Columbine

I found this lovely flower in our backyard clinging to the top of the bluff near the shed. It's the only one I could see.

I tried to look it up in our Alaska Nature book, but couldn't find a purple flower like it. I asked a friend at work and she told me it is columbine. But generally they are orange in this area. So that's probably why I couldn't find it in my book.

Anyway, I think it's beautiful. The latin name is Aquilegia vulgaris.

In other news, we're preparing to fly south to San Diego this weekend. I've got a conference all next week and the family is coming along for a fun vacation in sunny southern California.