Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Royal Lace

 



It's the time of year when the hedgerows and meadows, are once again filled with wildflowers.
Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota)
This wild version of the carrot is one of the most common and best known "weeds" we have.
It's hard to imagine what a fallow field would look like in late summer without the white flower heads bobbing in the breeze.

It is thought that the carrots escaped from the gardens of the early European settlers in North America, having thrived in the wild to become what we know as Queen Anne's Lace.


 
 
It is so called because the flowers resemble lace; the red flower in the center represents a blood droplet where Queen Anne pricked herself with a needle when she was making the lace. The function of the tiny red flower, colored by anthocyanin, is to attract insects.
 
 The plant is commonly referred to as Cow Parsley  ( Anthriscus sylvestris )  in Great Britain.
 

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

And Then There Were Three

The deer have been giving birth to new fawns. Sprightly little things, all bouncy and curious.
One doe has a single fawn, another has twins, and this moma has triplets !
We have to erect cages around any plants or bushes we care about, otherwise the deer chew them, even if it's not something they like, they nibble away.
The population is growing......


 

Sunday, June 13, 2021

Hotter Than A Pepper Sprout

A little too much heat and humidity out there for some of the flowers.
Rather than waste them to wilt, they'll be decorating the kitchen table.
A week of ninety-five degree plus weather, takes a toll on most anything.
Be sure to hydrate, including your pets.





Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Long May She Reign

Today marks the sixty eighth Cornation celebration of Queen Elizabeth  II

2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey, Elizabeth II ascended the throne at the tender age of 27  upon the death of her father, George VI.
I remember in the late fifties waving my little Union Jack flag as she passed by my infant school in her royal procession, school children lined the streets.
I thought she was the most beautiful lady I had ever seen.
God Save The Queen.