@pmurphy, I think it's a possibility, there have been a few theories out there regarding the reasons. The one which is quite interesting is that the lockdown has reduced pollution, causing increased ultra violet rays. I have no idea if that's true, but I've never seen my Shirasawanum's so colourful. Not complaining here !!!!
@pmurphy, I think your right P. My wife does enjoy Sloe gin at Christmas. Sorry for mentioning the C word in August !!!!!!
Just got back from the dog park where we found a pleasant surprise - the blackberries are ripening. We were unprepared so utilized what we had on hand...a spare doggie bag. Amazing how many berries will fit into one of those bags :)
Actually tonight is homemade mini donuts with garden fresh raspberries.... I think these blackberries will be made into jam but when we return to the park on Wednesday we'll be taking a bucket to collect more.
@Nik, that is the cutest thing posted today and probably for some considerable time. Smiles all round here N.
Took a wet walk in the dog park today and saw something I've never seen (or noticed) before....found a rose bush growing amongst the blackberries (which we were picking) that had what looked like balls of moss on it. Didn't see this on any other rose bushes. Any ideas? (Sorry for the quality of the photos, shot on my husband's phone)
@pmurphy, good evening P. I'm not sure at all, but it looks like a sweet chestnut Castanea sativa. Sorry if I've wasted your time.
Finally after a long time in a morning walk I met again several plants of Ecballium elaterium (Watermelon donkey). The donkey watermelon, a spontaneous plant spread throughout the Mediterranean basin is famous thanks to the "explosive" system with which it disperses the seeds around the mother plant. The fruit of this cucurbitacea is in fact similar to a small cucumber and if bumped - even minimally and gracefully - during the phase of maximum ripeness, it sprays seeds with strength up to 10 meters away. Inside, the seeds are immersed in a parenchymatic tissue formed by very large cells full of mucilage, which near the ripening incorporate a large quantity of water by osmosis, until reaching an internal pressure close to 14 Bar. Their walls they are thin and at the maximum of turgor they are stretched like violin strings or better, like very thin crystal diaphragms: a simple vibration due to an impact causes the chain to break, distorting in a few moments the precarious balance inside the fruit and unloading the force of pressure on the surrounding tissues. The fruit always has an inclined position, not random: any ballistics experts will be able to confirm that an exit angle between 40 and 60 ° ensures maximum range to a body in parabolic motion. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1947356858870140 From www.facebook.com
@Arlette so sorry for being flippant, but I thought you would enjoy this. Watermelon donkey). - Google Search Enjoyed your full description of Ecballium elaterium. Very informative Arlette. Good video also. Regarding ballistic angle, I wont get into the science on here or my knowledge of this, but 45° is indeed a very good figure.
Beautiful @Acerholic , grazie!!! I did not know either of the existence of the book or that equines loved watermelons !!!!!!! I also discovered that there is a snowball with a slice of watermelon: I collect Christmas snowballs but I also love watermelon so… .Amazon, I'm coming !!!!
@Arlette glad you enjoyed it and it made you smile Arlette. Very good 'Grazie'. Bit of an equine morning on the forum. That suits me !!! Amazon is so addictive, one click and it's on the way. I try to avoid it, at least up until christmas. Sorry for mentioning the C word in August !!!!!!! Lol. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
The Delta Nature Reserve at Burns Bog My streamkeeper friends took me for a walk in the Delta Nature Reserve. The last time I was there was years ago on the afternoon after it had rained, and there were deep puddles everywhere; to avoid some, our naturalist guide had us walk off the path, where we sank mid-calf into the peat. Friends with us who had been there the day before on solid ground were very surprised at the difference. I was so surprised that my raincoat that had been covered in muck at the bottom was totally clean the next day, no markings to indicate that there had been anything on it. It was totally dry last weekend. This is a nice easy walk; the entrance is from the parking lot at Planet Ice. The path is part gravel and part boardwalk, and the boardwalk section is one-way (maybe temporarily? I'm not sure). Three impatiens There were just two small areas where we saw Impatiens capensis. Surprisingly to me, Impatiens parviflora just showed up once. There is a much larger area of this in the Stanley Park Rose Garden, and it is much taller, more like 1 meter high. Maybe this has just arrived here. By far, the successful grower here is Impatiens glandulifera. There are huge swaths along the stream, flowers in white or mauve. The last photo shows the newly installed beaver pond leveler. I have attached a press release below with a bit more info.
A few more from the nature reserve. Here's an ex-tractor. It was there already when I was last here. Maybe that it hasn't disappeared altogether indicates how far down the peat goes? This is Solanum dulcamara. I like the blue pedicels on the red fruits. I was told that his iris had yellow flowers, so Iris pseudacorus. I was told this sedge is Carex obnupta.
This was posted in the Plants ID forum with the title "I just had to show you this!". Since it was posted with an ID, I have moved it to this thread for people to show others plants of interest we've found growing wild (and there is a separate thread, Out and About, for plants in landscape we've found and want to share - check the forum at How's It Growing?). I hope you have more that you just have to show us! I like this one.
