i guess i could say that i would find this thistle beautiful at home, in the land of deep summer greens and lush forests mixed of hardwoods and evergreens. but i would have to work at it a little bit. i’d have to take a minute to pick it out from all the saturated color that surrounded it, and reset my aesthetic vision to appreciate the faded yellow suns atop the drooping, weaponish, sage green leaves. but here in the languedoc i see them all the time along the side of the trail and they leap out from the muted background and dusty schist, and cry out their obvious beauty.

chardon

autignac, france