there is no way to add scale to a STILL blog photo against a blank white background. so to clarify: this wreath of thistle leaves is three feet across, made up of 13-15 inch long leaves, taken from a field thistle that was no less than seven feet tall, with a stem almost two inches in diameter. this is a thistle on a scale that we have not seen around here for years. on on unrelated side note, this wine lover was just reminded tonight of the unlikely connection between thistles and wine. the word thistle in latin is carduus, which leads to cardoon in english, and chardon in french. cardonnacum is the latin word for “a place where thistles grow,” and is believed to be the origin of the village in burgundy called “chardonnay, saône-et-loire,” which is most likely the home of the grape variety most likely to be served slightly too warm at a team-building work function around the holidays in america.

thistle leaves

grass lake regional trail, saint paul, minnesota