Thursday, July 20, 2017

Photo Bucket List: Flax

I have a photo bucket list.  One of the things on that list was to photograph a field of Flax. 

Yesterday Chance had to go out early so after he did his business we headed out.  My other baby brother told me about a field up on the prairie.

IMG_3206 (2)

Flax only blooms for part of the day.

IMG_3208 (2)

I will wait a few days and go back again.  There are new flowers everyday…until it is bloomed out and the seed heads are formed.

IMG_3218 (2)

Flax fields are rare in this area. Of course there are different kinds of Flax…oilseed or linen seed.  The oilseed type can be used to make a flour, as a cattle feed or pressed for their oil.  The linen seed type can be used to make  fiber that can be spun …it is called linen (The stalks are dried and pounded and the fibers spun.)

It has been 60 years since I first saw a Flax field south of Lake Park Minnesota late one Sunday morning on my way to Uncle Theron and Aunt Skip’s house.  I have never forgotten what a beautiful sight it was.

Baby Buffalo and Lightning are still on my photo bucket list.

We have smoke in the air from the fires in Canada.

Blog Signature

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

How pretty! I've never seen these blooms before. Very interesting.

Ramblings of a Retired Lady said...

I have never seen flax fields and it is fascinating to me. Thank you for sharing the pictures. Hope you have a good Thursday.

Henny Penny said...

I love this! It must have been beautiful to see in person.

linda m said...

I have never seen a flax field. Thank you for sharing your pictures with us. Hope you are able to see the fields when they are blooming.

DJan said...

Now I have seen a flax field, thanks to you. It will probably be the last unless you post another one. :-)

Lynda said...

Not the fires again - - I hate that! But I LOVE the field of flax - - - gorgeous color. I did not realize there were two kinds. It makes sense though when you described them. So thankful you share your bucket list with us. It enhances our lives with beauty and often educates us. It's a double blessing!

Cynthia said...

Flax fields are so pretty! I love driving through Manitoba and seeing them interspersed with the rape fields (canola). Your photos are lovely.

Pauline Persing said...

Interesting. I never knew there were two kinds of flax. I know oil painters used linseed oil when they paint. When I helped teach Pioneer Ohio at Brukner Nature Center, we talked about using the hackle ( I think that is what it was called) to straighten flax fibers after using a canebrake (another tool) for breaking the outside covering on the stalks. I'll have to see what I can find on the Internet. Thanks for jogging my memories. Flax, as far as I know isn't grown around here anymore. It was a pioneer era crop.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Oh gosh- fires? I hope it rains soon. It seems to be neverending heat right now for us, but we had a spring and early summer of trememdous amounts of rain.
Don't think I have ever seen a field of flax, unless I just didn't know what it was. Maybe when I lived in North Dakota. We have little purple flowers here, but they are some kind of weed or clover.
Hope you have a super day!

Terry and Linda said...

The fires are NOT a good thing---but that field of Flax is beautiful!

Patsy said...

Never thought about Flax,my it is lovely. What you can learn from blogging,
is wonderful. Thanks
Hope you soon get your bucket filled.

Leah said...

Beautiful!! I agree flax fields are a beautiful sight - unfortunately photos don't express it completely! Shucks one of the last storms when DL got so much weather there was a lot of lightning in the sky - next time I will call you and you can safely take pics from my deck :)

Jan said...

I am glad you shared your bucket list with us...quite breathtaking.

Georgina said...

I remember seeing a field of flax from the train to Cambridge. It does;t look quite real does it, seeing a field full of blue?

Rita said...

How pretty! I have never seen a blooming flax field before. I can see why you would remember it. :)

thecrazysheeplady said...

I didn't know that about the blooms and also the two varieties. Neat!

Linda W. said...

I had no idea flax fields were so pretty!

Red said...

I understand your feeling about a flax field. It's an impressive sight.

Granny Marigold said...

My sister sent me some flax seed one year and it grew and bloomed with those lovely blue flowers.It didn't come up the next year nor did it self seed. Too bad.

The Furry Gnome said...

Flax fields are so beautiful when they're in bloom! I've only seen a couple in a decade here.

Linda Reeder said...

Oh, I remember flax fields from way back in my youth. There were flax processing sheds near where I lived. However they stopped growing and processing linen flax a long, long time ago. I'm sure automation took over and put them out of business.

Shirley said...

I love to see blue flax fields- we don't have them here, but when I lived in Alberta one area had blue flax on one side of the highway and canola on the other- yellow and blue, So pretty.

Sam I Am...... said...

How beautiful it is! The flax seed we eat must be the oilseed. It is supposed to be very healthy for you. I have some I use in bread and also the dog treats. I never connected the same flax that linen is made from. Amazing plant! Great photos too!