Missing a Mullein

Common Mullein, Verbascum thapsus

It is my habit to walk at night, after the day’s work, when the heat has passed and the sun leans toward the western sky, leaving the fields in coolness and still.
Along the lane between corn and soy, watching deer browse at the distant tree line, butterflies dance along the gravel path--this has become the routine.

But, last week I walked here early, as the sun was rising, the day bright and fresh.
To catch a few pictures before the clouds brought rain and strong winds to blow them away.

And I found it a different place, in the morning.
Tender blooms open wide, that, by evening, have passed--
never seen on all those other walks.

I must remember to break old habits.

Morning Roadside with Moth Mullein

Moth Mullein, Verbascum blattaria

(please click to enlarge)

I see Common Mullein often. Its wooly leaves and tall, spiky stem stand out easily along roadsides and vacant lots.
But, only in the morning, do the blossoms of Moth Mullein open broadly, revealing its place, too, in disturbed gravel shoulders lining the fields.
So named, because its petals resemble moth's wings, its stamens, their feathery antennae.

Read more about mullein here:
Common Mullein
Moth Mullein
.