6/25/11 – Featured in THE WORLD AS WE SEE IT Group.
6/27/11 – Featured in the COLOR ME A RAINBOW Group.

This started out as a photo of a yellow weed that I found near the railroad tracks. I started out by fixing the contrast, which brought out the blues in the background. I used the Nik Glamor Glow filter to soften the image, Redfield Plasteroid for texturing and Flaming Pear Lacquer to bring out the colored edges.

Original photo taken May 30, 2011 with a Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS camera. Alterations were made in Photoshop CS. This image was inspired by the song of the same name.

These flowers are Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia).

In many areas leafy spurge is classified as a noxious weed. The acrid, milky juice (latex) can inflame and blister sensitive skin. If the plants are eaten, they cause vomiting, and in quantity they can prove fatal. Even honey made from the nectar from some spurges is mildly poisonous. Sheep are able to eat leafy spurge, so they are being used in biological control programs. [from Montana Plant Life]

The original photo, which looks washed out, is shown below: