Photos, videos and docs of Janet Brien, with the keywords: "blue"

Breathtaking Sproat Lake, Near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 22:11:42 +0000

(+8 insets) (this pano is terrific at full size!)

Trip Talk: The Problems of Structured Travel

Have you ever been on a really, really long trip before? The longest I’d ever been away was a 28-day whirlwind tour of Europe when I was a mere 21 years old. Steve had been on a three-week trip before we met but this trip to Vancouver Island was to be six whole weeks when all was said and done. Even though we’d planned our accommodations and made possible itineraries for each destination, we hoped there would be ample time to relax and just absorb the surroundings wherever we went.

We’d learned from our past trips that the acceptable minimum stay at each destination was four days, with five days being better. However, as it turned out, the very fact of having a finite amount of time took away our desire for carefree spontaneity. As well, we felt an obligation to do and see as much as we could at each place because in the backs of our minds we couldn’t help thinking that we may never see this place again. We didn’t want to “miss anything”.

But isn’t that the opposite of what a vacation is supposed to be? What’s the point of rabidly running around an area to the point of exhaustion? Granted, Steve and I didn’t actually do that. We did our best to be reasonable and not put too much into each day. However, both of us still felt a level of disappointment whenever we moved on to the next leg of our journey. It was rare that we felt that we’d had enough time to experience a place as we’d wanted to.

One day while we were on a gorgeous hike to a place called Marble Falls, we spent some time chatting about the trip so far. We both felt stifled and pushed along just when we were getting to know a place. We felt frustrated that we couldn’t just have a day to do nothing at all if we liked.

Steve wanted to be able to just go out fishing for the whole day if he wanted. Or maybe just stay in the rig and take a day off by playing a computer game. Or whatever he felt like that wasn’t necessarily the best choice for the day.

I was upset because taking any time at all to write about the trip felt too selfish so I just didn’t. As well, macro photography was something I did only a few times during the entire six weeks. I need to be creatively free without pressure so I can creep around and be “in the moment”. Because we had limited time at each spot, I couldn’t just relax and enjoy my creative pursuits. That made me very unhappy— I felt like I wasn’t allowed to express myself creatively and that’s not what I’d signed up for.

We needed a different approach to allow us to feel satisfied by our experience of each place. In other words, we really need to go “Full-Time”. Instead of spending 4-5 days at a place, we need to spend an undefined amount of time that allows us to stay as long as we want until we’re ready to move on.

That means we’ll need to sell our house. No surprise but we have all the more reason to work towards that goal. Ugh. Not a chapter I want to be part of but the end result will be freedom and enough coin to afford a bigger, better RV. Something for us to look forward to!

————

Today’s Pictures

One of our campsite destinations was near a place called Port Alberni, located fairly close to the center of Vancouver Island. With so many fun activities available to us, we decided to try fishing at nearby Sproat Lake. Tempted by reports of excellent fishing, we soon made our way out to the large, four-armed lake by way of a relatively short hike. The hike turned out to be a lot longer than we anticipated and our fishing gear got heavier and heavier as we trekked along. However, we didn’t know how beautiful the trail would be and soon felt the misjudged time was well worth it to find this gem. We were surprised by a super cool suspension bridge, a little waterfall, and lush beautiful forest along the way. Eventually the trail spilled out onto the shore of Sproat Lake and the sight simply took our breaths away!

Main Image: the view of Sproat Lake when we got to the end of Fossili Trail.

Inset 1: Steve catches a branch! Fishing turned out to be a bust for us, but we loved being out there in such a pretty place. Steve did catch a small Sculpin, but they’re not good for eating unless you’re ocean fishing and get a really big one.

Inset 2: Vertical panorama of the trail we walked on. What a lovely forest it was!

Inset 3: Panorama of verdant Fossili Trail. So lush and green!

Inset 4: Another vertical panorama of the trail, I just love the way these pictures look!

Inset 5: The wonderful suspension bridge along the trail, we were so happy because we love these bridges so much. What’s funny is that I’m afraid of heights and suspension bridges bounce, sway, and move freely as you walk on them. Terrifying much? Um, yeah. But my love for the construction and appearance of these marvels supersedes my fears and I am able to force myself to cross them without freaking out! :)

Inset 6: Where we parked the truck, I noticed a possible view if I scrambled over some boulders and fallen trees. With Steve urging me on, I approached the opening in the forest and I saw a huge meadow lined with timber. I really liked the way this row of tall, slender trees looks, standing guard over the vista.

Inset 7: This is a panorama of the timber-lined meadow when I moved past the trees.

Inset 8: On the way home I asked Steve to pull over so I could take this picture, which shows how beautiful the area around Port Alberni is! :)

Pam, I think you would have loved this hike and the lovely time we spent out at the lake. Most of the forests we visited on Vancouver Island glowed vibrantly. They felt so welcoming and left us content and happy. Forests at home feel almost desperate from the heat and lack of water. What a difference. I expect that’s the same where you live too. Well, I do hope that you are having a good day! *BIG HUGS*

Explored on 9/10/19; highest placement #6.

Saturday Self-Challenge: Things That Fly or Float

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 00:10:52 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

(+2 insets!) (please view large for even more detail!)

We had originally planned to visit two other places on our Central Oregon Trip, including a two-day side trip out to the coast at Tillamook and a four-night stay at Detroit Lake State Park. Because of our transmission snafu, we ended up turning our four nights at L.L. Stub Stewart State Park to 11 nights and cancelling our other destinations. However, we did end up adding a different destination for our last five nights: Diamond Lake!

We'd discovered this place on the way home from my birthday trip last year. We'd headed up to Sun River for a few glorious days of hiking and biking at the end of September and on the way back to Medford we had enough time to stop off at a spot along the way that we'd only driven past before. There was a 10-mile paved path around this beautiful lake which seemed like the perfect distance for a brief stop. That trail turned out to be one of the most delightful we'd ever had the pleasure of riding on and we wanted to return and repeat the experience.

I'm happy to report that going around Diamond Lake again was equally fantastic on our second time around! During our stay we also went on another bike ride and a long hike, along with two days of fishing! The RV campground we stayed at was super too, with a wonderful forest setting and lots of birds and other animals to enjoy.

I went out with my macro lens one morning and got hundreds of neat images as I strolled along. Part of my wandering took me down to a small, lazy creek clogged with logs which emptied into Diamond Lake. There I found all kind of cool subjects by the water, including damselflies! My main picture today shows my lucky close-up portrait! I have an inset which shows the whole damselfly. Unfortunately the light was low enough that I couldn't get a proper full-dof image but I'm still very happy that I got such a nice, crisp image of its face. This guy was so brave…I just kept creeping closer and closer until I stopped because I didn't want to scare it away. I managed to get a dozen pictures that were crisp, hooray! :) And what luck…today's Saturday Self-Challenge is all about things that fly or float! :D

(I'm also sharing an inset that shows the creek so you can see how filled with logs it was! The creek really seemed more like a pond but there was a culvert which led under the main road there and emptied into Diamond Lake)

Pam, it's wonderful to be in communication with you again--I've really missed our little back and forth conversations! Best of all, I'm so happy that you are so understanding that I won't be able to post pictures every day when I'm away. It would have been nice but you know how it is! :D *SENDING BIG HUGS YOUR WAY!*

Explored on 7/8/19; highest placement, #1.

Pictures for Pam, Day 200: Steller's Jay in Full Fluff

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Wed, 29 May 2019 04:15:53 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

(+3 insets!)

We’ve arrived back at our home on our 14th day out on the road! It’s so strange to be back after all of our adventures! We're feeling a little bit like the Twilight Zone...:D

Steve and I had a luxurious morning full of happy snuggles, a delicious steak omelet and a relaxed check-out. We continue to streamline our process and it’s faster and easier each time we break down our RV and hook the truck up to pull out. We use walkie-talkies when Steve backs up to the RV and I’m getting better at directing him exactly into place.

It’s fun to be a strong team and wherever there are problems, we face them head-on and deal with them as best we can to remove them hopefully for good! There is something to be said about being forced into close proximity for long periods of time. Issues come up and either you deal with them or else, right? We love our teamwork spirit and it’s helping us so much in every way. Hooray!

What a lovely, sunny morning it was. We were so happy about our successful trip and the sunny exit was like a goodbye gift! It would mean we didn’t have to drive in the rain and could enjoy a bright and beautiful day, how nice!

We got on the road at about noon and headed south and then east, revisiting the beautiful road that took us to our first destination at Jedediah Smith State Park. It seemed like so long ago that we were there, and we oohed and ahhhhed over the incredible trees, ferns and verdant forest all around us as we drove past.

It didn’t take but a couple of hours before we were in Grants Pass (about 35 minutes from home) where we stopped to stock up on groceries. Then it was off again and soon we were pulling up to our gate. We wondered if the stormy weather would make our driveway a mess but a couple of dry days made the drive up our hill easy and Steve backed the RV into place without any problems.

How odd it feels to be home after such a long time away in our “home away from home.” We both feel like our RV is becoming our real home and our “land-based” home is more like a temporary place to be before our next trip. Isn’t that odd? I’ve never experienced anything like this before and it’s very interesting to think about.

Other than a short stop for dinner, we have both been working non-stop to unpack and put things away, get the RV set up properly so Steve can work on it, and do the million things around the house that need tending to. I fed our very ravenous Snakey McSnakerton (our California Mountain King Snake) and watered all the plants, started in on the laundry, etc, etc. I like doing all of this though because it’s a nice way to get settled at home. I am tired though, so I’m going to post my pictures!

Today’s main image is the gorgeous, full-fluff Stellar’s Jay that I got a picture of yesterday on our Whaleshead Cove hike. I am so happy that the picture turned out well, we’ve never seen them in a fluffy state like this and I am delighted at my luck! My insets include a detail shot of that lovely Rolls Royce I saw at the car show! Look at that inlayed wood…it’s just WOW! :)

I'm also sharing a pair of pictures of the Driftwood RV Park(ing Lot) and our rig there so you can see what I mean when I say it’s not a place to write home about. It wasn’t bad, just nothing special, you know? Heh.

Pam, I’m so glad that you’ve been enjoying our trip notes and pictures. It means so much to me that I’ve been able to entertain you with our adventures. Stay tuned for more, my dear…next up will be Bend—John Day—Sun River—and another place we haven’t decided on yet…we’ll be home for a couple of weeks while Steve does a few upgrades to the rig and so forth…we’ll let you know as things develop! :) We’re thinking of you and hope you are well! *BIG HUGS*

Explored on 5/29/19; highest placement, #1.

Pictures for Pam, Day 42: HFF! Eastern California Ranch

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 21 Dec 2018 02:46:56 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

(1 inset, read below for explanation!)

December 20…just one more day to go before the shortest day of the year! I'm so happy because of course that means that finally the days will begin getting longer again! Hooray!! I simply can't wait before it starts to get light earlier again!

This morning I saw some familiar red envelopes on the counter that needed to be mailed so I grabbed them as I walked out the door for my daily exercise.

Netflix. We love these guys. In fact, we've been loyal customers since 2001! In fact, the moment I found out about this new movie and tv service, I was on them like white on rice!

Why the fervor? One word: commercials. I hate them. Wait, that's not quite right. I LOATHE commercials. But actually, that wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back. It was the ticker tapes and the pop-ups that began covering the screen during a show. All of this garbage made me so crazy that I stopped watching television entirely, in about 1998. I just couldn't stand it anymore. And you know what? I didn't miss a thing. And I was also much happier.

Then I found out there was a new service that actually mailed dvds to you and included free return mailers. What?! Who?! Where?! I couldn't sign up fast enough! No more schlepping out to a video store and dealing with returns the next day? No more wasted time picking out a title? No more disappointment because the movie I wanted was rented? I was instantly in love with Netflix and remain blissfully happy all these years!

I walked the envelopes down to our mail box and popped the red flag up to alert the postman that we have mail to pick up. Isn't that the coolest thing?! I just love the fact that I don't have to find a public mail box when I need to send something out! Having spent most of my life in San Francisco or a nearby city, I have always relied on public mail boxes. I know you can clip your mail to your mail slot and it will be picked up but I never liked the idea of a stranger noticing and possibly taking your mail. Of course it's possible that our outgoing mail could be stolen from this rural mailbox but the likelihood is very small.

I turned to walk back through our gate when I stopped in my tracks and turned around. On the post that holds our mail box was a zip tie used to hold a sign in place. Somehow an Oak leaf had jammed itself onto the zip tie and was now stuck firmly against the post and the sign. I stared. I goggled. How does that even HAPPEN?! I returned a little while later and took a picture because you guys just have to see this!! (see the inset!)

It's Thursday for me but Friday in Europe so I'm posting my HFF picture now! This one is from the five-day motorcycle trip that Steve and I went on a couple of years ago with our friend Andy. On Day 4 we rode up the eastern side of California with the spine of the Sierras to our left. We traveled from a town near eastern Yosemite called Bridgeport all the way up to a small town called Alturas. Along the way were mind-bendingly huge ranches littered with cattle. I took this picture while we rode along on this incredibly beautiful day! (The Sierras can be seen rising up in the distance.)

Pam, I hope that you've been doing a little better lately! I have seen more of your comments on people's pictures and everyone is so happy for your visit! Here's a wish for a holiday gift from all of us, a healing present that will push you gently towards a happy, healthy you! Thinking of you every day! *HUGGGGGGGS*!

Explored on 12/21/18, highest placement, #1.

298/366: Damselfly on Chair [+1 in a note]

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 04:07:41 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

(+1 in a note)
Steve and I went on a bike ride a few years ago and while we were eating our lunch, I noticed this damselfly who rested on a chair nearby. I was able to creep quite closely to get some nice pictures! Roll your mouse over the upper left corner for a portrait! :)

271/366: Beauty in Blue--Love in a Mist

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 05:14:36 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Have you ever had the chance to see this flower up close before? These unusual blossoms are surrounded by feathery, finely divided leaves which is where they get their name. I think they are so alien-like and interesting, and when I was successful at growing them from seeds, I was totally delighted!

241/366: Lovely Blue Asters

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 03:51:13 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Steve and I have a friend who told us about the Ashland Garden Tour, because her garden was selected as one of the featured gardens. Steve and I went to visit her a week before the tour and I spent hours taking pictures that day. These lovely blue asters were just one of the countless beauties in her garden!

Explored on Sept. 1, 2016. Highest placement, page 4.

169/366: Blue Classic

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 04:37:57 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Today is the end of the 2016 Medford Cruise. It's a shame that Steve and I missed this year's events, but we were tied up the weekend before and then we left for our motorcycle vacation on Thursday, and won't be home until tomorrow. There will be other shows though, so we're not too disappointed. And the fact of the matter is I have dozens upon dozens of pictures still to process from when we went in 2013! VIVA LA MEDFORD CRUISE!!! :D

150/366: Frog on the Wall

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 03:57:57 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

We have a seasonal pond that dries up before all of the tadpoles can transform into froglets, so I step in by collecting the stragglers and putting them into a wading pool in our front yard. This artificial pond gives them the time they need to finish growing, and in return, I get to visit the cutie pies every day and take pictures! This was a picture I took back in 2012! :)

74/366: Northern Flicker on our Feeder (+1 in a note)

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 02:52:55 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

(1 image in a note above)

About 30 pictures back in this 366 project, I posted an image of a Northern Flicker that was sitting on a branch near our bird feeders. Here is a much closer view of this lovely bird which I took a couple of years ago. They are so stunning, aren't they? Very large too, they measure between 11-14" in length!

What I didn't know is how common these birds are. They are found all over the United States and as such, they have over 100 common names! From Wiki: Among them are: yellowhammer (as it's known as the state bird of Alabama, not to be confused with the Eurasian yellowhammer), clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup, and gawker bird. WOW! You can find out more about these awesome birds here: Wiki: Northern Flicker

45/366: Northern Flickr in a Tree

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 02:15:42 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

One of the things we love so much about where we love is the sheer number and species of birds here. So many we had never seen before, including this large relative of the woodpecker, a Northern Flicker. These stunning birds love to eat the suet that we put out and sometimes there have been as many as 5 of them at once at the feeder! I got lucky with this shot on my husband's birthday at the end of April in 2013!

21/366: Damselfly with Lunch

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 02:39:09 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Last May, Steve and I planned to go on a photography outing with our local club. Upon arriving at the lake, we discovered that it was both freezing cold and extremely windy, so we drove home. On the way back, we decided to stop at a spot along the Rogue River for a photo walk. It ended up being a lot of fun and I managed to capture lots of cool subjects!

I had been focusing on a lupine when I noticed something flying by. Peeking out from behind my camera, I saw this damselfly land, take off, and land again in the same place. Creeping closer, I started clicking away, and got several images before it flew away. However, it hadn't gone far and I saw it land on a stem of grass several feet away. This time I was able to get extremely close, and I finally figured out why. When it took off the first time it caught a gnat, and landing the second time it had a tasty meal to distract it while I got my pictures! Hooray!!

Color Wheel Project: Blue

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 22:52:16 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Blue is the theme for Week 6 of the Color Wheel project! This project is part of the ipernity group, "10-Week Picture Projects". We'd love you have you join us! Even if you missed the first weeks of Red, Pink, Orange, and Yellow, you can either skip them or upload those pictures too!

Beautiful blue beads from nearly white to almost black and all sorts of shapes and textures had me fiddling around for quite a while to make sure I had pictures of all the beads I really loved! I took my pictures last night and looked through them today, winding up on this shape as the winner, with it's deep cobalt color and pretty gleam.

10-Week Picture Projects is two shy from 250 members and the waves of contributions every week is incredible!! Great fun, great talent, and easy to participate in because your picture can be from your archives or current. This can be a nice way to showcase a picture from the past that screams a certain color! :)

Explored on November 11, 2014. Highest placement, #13...

1-10 Project: 5 Blue Petals in a Sea of Green

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 15:05:21 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Last June, Steve and I got the opportunity to take pictures of a friend's garden, and I spent a couple of hours immersed in an immaculately landscaped slice of heaven. This tiny beauty is called a Forget-Me-Not, a popular garden flower which is also used as a symbol for Remembrance Day by some Newfoundlanders, and as a symbol by Freemasons to not forget those who have died.

There are five others doing this project with me, and if you'd like to jump in, we'd love to have you! You can catch up when you can! :)

1-10 Project Buddies
Chrissy
Valfal (Valerie)
Jenny McIntyre
Rachel
Lynne

Explored on August 25, 2014. Highest placement, #1.

Off we go into the wild blue yonder, Sailing by, high in the sky...

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 04:17:31 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

About 10 minutes after we left the house, we heard a small plane fly overhead and then we heard a very strange sound. Both of us looked at each other and said, "That sounded bad..." "...Yeah, like the engine was stalling..." But we didn't hear anything else as we continued walking. Then Steve pointed and exclaimed, "LOOK!!! SKYDIVERS!!" Three skydivers were sailing happily through the sky, drifting slowly down to the earth towards a large field near a farm-owned airstrip. I managed to get pictures of two of them and then a couple of minutes later the plane came flying overhead and I got pictures of that too! :D YAY!!!

The words I chose are part of the U.S. Airforce song, and of course the actual lyrics don't work, so I changed them to fit! :D If you're interested, here is a page about the song with the proper lyrics! :) Wikipedia: The U.S. Air Force Song and you can hear it at this link: YouTube: The US Airforce Song

Pair of Chicory Stamens with Pollen Granules

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 20:31:43 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

2 pictures and 1 note above!

Looking around for subjects to practice on, I noticed that there were still some beautiful Chicory blossoms in bloom and I instantly thought, "STAMENS!!!!!" You can see that the dof is very thin and in truth, needs to be more in the f/11 range to include that whole stamen. Still, I am delighted at the clarity and detail here!

Single Chicory Stamen with Pollen Granules

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 20:31:35 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

2 pictures and 1 note above!

When I took both Chicory pictures, there was a slight breeze and I was holding the camera and used manual focus. All of these factors have impacted the clarity of this picture, but still, it's not bad. It is amazing working with such a razor-thin dof. I would move my camera slightly closer and then backwards, taking a picture as soon as I felt the focus was right. VERY HARD to keep anything in focus for more than a split second!

Chicory Blossom in Morning Light

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 03:41:50 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

I took this picture a couple of weeks ago when the sun was low and turned the grass in our meadows a soft gold. Very nice as a background to this lovely wildflower. I am crazy about Chicory blossoms and keep meaning to feature them for my Pick of the Day, but something always seems to push it out of the way! Too many pictures, not enough top spots! :D

From Wikipedia:
Common chicory, Cichorium intybus, is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Various varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons (blanched buds), or for roots (var. sativum), which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and additive. It is also grown as a forage crop for livestock. It lives as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and in North America and Australia, where it has become naturalized.

Explored on August 6, 2013. Highest placement, page 4.

Dorena Reservoir at Cottage Grove, Oregon

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 04:28:34 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

About a month ago, Steve and I went with our friend up to Cottage Grove and took our bikes on a 35 mile ride in the area. Most of the ride included views of this amazing reservoir! Isn't it just breathtaking?!!!

From Wiki:
Dorena Reservoir (also Dorena Lake) is a reservoir on the Row River in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Cottage Grove.

The Dorena Dam creating the reservoir was completed in 1949 as one of the thirteen dams of the United States Army Corps of Engineers in the Willamette Valley. In June 2012, the Corps of Engineers approved a project to begin producing hydroelectric power from the dam.

Set at the south end of the Willamette Valley and criss-crossed by the coast fork of the Willamette River and the Row River the area was susceptible to periodic flooding from large snow melts in the surrounding mountains. In the 1940’s the United States Army Corps of Engineers began construction of dams which created the Cottage Grove Reservoir and Dorena Lake. Dorena Lake has become an enormously popular summer vacation destination with its Baker Bay Marina and camping and Shwartz Park campground. Visitor estimates top 80,000 people annually.

Sparkling Bachelor Buttons

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 04:13:00 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

1 clickable image in a note above!

This is a picture I took the other day. These are such beautiful little flowers, the blue is so bright!

Here's some information from Wikipedia about this pretty flower!

Bachelor's Buttons (Centaurea cyanus), also known as Cornflower, Bluebottle, Boutonniere flower, Hurtsickle, Cyani flower, is a small annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe. "Cornflower" is also used for chicory, and a few other Centaurea species; to distinguish C. cyanus from these it is sometimes called Common Cornflower. It may also be referred to as basketflower, though the term also refers to the Plectocephalus group of Centaurea, which is probably a distinct genus.

It is an annual plant growing to 16-35 inches tall, with grey-green branched stems. The leaves are lanceolate, 1–4 cm long. The flowers are most commonly an intense blue colour, produced in flowerheads (capitula) 1.5–3 cm diameter, with a ring of a few large, spreading ray florets surrounding a central cluster of disc florets. The blue pigment is protocyanin, which in roses is red.

In the past it often grew as a weed in crop fields, hence its name (fields growing grains such as wheat, barley, rye, or oats are sometimes known as corn fields in the UK). It is now endangered in its native habitat by agricultural intensification, particularly over-use of herbicides, destroying its habitat; in the United Kingdom it has declined from 264 sites to just 3 sites in the last 50 years. In reaction to this, the conservation charity Plantlife named it as one of 101 species it would actively work to bring 'Back from the Brink'. It is also, however, through introduction as an ornamental plant in gardens and a seed contaminant in crop seeds, now naturalised in many other parts of the world, including North America and parts of Australia.