Illinois State Flower: Violet

Nature, State Flowers 1 Minute

Violet flowers, hailing from the violaceae family, are a fascinating and diverse group of perennials. Famous for their stunning violets, their shades range from deep, sultry purples of the common blue violet (Viola sororia) to the charming tricolor petals of the Viola tricolor.

Violet flowers are versatile and can thrive in a variety of conditions. They can grow under full sun or partial shade, making them a favorite among gardeners across different climates. In Europe, these perennials are a popular choice for both outdoor gardens and as a houseplant due to their adaptability and striking appearance.

The violet flower is a self-pollinating plant, which means it doesn’t rely on insects or wind to propagate. This feature ensures a continuous bloom of flowers from late summer to early autumn. The plant sends out runners, which contribute to its swift spread and swelling population in a garden.

Caring for a violet flower, part of the Violaceae family, requires an understanding of subtle nurturing techniques. These flowers produce delicate petals and lush leaves that resonate vividly in both spring and late summer.

Interestingly, violet flowers are self-pollinating, and some varieties produce runners, swelling their garden presence. However, be cautious of pests such as insects and slugs which could damage the plant.

As a houseplant, violets require careful watering to prevent leaf yellowing, a common sign of overwatering. These characteristic violet flowers are not only visually enchanting but are a source of flavonoids, beneficial for both their beauty and their nutritional value.

Violet flowers grow best in partial shade to full sun. These small plants, often considered perennials, require a delicate balance of light to flourish.

Too much direct sunlight can cause the leaves to scorch, while too little can hinder their growth and flowering. In Europe, they are often found growing in dappled light under trees.

SOURCE: PLANETNATURAL.COM

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Published by pat frederick

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131 thoughts on “Illinois State Flower: Violet”

    1. Morning, Pat! Some fireworks going off here w/some big boomers but it wasn’t too bad and they didn’t keep it up very late. No complaints here. It’s clear this morning but a nipply 58 at the moment. Supposed to be mostly clear today, then some rain moving in over the week-end, w/no rain at all on next week’s forecast, mid-to-high 80’s predicted all week. But we’ll see – that always changes.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Like

        1. Ups and downs – ! I’m making spinach (uses shredded fresh spinach, swiss, guyere cheeses, eggs) quiches for a late, late lunch. Pillsbury crusts. Had a bag of spinach that needed to be used up.

          Liked by 1 person

  11. WTH???

    Old Dave

    July 5, 2024 4:24 am

    Joe Biden told black radio host Andrea Lawful-Sanders that he’s proud to be the first black woman to serve with a black president.

    “And by the way, I’m proud to be – as I’ve said – the first Vice President – first black woman to serve with a black president,” Biden said.

    Straight from goober’s mouth, he gots dat pride

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/07/biden-tells-philly-radio-station-that-hes-proud/

    Liked by 1 person

  12. “Newspaper blames gun shop for Hunter Biden’s illegal pistol purchase: Disgraced ATF director-wannabe David Chipman says it’s a valid point.”

    LEE WILLIAMS, JUL 05, 2024

    (Photo from licensed Shutterstock account.)

    EXCERPT: “Gannett’s flagship newspaper USA TODAY claims in a recent story that if a Delaware gun shop had “done its job” in 2018, Hunter Biden would never have been able to illegally purchase the .38 Special Colt Cobra revolver, which led to his three felony convictions.

    “By law, handguns can be sold by shops only to state residents, who must provide a government-issued proof of residency, and Biden was not a legal resident of Delaware in 2018. Instead, he offered only a passport, with his name and birthdate,” USA TODAY reporter Nick Penzenstadler wrote in the story, which was titled: “Hunter Biden’s gun case was spurred by an ATF form. The shop violated federal law.”

    The same allegations were first brought up in court by Hunter Biden’s defense team, but Judge Maryellen Noreika correctly pointed out that the gun shop was not on trial.

    Penzenstadler never mentions that federal law requires the firearm purchaser to present valid identification and to be truthful on the ATF Form 4473, which Hunter Biden certainly was not. He concealed his drug addiction when asked “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?” At the time, Hunter Biden was smoking crack cocaine nearly every 15 minutes, according to courtroom testimony presented during his trial.

    ATF compliance expert John “JC” Clark, co-founder and managing director of FFL Consultants, said the ATF Form 4473 is more than clear and warns the firearm purchaser that they will be held responsible for any falsehoods or misrepresentations…..”

    https://thegunwriter.substack.com/p/newspaper-blames-gun-shop-for-hunter

    Liked by 1 person

  13. these data centers are notoriously electricity guzzlers…
    FTA
    Facebook officials on hand Tuesday were mum on how much electricity the massive facility will use. Data centers are notorious electricity consumers.

    A Meta official said that information will be published in the company’s annual sustainability report.

    In the 2023 report, the data center closest in size to Project Cosmo is a 900,000-square-foot data center in Odense, Denmark. This data center used 517,718 megawatts of energy in 2022.

    To put that number in perspective, the entire city of Cheyenne runs on about 100-120 megawatts per day, or 36,500 to 43,800 per year.

    According to Digitalinfra.com, Meta owns and operates 24 data centers globally and 20 in the U.S., covering 53 million square feet with an investment of nearly $30 billion. Project Cosmo would be one of the company’s smaller data centers. The largest in Altoona, Iowa, covers 5 million square feet.

    https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/07/02/meta-formally-announces-massive-800m-715-000-square-foot-cheyenne-data-center/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The US government operates a HUGE data facility in Utah.

      From Wiki: “The Utah Data Center (UDC), also known as the Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center,[1] is a data storage facility for the United States Intelligence Community that is designed to store data estimated to be on the order of exabytes or larger.[2] Its purpose is to support the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI), though its precise mission is classified.[3] The National Security Agency (NSA) leads operations at the facility as the executive agent for the Director of National Intelligence.[4] It is located at Camp Williams near Bluffdale, Utah, between Utah Lake and Great Salt Lake and was completed in May 2014 at a cost of $1.5 billion.[5]“

      ——————–

      EXCERPT: “The Utah Data Center is a huge government facility in Bluffdale, Utah that stores personal emails, Internet searches, cell phone calls, and other public data. Part of the National Security Agency, the massive data repository is reported to have the largest data storage capacity in the world.

      Is Big Brother watching you? Every time you text, check email, make a call from your cell phone, or shop online, the data generated from that activity may be collected by the government and stored right here in Utah, in a massive data center….”

      https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/utah/nsa-data-center-ut/

      EXCERPT: “Surging demand for data consumption and storage is driving rapid expansion in data centers across the United States. These US data centers are strategically located in areas offering abundant electricity to meet their intense power demands, significant amounts of water for cooling, access to fiber optic connectivity, affordable real estate, tax incentives, and are typically situated away from regions prone to natural disasters.

      Data centers in the United States are primarily located in Northern Virginia, Phoenix, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Northern California (Silicon Valley), Portland (including Hillsboro, Oregon), New York & New Jersey, Seattle (including Quincy, Washington), and Los Angeles.

      Dgtl Infra provides an overview and key facts about data centers in the United States, including details on the top 10 data center locations in the US. For each of the largest data center markets in the United States, we highlight its size in terms of multi-tenant commissioned power, main power supply providers, average electricity rates per kilowatt-hour (kWh), major connectivity hubs, as well as its key retail colocation, wholesale data center, and cloud/hyperscale operators….”

      https://dgtlinfra.com/united-states-data-centers/

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Just The News: “Labour leader Keir Starmer on Friday morning officially become prime minister of the United Kingdom.

    Starmer received the blessing of King Charles III to form a government in a ceremony known as the “kissing of hands,” according to the Associated Press.”

    ————–

    EXCERPT: “….Beneath the stark headlines, the picture is more muddied.

    This is a volatile political landscape. The UK now has its fourth prime minister in under two years. The Labour Party made major seat gains but, strangely, didn’t actually improve its volume of votes from 2019. Instead, the Conservatives haemorrhaged vote share to the Liberal Democrats and the newly formed Reform UK, led by Trump ally, Brexit architect and anti-immigrant rabble-rouser Nigel Farage. Labour led a clinical and forensic campaign that expertly worked the system…..”

    https://deadline.com/2024/07/uk-election-labour-landslide-victory-farage-reform-redraws-political-map-1236001798/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m thinking this is definitely NOT good!!!

      Just The News: “British voters frustrated by a sluggish economy voted to oust their conservative party from power after 14 years of rule, and turn to liberal Labour Leader Keir Starmer to be their next prime minister.

      Exit polls showed the Labour Party was poised for a landslide victory, ending Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s turbulent tenure.

      “To everyone who has campaigned for Labour in this election, to everyone who voted for us and put their trust in our changed Labour Party – thank you,” Starmer wrote on the X social platform after the exit polling was made public.

      Nigel Farage, an ally of Donald Trump and the architect of the Brexit movement, won his first ever Parliament seat as his upstart Reform Party captured an unexpected four seats.

      While parts of Europe have been turning to conservatives in this year’s election, British voters went in the opposite direction after years of bumbling and failed promises from their ruling conservative party.

      Starmer and his Labor colleagues promised to revive an economy that never shook its pandemic doldrums and to move Great Britain quicker into a clean energy future.

      The exit polls showed Labour on track to secure 410 seats in Parliament, while the conservatives would drop to 131 seats.”

      Liked by 1 person

  15. This is something that should rightfully be required in HS in every state, not just half of them!

    EXCERPT: “More than half of U.S. states now require high school students to receive a financial literacy course before they graduate after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill passed by the California Legislature.

    With the passage of California’s law requiring schools to offer a course in personal finance by the 2027-28 school year and requiring the class of 2031 to receive at least one class, a total of 26 states now require students to take a course on how to manage money, according to a nonprofit spearheading efforts to pass such laws.

    While students are learning about the cost of living, how to balance their budget and file taxes, a Senate appropriations committee analysis of the legislation says implementing its requirements may cost the state an additional $200 million a year.

    “We need to help Californians prepare for their financial futures as early as possible. Saving for the future, making investments, and spending wisely are lifelong skills that young adults need to learn before they start their careers, not after,” Newsom said in a news release last week ahead of signing the legislation.

    According to that release, the push for requiring a personal finance course was led by the nonprofit Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF), which has a goal that by 2030 all high school students nationwide will be required to take a personal finance course…..”

    https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/california-joins-26-states-requiring-students-take-personal-finance

    From March 2024: PA and NE require it

    EXCERPT: “….But before we get there, here’s a quick overview: Only 25 states require students to take a stand-alone personal finance course in order to graduate. On top of that, some states don’t even require a course, some just implemented personal finance into another course, and some branched off and did their own thing (we’re looking at you, Rhode Island). 

    Here’s a quick breakdown of each state and what their requirements are. Check out where your state lands…..” 

    https://www.ramseysolutions.com/financial-literacy/states-require-financial-literacy-in-high-school

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Testing: Yep, it works here, too – had to click the +, select the blue bird, paste the url, then click down-arrow to post it.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Nope – NOT going in the ocean!!!

    Just The News: “A shark attacked four Fourth of July swimmers on Thursday in separate incidents off a south Texas resort island, authorities said.

    Capt. Chris Dowdy, a Texas game warden, told the ABC affiliate in Weslaco, Texas, that the shark bit two of the swimmers and injured two more off South Padre Island.

    The attacks happened in a span of two hours along the beach and appeared to involve a single shark believe to be about 6 feet long.”

    Liked by 1 person

  21. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13596493/Putin-prepared-SHARE-Crimea-Ukraine-according-new-peace-plan-presented-Russia-US.html

    Our Take: There’s a LOT here, but the overall point I want to drive at is that both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have effectively proposed the same peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine war.

    • Both say Ukraine should remain a sovereign (proxy state) nation.
    • Both say Russia should not encroach across the Dnieper River.
    • Both (and this is the kicker,) think Ukraine should stay away from NATO.

    Now, that last point isn’t something Donald Trump is espousing publicly (yet,) but it is something he’s positioning himself to actualize by putting NATO on watch for his second (public) administration, during which he plans to withdraw from the alliance unless the EU “allies” contribute as much to the defense bloc as the US does on a proportional basis.

    This is not only something EU nations are balking at … but something they’re likely not capable of, financially. This means the US’s days in NATO are numbered, just as it means NATO itself is likely on its last legs.

    Somewhat lost in the noise of Ukrainian peace deals, however, is the fact that this is the third time Zelenskyy has publicly called for Trump’s peace plan … and Z is currently prepping for a massive interview with Tucker Carlson. I’ve long maintained that I believe Volodymyr Zelenskyy is “our guy,” insofar as he’s a controlled player on the game board who will ultimately be moving the game in our direction. [NF: OK, I do not believe THIS!!! But we’ll see, won’t we???]

    If you’re still doubting this … wait until you see how perfectly he plays his role, and gives both Trump and, yes, Vladimir Putin what they want. I can’t say the same for NATO, where Zelensky isn’t quite so popular these days. — Burning Bright

    Liked by 1 person

  22. ROFL – you can smell their fear!!!!

    https://www.axios.com/2024/07/02/trump-2025-imperial-us-presidency

    Former President Trump, if re-elected, plans to immediately test the boundaries of presidential and governing power, knowing the restraints of Congress and the courts are dramatically looser than during his first term, his advisers tell us.

    Why it matters: It’s not just the Supreme Court ruling on Monday that presidents enjoy substantial legal immunity for actions in office. Trump would come to office with a Cabinet and staff pre-vetted for loyalty, and a fully compliant Republican coalition in Congress — devoid of critics in positions of real power.

    That’s a big reason many Democrats worry President Biden is making one of the biggest gambles in U.S. history by staying in the race amid acute concerns about his age.

    The big picture: Trump promises an unabashedly imperial presidency — one that would turn the Justice Department against critics, deport millions of people in the U.S. illegally, slap 10% tariffs on thousands of products, and fire perhaps tens of thousands of government staff deemed insufficiently loyal.

    He’d stretch the powers of the presidency in ways not seen in our lifetime. He says this consistently and clearly — so it’s not conjecture.

    You might like this or loathe this. But it’s coming, fast and furious, if he’s elected.

    Thanks to Monday’s Supreme Court ruling, Trump could pursue his plans without fear of punishment or restraint. — Axios

    Liked by 1 person

  26. I’ve been reading this article on Twitchy –a deep dive into the SCOTUS immunity decision–really good, but it’s LONG. i decided to just copy it into word and ead it all later–39 PAGES–and it doesn’t include the decision text. it’s reall a good read.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. no i meant here. I’ve been getting it since yesterday…i forgot to screenshot the one for mine, so i posted at wolf’s and got one there too.
        i am on a laptop–what do you use?

        Like

        1. I know you did and I meant here, too. But his site is built on WP, too, and you post over there frequently – probably a feature of AI, I expect. I’m on a Lenovo ThinkPad (laptop) w/ W10 and the Brave browser.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. it’s just a pop up and if you click outside the box, it disappears.

            a lot of the users over there got the pop up yesterday and today. so it’s not a site “owner” thing. when i posted something at Marica’s yesterday (?) i got the same pop up (just with her site name not mine)

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Now that I think about it, I have seen 1 or 2 of something similar pop up but not very often. IDR now what it said, tho.

              Liked by 1 person

  28. California Joe

    July 5, 2024 11:08 am

    Leftist Media Outlet Wants Biden Campaign To Use AI To Make Him Look Cogent-

    FRIDAY, JUL 05, 2024 –
    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    Leftist Biden mouthpiece the Huffington Post published an article Wednesday which literally calls for the Biden campaign to use AI to make fake videos of him looking and sounding normal in an effort to salvage his candidacy.

    The piece, titled ‘It’s Time For The Biden Campaign To Embrace AI‘ states “After the president’s dismal debate performance, he noted that he ‘might not walk as easily or talk as smoothly as I used to.’ AI could help with this.”

    “Given the president’s concerning performance last week, it’s time for the Biden campaign to consider leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to effectively reach the voting public,” it continues, with the author, one Kaivan Shroff, declaring that “the consequences of not taking this approach could be dire.”

    He goes on to state that Biden is old and can barely speak, suggesting that “AI augmentations and video renderings could serve to smooth out these bumps while allowing the Biden campaign to effectively disseminate true information.”

    So, lets get this straight.

    Mr Shroff is suggesting the Biden team make fake videos where Biden speaks perfectly and looks more than half awake, and pass them off as real to encourage people to vote him in for a second term as President of the country, when in reality he cannot even form coherent thoughts or operate for 90 minutes per day.

    Incredible.

    Liked by 1 person

        1. My soon-to-be 93 year old Mom makes more sense that that twit every day of the week….except, of course, for the brainwashing she gets from watching The View and such…..

          Liked by 1 person

  29. Winston

    July 5, 2024 11:10 am

    LOL! From the “No poop, Sherlock?” files. 

    “Democratic Party to subvert the democratic process,” complaining about their nomination and convention process which, as Glenn Greenwald clearly points out in a video I posted here earlier, has NEVER been democratic.

    More griping about “undemocratic to their base” (LOL, such sudden sympathy for Dimocrat voters) last minute candidate switcheroo they’re pulling…

    Charlie Kirk reposted
    KanekoaTheGreat
    @KanekoaTheGreat
    .
    @DavidSacks

    “What we’re seeing here is a full-scale insurrection by media elites and other powers that be in the Democratic Party to subvert the democratic process.

    After all, we had 50 state primary elections in which voters gave Joe Biden all the necessary votes and delegates to be the Democratic nominee for President. 

    You’re seeing now a major effort to prevent the certification of that result. It’s playing out in broad daylight in the press. So, I don’t know what you could call this except an insurrection. 

    What democracy really means to them is permanent rule by the Democratic Party, just like communism used to mean permanent rule by the Communist Party. They’re perfectly willing to disenfranchise their voters if it means staying in power. 

    And that’s exactly why they tried to hide Joe Biden’s senility from the country for so long. What the country is now concerned about is Joe Biden’s competency to do the job. What senior Democrats care about is Joe Biden’s electability. That’s the only reason they are suddenly concerned about his mental condition.

    They knew all about Joe Biden’s condition for months and years. They’ve been hiding that fact. They’ve been gaslighting about it. They’ve accused anyone who raised questions about it as somehow being a partisan or a liar. They invented the whole idea of clean fakes. No, this whole thing is driven by their concerns about Biden’s electability.

    It’s dangerous for the nation for the commander-in-chief to be clearly mentally incapacitated.”

    https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1808874002691371099

    Liked by 1 person

  30. I’m gonna experiment…..yep, it works – click on the +, select the blue bird, paste the URL and click the down-arrow.

    Liked by 1 person

  31. I’m waiting to hear if my “friend” will be available today – if so, then I’ll be going to Norfolk – tired of waiting for that danged rebate check. I haven’t seen the mail truck come by yet, unless I missed it, so it may get here before I go.

    Liked by 1 person

  32. About Violets in the deep South. The wild violets bloom in the early spring and do self-seed. Same with the more domesticated violets.

    Only African violets, which are not a true viola, grow indoors here.

    African violets are native to the mountainous forest regions of Africa – and grow in clefts of rocks.

    Liked by 2 people

  33. hubby’s projects always turn into our projects…LOL
    he decided today was the day he (we) was (were) going to bring in the extension ladder and clean the ceiling fan and upper window sills. when he got up there he decided he needed to caulk along the center beam–and of course– that’s a two person job.
    we spent most of the time trying to position the huge ladder so he could do all he wanted. he decided positioning the ladder was enough for right now and we not even have enough caulk to do it all…so we may need to make a run to the hardware store tomorrow. sigh

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Murpy’s Law! Ha! I’m back – uneventful trip. I went out to get the WP feeder to refill it since I picked up 3 of the blocks @ WM. When I came back inside, there was Wheezer at her food dish – little hussy snuck in right after I went out, I guess. She continued eating while I refilled the feeder; when I came back onto the patio, she was laid out sleeping on the chair at the west end.

      The flowers that I planted in the large green bowl out front died for some reason so I picked up some dark pink ivy geranium plants to put there instead. I’m not all that disappointed that they died, TBH – they weren’t very pretty anyway! LOL

      Liked by 1 person

  34. “If you think the legacy media is bad now, wait until Kamala Harris becomes their nominee. The legacy media will pull out all the stops to deify the likely Democrat candidate.”

    JORDAN SCHACHTEL, JUL 05, 2024

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “On August 11, 2020, Joe Biden selected Kamala Harris as his running mate. The move came after a somewhat contested primary campaign. For months on end, Harris, who had a $40+ million war chest at her disposal, had been set up by the media to ascend to the Democratic nomination.

    However, despite the best efforts of the legacy media, voters couldn’t stand Kamala Harris, and she dropped out of the primary process after wasting tens of millions of dollars on her presidential campaign.

    As VP, Kamala Harris has become “unburdened by what has been,” and she is now the strong favorite to replace our cognitively disabled president on the Democratic ticket.

    Sure, to most voters, Kamala Harris is insufferable. But the media will pull out all of the stops to change that. After all, “Orange Man Bad” and woke progressivism good, and we must pull out all the stops to defeat bad orange man in order to save democracy from ourselves, they’ll say.

    Let’s go back in the time machine and recall some of the ways the media attempted to rebrand Harris after her historic failure of a primary campaign. Here’s but a few examples of the cringe and outright sycophancy on display.

    If you think the legacy media is a corrupt and deceitful laughingstock now, just wait until Kamala Harris becomes their nominee for president.”

    Liked by 1 person

        1. Bet it doesn’t come up at all! It hasn’t before, even tho Sears mentioned it on the campaign trail. IDK if she mentioned the Harris family connection, tho – I found that myself.

          Liked by 1 person

  35. Oh, my!!!

    And yet…..bet that NC Governor was none too happy!!! This is probably why they passed the amendment!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  36. But how did they know? Did those who donated try to deduct it on their taxes? Did they donate via an on-line site that reports to the IRS? Did she report it herself? Hmmmmm…..

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I would never take a trip like that regardless but I figure she was probably with the person taking the pic.

        Liked by 2 people

  43. I did not know that! Watching Mysteries at the Museum….remember the show “RinTinTin” about the German shepherd? The dog was originally found by an American soldier named Duncan in France, who took the dog back to base and named him “Rinty.” When he had some free time, he taught the dog a bunch of tricks. When the war was over, he took Rinty with him to CA. He got hit by a car and broke his leg badly – in those days, they would normally just put him to sleep but Duncan refused and fashioned a cast for Rinty, who made a full recovery.

    Later that year, Duncan and Rinty were out on a walk in LA and stumbled onto a movie shoot – they couldn’t get their dog to do the tricks so Duncan offered Rinty – he nailed every trick! He made his silver screen screen debut in 1922 in “The Man from Hell’s River” as RinTinTin and went on to appear in 25 Hollywood movies! He received over 50K requests for photos – Duncan had a brass plate made of Rinty’s paw and every photo that was sent out was stamped with the pawprint.

    Liked by 2 people

  44. Roman Era Stormtrooper

    45 Colt – A Classic

    I’m betting you wouldn’t ride in this weather either, Pat! Brrrr….

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I think it’s a puppy – certainly not a cat, I know that! I think it’s real – looks like someone is taking a picture of it. If it isn’t, they did a really good job of cutting it in!!!

        Liked by 1 person

  49. Like

  50. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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