{"id":139873,"date":"2025-02-14T02:33:58","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T08:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=139873"},"modified":"2025-07-07T12:01:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T17:01:56","slug":"happy-valentines-day-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/14\/happy-valentines-day-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Valentine’s Day 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wildflowers fit Valentine\u2019s Day. I\u2019ve never cared much for cut flowers, I prefer seeing them naturally, which in some climates isn\u2019t possible this time of year.<\/p>\n

\"TexasTexas Paintbrush – Happy Valentine’s Day!<\/span><\/p>\n

But I do take hundreds and hundreds of wildflower photos while I\u2019m out in the field looking for birds, so I always have some flower photos up my sleeve. Well, actually, they\u2019re in my archives waiting to be shared.<\/p>\n

I took photos of Texas Paintbrush last spring at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge in south-central Oklahoma. There were several patches of native wildflowers on the refuge where I could easily pull over to photograph them, along with the butterflies and other insects feeding on their nectar, pollen, and leaves.<\/p>\n

I picked this photo to share today because I associate white, pink, and red with Valentine’s Day, and these wildflowers have all three. Simple as that.<\/p>\n

Valentine’s Day is increasingly viewed as a celebration of all types of love, not just romantic love. It is a day to express love and gratitude in all relationships, including friendships.<\/p>\n

Because of my passion for bird, wildlife, and nature photography, I’ve made some fantastic friends, and I’m ever so grateful for that. I include those of you who visit my site among them.<\/p>\n

So, Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\udc95\ud83d\udc9e\ud83d\udc93\u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my wildflower, shrub and tree photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wildflowers fit Valentine\u2019s Day. I\u2019ve never cared much for cut flowers\u2014I prefer seeing them naturally, which in some climates isn\u2019t possible this time of year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13973,16222,15021],"tags":[6627,6098,6557,7353,13984,16224,1124,6518,2217,4302,12971,165,16223,15057,16225,4307],"class_list":["post-139873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oklahoma","category-texas-paintbrush","category-tishomingo-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-bloom","tag-blooming","tag-blooms","tag-blossoms","tag-bottomlands","tag-castilleja-indivisa","tag-field","tag-flowering","tag-flowers","tag-native","tag-red-wildflowers","tag-spring","tag-texas-paintbrush","tag-tishomingo-nwr","tag-valentines-day","tag-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Texas-Paintbrush-valentines-day-mia-mcpherson-1303.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-Ao1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":128592,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/16\/green-antelopehorns-in-bloom-at-tishomingo-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":139873,"position":0},"title":"Green Antelopehorns In Bloom At Tishomingo NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Some of the native wildflowers I photographed yesterday morning at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge were pretty clumps of blooming Green Antelopehorns.","rel":"","context":"In "Green Antelopehorns"","block_context":{"text":"Green Antelopehorns","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/green-antelopehorns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Green Antelopehorns at Tishomingo NWR, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":142553,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/03\/gray-hairstreak-butterfly-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":139873,"position":1},"title":"Gray Hairstreak Butterfly Photos – For The Love Of Butterflies","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Butterflies are rapidly declining in North America, so I\u2019m photographing and sharing them often. Today, I\u2019m sharing Gray Hairstreak photos.","rel":"","context":"In "Gray Hairstreak Butterflies"","block_context":{"text":"Gray Hairstreak Butterflies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/gray-hairstreak-butterflies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Upright Prairie Coneflower and a Gray Hairstreak butterfly, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128507,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/13\/common-checkered-skipper-butterfly-at-tishomingo-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":139873,"position":2},"title":"Common Checkered-Skipper Butterfly At Tishomingo NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm sharing this Common Checkered-Skipper butterfly photo I took two days ago at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge. This was my last subject of the morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Common Checkered-Skippers"","block_context":{"text":"Common Checkered-Skippers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/common-checkered-skippers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Checkered-Skipper butterfly at Tishomingo NWR, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128836,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/21\/butterfly-photos-from-tishomingo-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":139873,"position":3},"title":"Butterfly Photos From Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I wanted to share a few more things with wings: a set of butterfly photos I took recently at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Orange Sulphur butterfly on a coneflower, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":129122,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/31\/white-tailed-deer-bucks-in-velvet-with-wildflowers\/","url_meta":{"origin":139873,"position":4},"title":"White-tailed Deer Bucks In Velvet With Wildflowers","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 31, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I was very happy to find about a dozen and a half White-tailed Deer to photograph on my last visit to Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge earlier this week on a bright sunny morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Two White-tailed Deer bucks in velvet at Tishomingo NWR, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Johnston County, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/white-tailed-deer-bucks-tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-1722.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/white-tailed-deer-bucks-tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-1722.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/white-tailed-deer-bucks-tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-1722.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/white-tailed-deer-bucks-tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-1722.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":129850,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/06\/26\/buttonbush-images-from-oklahoma\/","url_meta":{"origin":139873,"position":5},"title":"Buttonbush Images From Oklahoma","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I smiled when I saw blooming Buttonbush at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge in the early June. I haven't seen Buttonbush blooms since I left Florida in 2009.","rel":"","context":"In "Buttonbush"","block_context":{"text":"Buttonbush","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/shrubs\/buttonbush\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Buttonbush in full bloom, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Johnston County, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/buttonbush-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-3636.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/buttonbush-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-3636.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/buttonbush-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-3636.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/buttonbush-tishomingo-nwr-mia-mcpherson-3636.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}