Indian Paintbrush

As far back as I can remember, I have known that the Wyoming state flower is the Indian Paintbrush. As a boy, I was always intrigued by the name "Indian Paintbrush" and used to imagine Native Americans using a plant to paint pictures. I remember seeing pictures of Indian Paintbrush plants when I was in school. 

However, in the part of Wyoming where I grew up, few Indian Paintbrush plants grow. In my life, I can only remember a handful of times that I saw an Indian Paintbrush "in the wild." Thus, I grew up thinking they were scarce plants. 

In Oklahoma and in Texas, Indian Paintbrushes grow all over the place. Because of the scarcity of seeing them when I lived in Wyoming, I still get a bit of a thrill each time I see one. Even though I have now lived away from Wyoming longer than I lived in Wyoming, the experience of seeing an Indian Paintbrush growing takes me back in my mind to my youth in Wyoming and reminds me that I am a Wyoming cowboy at heart. 

In the mid-1990s, Annette and I visited Grandma and Grandpa Jasperson (Lavon and Clint) at the little house in Afton. As we talked to Grandma that day, she said that she still considered herself a small-town Utah girl. I was surprised by her statement because she had lived in Wyoming for at least 60 years. When I see an Indian Paintbrush, I think of what Grandma Jasperson said and begin to understand the power of what we experience in our youth. 

This year, the wildflowers in Texas have been abundant and extraordinary in their beauty. Yesterday (March 18, 2023), we drove through Navasota Texas on our way to and from the Houston Temple to do baptisms. We saw Indian Paintbrushes and Blue Bonnets growing everywhere along the way. We stopped on the way home to take some pictures. (Photo Credit: Annette Jasperson)

Just looking at the pictures evokes raw, vivid emotions for me as I reflect on my childhood and the impact of my life as a Wyoming cowboy.