We are heading into the early fall season as marked by the blooming of fall flowers, among other things. One flower that doesn’t usually bloom in the fall, is the purple thistle (Cirsium horridulum). But one thing about nature. She doesn’t always read the text books. So I was pleasantly surprised to find a large patch of them flowering on my last trip to Cedar Key. There were loads of attractive pollinators enjoying the flowers, but the flowers themselves were quite beautiful, too. I was especially taken with this bud that was just beginning to open. It had a bright pink top that really made it stand out. While processing the photo, I tried to really make that pink tip stand out even more.