Flowers in the Field

At this time of year the daisies, buttercups, and hawkweeds - the 'King Devil' and the 'Devil's Paintbrush' - turn the meadow colourful with their blooms among the grasses.  Especially in the morning of a sunny day the flowers all come out and turn toward the sun, leaving the meadow sparkling with yellow stars.  But what the human eye sees is very hard to capture with a camera.  This is the best photo I've managed:

On the other hand, what the human eye does not immediately leap to, a close-up, the camera can capture beautifully.  The yellow hawkweed or King Devil seems most prolific in our meadow.

But my favourite is the Devil's Paintbrush, or Orange Hawkweed (not to be confused with the Indian Paintbrush found up in the Bruce Peninsula of Ontario).  It provides bright red-orange flashes among the dominant yellow 'weeds'.  Do I really dare call these wildflowers rather than weeds?

Again, a close-up captures a much better view of the incredible colours of these wildflowers.  How can something that looks so striking be considered a 'weed'?

At the same time, buttercups are dotting the meadow, and in some nearby pastures providing a carpet of yellow.  The pistils and stamens in the centre of the flower are such an identical yellow to the petals that it's hard to get a picture showing the details; there just isn't enough contrast.

And in patches here and there, along the roadside ditches and beside the old fences, the daisies are in bloom - sometimes enough of them to make a field look white.  Getting them to stand still long enough for a good picture was a challenge.

We notice the bright colours, and  think of the pretty flowers, but when you look closely, the details of nature's design are really incredible, all in a field full of weeds.