Poor, Unappreciated Weeds

I think this beautiful milkweed got mowed down by the county road department this morning.  Sigh.  Maybe I can find the "stump" and move it to a safer location.  Butterflies love it.  Pretty, huh?

Thorns

This is a prickly pear in bloom.  The large waxy blooms only last one day.  The thorns on these babies are vicious.  Frankly, I don't like thorns much.  We have a number of thorny things around here - berries, roses, and a locust tree, to name a few.  They always make me think of the curse on the earth in the book of Genesis, and the crown our Savior wore on the cross.

Here's what God told Adam when He confronted him about eating from the forbidden tree:

Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Here are some wild raspberries starting to turn ripe.