The flowers fade, intentionally

“Some of my Colorado relatives used to get a chuckle that their state, in deference to its rarity and fragility, levied a monetary penalty for picking the state flower, the columbine, on public lands. Yet in Kansas, our state flower, the sunflower, grew unrelenting on the roadsides, creating a travel hazard. Consequently, the Kansas Department of Transportation sprayed the roadsides to kill said state flower. My family could not but find this amusing. It is the juxtaposition of pretense versus practicality. The Sunflower State. Ah, Kansas, “Land of Ah’s [sic],” as they once advertised.”  P. 185  Dryland Lament