In Perfect Alignment

Sometimes light, color and form come together in perfect alignment and I happen to be there to see it:

This is a Dayflower, also known as Widow's Tears, growing next to one of the stone steps on the bank of the river. Both of the common names for this flower have a good explanation. The flower bloom only lasts for a day, but there are usually four or five buds in a cluster that open over a succession of several days, thus the name Dayflower.

Widow's Tears has a less obvious, but more interesting story. There is a modified leaf called a bract below the flower. If one gently squeezes the bract, a small drop of water will form on the tip of the bract. This is the widow's tear. So the story goes, the widow will shed a single tear for her deceased spouse and then move on.

This set of photos was taken on the stone steps at the canoe / kayak put-in point on the bank of the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River at the VFW Blvd trailhead on Monday, September 30, 2013.