I bought 3 brown-eyed susans this year, and each one turned out looking a bit different. One has a double row of petals, and one looks like a normal brown-eyed susan, but its flowers are gigantic compared to the ones I am used to seeing. I looked them up on the internet and saw that there are several different varieties. When I bought my plants, I didn't even notice that the neighbors had brown-eyed susans growing in their half of the yard. When they were away on vacation, I discovered yet another variety. These ones have burgundy streaks on their petals.

Today I uploaded this brown-eyed susan picture to remind myself that we actually have had some sun this summer! Today was another rainy day, but nice and warm. Tonight there has been the most amazing thunderstorm... The sky is a weird yellow/purple color, the rain coming down in sheets and there is a tornado warning in effect! I'm too busy to take the camera out, and even if I wasn't, I'd be worried about getting it wet. Hopefully I'll get some good lightning shots before the summer is over.

This is Rudbeckia (or Brown-Eyed Susan). I admit that I cheated and bought a few for our yard, even though I had vowed not to get any more plants. I was looking them up on the internet, and found a site that referred to the leaves as "hairy, itchy, and generally not one of this plant's best features". I disagree. The soft leaves and petals are what makes this such a fun and interesting flower to photograph.