Passionate for Purple

I had such a lazy, lovely afternoon. Joey, Dakota, Sadie, and I went to my mother-in-law's house for lunch and for Joey to take care of a few things in her yard. We enjoyed a yummy lunch, then went outside to walk the dogs. I like to look at her fish pond and check out the pretty aquatic plants she has in it. 

This brings me to the reason I titled this post Passionate for Purple. She had told me about this beautiful wild iris that she plucked from the roadside on a recent fishing trip. My mother-in-law loves to fish! 

 I thought it was so pretty and wanted to go see them growing in the wild. So, on our way home, we went a little out of the way so I could see them. Here's Sadie enjoying the afternoon drive...:) See the white thing sticking up in the bottom, right corner of the photo? That is one of a few white pieces my mother-in-law picked up for me at a yard sale. I'll share soon!

There were hundreds of wild irises scattered in small clusters in the roadside ditches...so pretty!

It was difficult to get good photos with my little point and shoot camera, but I did capture a few good ones. The breeze didn't help either, but it sure felt good. It was a gorgeous day today here in Florida! It lived up to its nickname today...The Sunshine State.

I spotted these eggs and wasn't quite sure what laid them, but I did my research and discovered that it was the Florida Applesnail. Apparently there are four species of applesnails in Florida, but the Florida Applesnail is the only one native to our state.

On the drive, I noticed almost every wild flower blooming in the ditches were shades of purple. It looked as though the road was hemmed in shades of purple. These tiny flowers are so beautiful with their bright yellow centers and just look at the details! 

The thistles are such a pretty shade of purple....although they are a thorny, scary looking plant!

Sadie loved hanging her head out the window while I was snapping photos! She was sniffing all the new scents in the air.

We live in such a beautiful world...:)

Love this photo...I was trying to capture the thistle, but the breeze kept blowing this dry grass into view. It turned out great for a mistake! Not sure what this grass is called...maybe Indian Grass?

This purple wildflower was pretty too. Even the stem was a shade of purple.

This picture just says Florida....or at least the Florida I know so well...:) So many different types of vegetaion in this one photo. If we had not been short on time, we could have driven just a few more miles to Shired Island and the Gulf of Mexico. I love it down there...maybe sometime soon I'll get down there and take some sunset photos. 

I hope you enjoyed the drive and looking at all the beautiful purple flowers. I enjoyed my afternoon immensely and am glad I had time to share it with you. I normally prepare lesson plans and other things for school on Sunday afternoons, but I got everything done Saturday night this week. This allowed me the time to go for a leisurely drive and look for purple flowers to share with you all.

Have a blessed and beautiful week my friends. 

Until next time.....