Flodman’s Thistle and Ann Coulter: Pretty, but Don’t Touch

Flodman’s thistle is native to Montana and not generally considered a “weedy” or invasive species, as are the exotics Canada thistle and musk thistle.  Flodman’s thistle plants appear in only sporadic onesies and twosies along the country road to my house.

Strangely enough, I appreciate Flodman’s thistle.  I think they are pretty.  Mind you, because they are thistles, their pretty is somewhat temperamental and spiny.  Thistles are along the same line as Kate Gosselin (from the television reality show Jon and Kate Plus 8) or perhaps the famously unsympathetic Ann Coulter.  They are rather pretty but you probably don’t want to touch them.

Since I have mentioned Ann Coulter…just this week she splashed around the news front trashing the World Cup soccer frenzy and the rise of soccer’s popularity in these United States.  She fears the sport of soccer is an outward sign of the inward decline of Americanism and American prominence.  She considers soccer a weed.  She said, among other things, “I promise you: No American whose great-grandfather was born here is watching soccer.”

I am not really certain what that means, but it sounds pretty bad.  Just for the record, on my mother’s side of the family we can trace our family back to the Mayflower.  On my father’s side we will be starting the line at the nearest edge of the European trash heap.

Anyhow, I am not certain why some plants and some people are so difficult when you get up close, but I think a certain beauty can be found in most everything.  Today I am posting two photographs I captured from a Flodman thistle yesterday.  If I see Ann Coulter prancing about anywhere, I promise to capture and share a photograph of her also.

--Mitchell Hegman