It wasn’t only grand geology
It wasn’t only grand geology that I focused on at Palo Duro Canyon on May 14th.
Look at this colorful fly on a Tahoka daisy, Machaeranthera tanacetifolia.
§
§ § §
§
Today, June 6, is the 80th anniversary of D-Day. You can learn about it in Andrew Roberts’s
new article “D-Day at 80: How the Allies Won at Normandy and Changed History.”
© 2024 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Thank you, Steve, for the brilliant photo! We are celebrating D-Day’s 80 anniversary grandly because the number of veterans is getting smaller, and it is important to thank them for our freedom.
Joanna
gabychops
June 6, 2024 at 4:29 AM
The United States is also commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day. A one-hour television documentary that we watched yesterday said that less than 1% of World War II veterans are still alive.
Steve Schwartzman
June 6, 2024 at 6:41 AM
Very cool and in complementary colors too! Nature is so amazing that way.
circadianreflections
June 6, 2024 at 5:41 AM
Only once in a while do I find such a colorful insect on such a colorful flower. I don’t recall ever seeing a fly like this before.
Steve Schwartzman
June 6, 2024 at 6:44 AM
love the contrasts of color and texture
beth
June 6, 2024 at 8:37 AM
Yes!
Steve Schwartzman
June 6, 2024 at 12:48 PM
Love this shot, Steve! Beautiful!
Tina
June 6, 2024 at 8:42 AM
Thanks. I was pleased with how colorfully this came out.
Steve Schwartzman
June 6, 2024 at 12:50 PM
That image really pops!
Eliza Waters
June 6, 2024 at 9:28 AM
Pop goes the fly rather than the weasel.
Steve Schwartzman
June 6, 2024 at 12:49 PM
In 50 years I have only one successful fly photo. This is really nice.
oneowner
June 6, 2024 at 1:11 PM
Your would-be successes managed to fly away. After 50 years, it’s high time for a second one to do the right thing.
Steve Schwartzman
June 6, 2024 at 2:54 PM
It’s good that the grandeur of the canyon didn’t prevent you from directing your gaze to the smaller but no less spectacular wonders.
tanjabrittonwriter
June 6, 2024 at 2:49 PM
I stopped for the Tahoka daisy because it’s a species we don’t have in central Texas; the fly came along as a bonus. That said, I did put most of my time into photographing the geological formations.
Steve Schwartzman
June 6, 2024 at 3:00 PM
What a lovely bit of proof that west Texas can provide purple and gold combinations. When I looked at the USDA map, I did smile at the names of the two most easterly counties where the flower can be found: Comanche and Archer. Tahoka, Texas, a town south of Lubbock in the Panhandle, was named for nearby Tahoka Lake when it was established in 1902. ‘Tahoka,’ a Native American word, means ‘fresh’ or ‘clear’ water. The city of Tahoka even honors the Tahoka daisy on its website.
shoreacres
June 7, 2024 at 5:38 AM
Yes, your favored purple and gold, with some added reddish brown from the fly. If I were in charge of Tahoka the town, I’d also promote Tahoka the daisy. A look at the map makes me think I’ve never been to the town, though I’ve passed through Post and Brownfield, symmetrically about 30 miles west and east of it. When I’d looked at the range map for the Tahoka daisy, I also noticed the two disjoint counties to the east of the plant’s contiguous range. And who’d’ve expected another disjoint piece of range in Alberta?
Steve Schwartzman
June 7, 2024 at 6:30 AM
Beautiful tachinid fly.
Alessandra Chaves
June 12, 2024 at 7:27 AM
I appreciate your being more precise about the kind of fly it is.
Steve Schwartzman
June 12, 2024 at 8:53 AM
Such a special photo … wonderful colours. A real eye catcher
Julie@frogpondfarm
June 13, 2024 at 2:42 PM
“Special” is a good word for it. Thanks.
Steve Schwartzman
June 13, 2024 at 5:03 PM