Is this plant having a bad hair day? 
The aptly named “Prairie Smoke”–alternatively “Old Man’s Whiskers”–is just happily going to seed. At the end of each of those fine hairs is a tiny seed, which I will soon try to collect and store for planting late next fall. 
Prairie Smoke grows wild all across the Northern tier of states from the Great Lakes west to the Pacific coast and south throughout California and the Rocky Mtn states to the Mexican border. So it is not rare!
In our region, I see it in fields and meadows at higher elevations by the thousands. These large colonies may not be very noticeable from a distance. But when bloom time comes, the pinkish red flowers dangle and the colony can make an entire hillside blush.
As seeds ripen the drooping flower heads straighten up, no doubt to give the seeds a more favorable launchpad. I imagine a whole field looks just like smoke.
In the garden plant at our lower, hotter(!) environment, Prairie Smoke enjoys a little extra water and perhaps a bit of shade.