FLOWERS 57 



actual opening is very quick. Then slowing the cam- 

 era down during their brief life, they close almost 

 like a flash on the screen. In real life the next morn- 

 ing the blossoms are a tight coil three fourths of an 

 inch high, while another bud is growing up to fulfill 

 its mission in life. 



The Dandelion blossom, often one and one half 

 inch in diameter, is beautiful enough to be exempt 

 from the weed class. It is especially interesting if 

 looked at and studied with a magnifying glass the 

 details of the flower are so unusual. The seed pods, 

 opening about noon into a ball a couple of inches in 

 diameter, give them a chance to dry out that the 

 wind may blow them in all directions. Who as a 

 child has not given a mighty blast while saying, "She 

 loves me/' and then a very light blow, "She loves me 

 not"? Of course, she loved him if they all went float- 

 ing away the first time. 



The Western Azalea ranks among the foremost 

 shrub entrants for the beauty prize. In Yosemite 

 along the river bank and in some of the moist mead- 

 ows, during June and July, the great clusters white, 

 rose, pink, a dozen or more flowerets in a cluster, 

 anthers and pistils curved up beyond the petals and 

 the entire shrub, blossoms and bright green foliage 

 reflected in the stream, possibly El Capitan or the 

 Bridal Veil Falls in the distance make a combina- 



