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.

 

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......

 

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.

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.

 

Heat

Our days have quickly gone from cool Spring weather to hot, humid and dry.

The trees are beginning to lose their leaves.

Keeping flowers watered in ninety degrees is a challenge in itself.

The Columbine seems to love the heat.

I've offered it my portion....

 

Tennessee Weather

 

Tennessee weather.......it's never boring that's a fact.
Spring started with lots of sunshine,  flowers were budding and trees began to bloom.
Two weeks later, we had freezing temperatures and snow in the higher elevations.
Everything tender and ready to bloom was covered with sheets to protect the young buds.
The Clematis was one of the plants I feared would succumb to the frost, but yesterday after uncovering everything, I was given a lovely surprise.
Under the warmth of the sheet ,the vine had blossomed beautifully and perfect.

Happy Birthday Her Majesty

 

Contentment

 

RIP Prince Philip. 1921-2021

Such a lovely photo, taken in 2005 when Prince Philip dressed as a guard to make the Queen giggle.

                                            My heartfelt condolences to Her Majesty.

                                                     Photo credit; Chris Young

First Find A Shepherd

A favorite English dish of mine is, Shepherd's Pie, a working man's staple.

A concoction of ground beef, onions, carrots, and peas cooked in a beef gravy and tomato sauce, with herbs and spices; then topped off with mashed potatoes and browned in the oven until the potatoes are nice and crusty.

I buy the Colman Shepherd's Pie mix, available through Publix grocery stores, on the English import isle.
If it's not on hand, then the gravy part is made with oxo's or beef bouillon cubes and tomato paste, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and parsley.

 

Shepherd's Pie was the first meal I cooked  as a newly wed , it remains one of my husband's  favorites to this day.

Accompanied by boiled cabbage, mashed it with lots of butter, and fresh pepper, that's how my mum used to serve it.

Serve with a slice of pickled beetroot or a few pickled onions on the side, and a nice crusty loaf of bread.

Yum.