Governor Balls

So today's post is to be about something that starts with the letter "G". 

I found a recent shot from a little project I did. I went out to shot wild flowers. Or rather I went out to shoot Governor Balls...and it turned into a wild flower shoot

This is a shot of a plant I grew up knowing as Governor Balls. I don't know how it got the name, or what transpired to compel the person, who came up with title, to liken the spiky orb to the anatomy of authority. But it must have been serious! It must have a proper name, and possibly other names, but I haven't been able to research this. I will, and update this post in a couple of weeks.

I passed a spot a few months ago and realised that there was a patch of Governor Balls, growing merrily towards the sun on the side of the road. I thought then that I should come back and photograph the plants. But I didn't. Instead, I put it off for months. Then one morning I notice that the patch was almost entirely dry. So I figured that I had better get to it before the owner of field decides to clear the land, or a wild fire takes out the patch.

This shot is of a single spiky ball. The plant usually grows 3 or 4 feet tall, on a thin stalk with 4 or 5 of these spiky balls at evenly spaced intervals along the stalk. Eventually the orange flowers disappear and the plant starts to dry. It will eventually become entirely brown and harden.

The decision to stop procrastinating bore more fruit. As I puttered around the tangle of growth on the side of the road I found several other wild flowers, which these days seem rare to me. So I got shots of those too. There are a couple that I really like.

I saw a lot of these Governor Balls when I was growing up but not much in recent years. I think perhaps because I drive more. And there is a more development- the countryside is gradually becoming more residential. So the wild places are disappearing. Along with the wild flowers...