Wildflowers add a bright spot on long drive

Wildflower in the median along US 287 near Clarendon June 27.

Bloomers in Baytown.

 Zooming across the state to Amarillo, I came to a unexpected stop between Clarendon and Claude. It was a traffic jam on the High Plains.

The car thermometer said the outside temperature was 100 degrees. Ahead there was a tower of black smoke.

Later I would learn the billowing smoke was from a load of tires burning through the trailer of an 18-wheeler.

After 20 minutes or so, some cars in the highway backup started crossing the grassy median and heading back toward Clarendon. I stayed in line.

While inching along, I noticed a spot of color along the highway. It looked like a basket flower aka Centaurea americana.

It was a scraggly specimen that only slightly resembled the tall, wild beauties blooming around the Gulf Coast right now.

My first impulse was to feel sorry for the scrawny wildflower that has survived mowers and drought. But it doesn't need my sympathy. It is where it should be. -- Lana b.

Today there is a nice stand of Centaurea americana along the Arkokisa Loop Trail at Baytown Nature Center.