I had in my head was the stereotypical picture of the Thistle and not the reality. OK it's a matter of detail but important detail. So if you go to Cynthia's posting and look at her Thistles and then compare them with some of my photos below you will see that we are talking about what looks to me like the same plant.
I do feel silly. Not because I can't carry images in my head. That's just an affliction. But because I did something I try not to do. I jumped to a conclusion without checking.
Taken at Eagleton today
And again
A bee on a Thistle on Loch Lomond side
