A milkweed comet, or Parallelism gives way to divergence
Click for greater clarity.
In yesterday’s post you saw some fibers of antelope-horns milkweed fluff that were briefly still parallel, which is the way they’d been since they formed inside their closed pod. In just a short while, though, that parallelism inevitably gives way to divergence, as in this view of a different seed and its attached fluff from the same Asclepias asperula pod as last time. (You’ll see individual strands more clearly if you click the photograph.) And with my imagination soaring from the botanical to the celestial, I can’t help thinking of a comet.
Those of you who are interested in photography as a craft will find that points 1, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 15 in About My Techniques are relevant to this photograph. If you’d like to see the many places in the southwestern United States where this milkweed species grows, you can check out the state-clickable map at the USDA website.
© 2013 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Gives me hope that Spring is around the corner where dandelions abound.
lensandpensbysally
February 13, 2013 at 7:51 AM
Here in Austin spring is definitely arriving. I saw some unseasonably early firewheels flowering this morning alongside an expressway, and elsewhere some redbud tree blossoms. Happy anticipation to you further north.
Steve Schwartzman
February 13, 2013 at 8:51 AM
Fun!
Lynda
February 13, 2013 at 9:11 AM
Fine!
Steve Schwartzman
February 13, 2013 at 9:14 AM
Surprenant et magique!
chatou11
February 13, 2013 at 9:54 AM
Mieux magique que tragique, n’est-ce pas?
Steve Schwartzman
February 13, 2013 at 10:07 AM
looks like a fly-fishing tie. 🙂
TexWisGirl
February 13, 2013 at 10:47 AM
I’ve read that milkweed fluff resists getting water-logged, so maybe it would actually be good as a fly-fishing tie.
Steve Schwartzman
February 13, 2013 at 10:50 AM
That could easily pass as a cat toy if it were not so delicate. Attach to a pole and then dangle it for the cat to swat. 🙂 Very pretty photo.Your macros are the greatest.
petspeopleandlife
February 13, 2013 at 8:14 PM
Thanks. It’s true that I use my macro lens the most of all the ones I have. (Partially that’s because it also serves as a regular 100mm lens.)
Steve Schwartzman
February 13, 2013 at 9:59 PM
With luck, you’ll get to test your analogy later this year. Comet Ison may put on a quite a show for us, and if some projections are right, we’ll be able to see the tail just about as clearly as that milkweed. Of course, it may be a dud, but most of the astronomy geeks I know think this may be a fine show – certainly better than Lulin.
While we wait, we’ll just have to admire this terrestrial pretender!
shoreacres
February 14, 2013 at 10:42 PM
I hadn’t heard anything about Comet ISON, and other people may not have either, so thanks for bringing that to our attention. As you say, let’s hope this isn’t another dud. Comets don’t often come around, but lowly milkweeds, as has been said of the poor, shall always be with us.
Steve Schwartzman
February 14, 2013 at 10:56 PM
[…] older poem was substantially re-written after I became intrigued by A Milkweed Comet on Steve Schwartzman’s “Portraits of Wildflowers” blog. Comments always are […]
The Comet-Watchers « The Task at Hand
February 17, 2013 at 12:07 AM
[…] my other blog in February I showed a picture of a milkweed seed with fluff radiating from one end and I commented that it reminded me of a comet. The resemblance is a botanical and an etymological […]
cometa « Spanish-English Word Connections
February 19, 2013 at 10:21 AM