Riddles from the Border Regions, 2/19/11

Purple flower
From the deep
Picked with pick
A harvest reap.

This is a riddle about an amethyst.   It's the birthstone for February, in honor of my sweet, winter-born sister.   Although it's referred to as a flower, when we hear that it's from the deep, the idea of a sea anemone might come to mind.   Or since it's picked with a pick, another deep sea option might be an abolone, harvested with a crow bar.   But in fact, the purple flower I wanted you to think of was the highly valued purple quartz pick-axed from the depths of the earth.

NEW RIDDLE:
They all take their mark
Upended they start
They tumble and fall
Till a minute is called.
(answer:  see 2/26/11 piece)