I (re)found this thistle today growing in our prairie restoration plot. It is about my height with blooms at all levels of openness, some as big as my hand. I love how the flowers shift from stunning magenta to a more subtle pink as they open more fully.

Now, off to identify it. Maybe it is a weed; maybe it is something we purposefully put in our prairie seed mix. I hope the latter because I’d like to keep it and its giant flowers. I wouldn’t want its prickly foliage to take the whole place over, though.