{"id":89963,"date":"2021-06-06T05:58:27","date_gmt":"2021-06-06T11:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=89963"},"modified":"2026-03-24T15:07:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T20:07:27","slug":"blooming-lewiss-flax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/06\/06\/blooming-lewiss-flax\/","title":{"rendered":"Blooming Lewis’s Flax"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wanted to follow my post about a blue bird<\/a><\/span> with blue wildflowers so here are some photos I took last week of Lewis\u2019s Flax which are also known as Wild Blue Flax.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"BloomingBlooming Lewis’s Flax with a tiny beetle<\/span><\/p>\n

The wildflowers in some areas of northern Utah don’t seem to be doing as well this year as they have in previous years but I’ve still been trying to photograph them when I see them. Last week when I spotted these flax blooming in the West Desert mountains in Tooele County<\/span><\/a> I decided to focus on them for a bit. While I photographed the Lewis’s Flax blossoms bouncing in the light breeze I also captured a tiny beetle on one of the flowers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Click the images in the gallery below to view them larger.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Flowering<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Lewis's<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
\"Blooming<\/a><\/div><\/div>
\"Close<\/a><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

I also was able to photograph a bee on one of the blooms. I believe it is a native bee but have no clue as to which species it is. While I enjoyed photographing the flax my mind went to our current conditions here in Utah and the western U.S..<\/p>\n

It is extremely dry in the West Desert of Utah. It is drier than I have ever seen it and I can tell that some shrubs and trees are suffering from the prolonged drought<\/span><\/a>. One of the Wax Currant bushes I normally see butterflies and hummingbirds getting nectar from in the mountains is dying.<\/p>\n

It tried to bloom but the flowers shriveled up before they fully opened and turned brown. Even the leaves of the currant are shriveling. I also saw a Western Chokecherry start to bloom and just a few days later before the flowers had opened they too turned brown and were falling off.<\/p>\n

I notice the little things when I am in the field and while one Wax Currant or Western Chokecherry losing their flowers before they can be pollinated isn’t truly alarming, it isn’t just them. I see other plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees struggling in the West Desert mountains, closer to home in the Wasatch Mountains and throughout all of northern Utah.<\/p>\n

Everything in nature is connected and I am aware that when one part of it starts to fail or die other parts will follow.<\/p>\n

Am I alarmed? Yes, I am.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my wildflower photos along with shrubs and trees.<\/p>\n

See what Utah’s Governor Spencer Cox is doing about our prolonged drought here<\/span><\/a>. It isn’t enough. By the way our governor hasn’t implemented water restrictions or done anything meaningful or of any consequence regarding our prolonged drought conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wanted to follow my post about a blue bird with blue wildflowers so here are some photos I took last week of Lewis\u2019s Flax which are also known as Wild Blue Flax.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"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":[358,26,1314,5347],"tags":[2464,11863,6098,6557,7155,4098,3681,11862,6518,5913,2559,4069,11864,10452,4307],"class_list":["post-89963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tooele-county","category-utah","category-west-desert-utah","category-wildflowers","tag-bee","tag-beetle","tag-blooming","tag-blooms","tag-blue-wildflowers","tag-desert","tag-drought","tag-flax","tag-flowering","tag-lewiss-flax","tag-linum-lewisii","tag-mountains","tag-prolonged-drought-conditions","tag-sky-island-mountains","tag-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-np1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":47223,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/06\/10\/blooming-lewiss-flax-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":89963,"position":0},"title":"Blooming Lewis’s Flax in the Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"One of my favorite wildflowers is Lewis's Flax, I love how the blossoms move in a breeze because it seems like they are dancing and their blue color is appealing to my eyes.","rel":"","context":"In "Hoverflies"","block_context":{"text":"Hoverflies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/hoverflies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bird Hoverfly on Lewis's Flax, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/wild-blue-flax-hoverfly-mia-mcpherson-7719.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/wild-blue-flax-hoverfly-mia-mcpherson-7719.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/wild-blue-flax-hoverfly-mia-mcpherson-7719.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/wild-blue-flax-hoverfly-mia-mcpherson-7719.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":102220,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/05\/08\/happy-mothers-day-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":89963,"position":1},"title":"Happy Mother’s Day 2022","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I wanted to wish all moms a Happy Mother's Day with a wildflower that I see blooming at this time of year in northern Utah. This is a blooming Lewis's Flax.","rel":"","context":"In "Lewis\u2019s Flax"","block_context":{"text":"Lewis\u2019s Flax","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/lewiss-flax\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lewis's Flax single bloom, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/happy-mothers-day-2022-mia-mcpherson-3526.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/happy-mothers-day-2022-mia-mcpherson-3526.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/happy-mothers-day-2022-mia-mcpherson-3526.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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