Columbines

This flower is called the Colorado Blue Columbine

I love Columbines. They are a very delicate and beautiful flower that grows in meadows, woodlands, and higher altitudes. If you are hiking in the mountains, as you climb higher and higher, you will notice the vegetation tapering off. Along with the mosses, peeking through the cracks of the rocks and beside the edge of the trail the Columbines still grow. 

The Colorado Blue Columbine is Colorado's state flower, which means that I have cherished these little beauties my entire life, much like the Blue Spruce and "America the Beautiful" and anything else that Colorado has a bit of a stamp on. The seeds and roots are actually poisonous and very toxic to be ingested. I've always appreciated them because Columbines don't need to be nurtured like most flowers. They are hardy, and even plant themselves in the cracks in the rocks - and they return every year no matter how treacherous the winter. What little inspirations, they are.

Mom planted Columbines at her house, which I got to enjoy during our visit there. When we arrived home to Utah, I was delightfully surprised to see some of these sweet friends towering over the weeds in the dirt beside my front porch. What a delight, to arrive home and see the Columbines here to greet me!!

For the last 5ish years, Mom and Nell and I always talk and tease and contemplate getting tattoos together. We've actually gone as far as to sit in a tattoo parlor and wait for our turn, until one of us lost courage and we went and got ice cream instead. Lately, the Columbine is what I've wanted for my tattoo. It is so beautiful and has been such a significant symbol throughout my life - always carrying different meanings and significances, but it has been prominent in my heart throughout my life. Signifying mountains or remembrance or strength and tenacity, or Colorado or home.... what a lovely flower.