A-Z Challenge 2016 - Wild Flowers - A

My theme this year will be wild flowers. Most of us will be aware of the flowers that grow in our gardens but what surprises me is how few of the wild flowers that I know.

I pass them every day but rarely look at them. Well this year will be different - even if many of them may fall under the letter 'X' for unknown.

A-Z Challenge 2016 - A

As a boy in the second half of the 1940s and the early 1950s I used to walk our dog up this road.

Barn near Ketton on Barrowden Road

(Ketton in the English County of Rutland was where I was born)

A short distance past the barn the road turns a sharp right towards Tixover. However a dirt road continues straight on.

Barrowden Road looking towards Fox Covert

On the right the verge is wide enough for the horse-drawn caravans to be parked by visiting gipsies. I was under instructions to be careful there as they were always trying to 'buy' our dogs.

I don't remember the road being so poor back then and I knew Fox Covert under the name of Barrowden Woods.

In spring the woodland floor used to be covered with white flowers rather like this.

Anemone nemorosa (in forest near Radziejowice, Poland)

The common name for these flowers is the wood anemone or windflower. In Greek, anemōnē means "daughter of the wind", from ánemos the wind god.

They have always been anemones to me.

Anemone nemorosa (Wood Anemone)

The woods were also a good place to find wild primroses - but they don't begin with the letter 'A'.

Photo attributions

• Barn near Ketton on Barrowden Road and Barrowden Road near Ketton - 23 June 2006, ex geograph.org.uk, by Kate Jewell, CC BY-SA 2.0
• Anemone nemorosa in forest near Radziejowice on Poland - 30 March 2007, by Tomasz Kuran (aka Meteor 2017), CC BY-SA 3.0
• Anemone nemorosa - March 2007, Wikipedia Commons, by Lilly M, CC BY-SA 3.0

A-Z Challenge 2013 - 'A'

My A-Z posts this year will be based on things in my garden – flowers, animals, the birds and the bees, butterflies - with a bit of poetry thrown in. For some letters I am expecting to cheat somewhat – wishing  they were here.

A - Anemone, Aquilegia, Azalea, Red Admiral

We have a lot of perennial plants. Among them is the:

Anemone

A perennial may be, but the anemone doesn’t always put in an appearance unlike the:

Aquilegia (& Forget-me-nots)

These seed themselves and appear in all sorts of unexpected places like against the next door fence.

Aquilegia

However if you use garden pots it’s easier to maintain control:

Azaleas

Of course it is wildlife that you wish to see, like this ‘admirable’ sight:

Red Admiral

I’ve watched you now a full half-hour,

Self-poised upon that yellow flower;

Wordsworth – To a Butterfly.

Seeing Red - Thematic Photography

In meeting the weekly themes set by Carmi I'm seeing things and interpreting photos in a different way than was intented when they were taken. Here's some that have me 'Seeing Red.'

Anemone

This plant has been in our garden for a long time, but decided to flower this past summer.

Cody has been around a long time too but is always ready for a game. When his coat is long then he is reddish as well.

Cody, waiting for the kick-off.

He's is only pretending to be alseep.

Also at the ready at Stockton's riverside was this fire engine with the high reach ladder and hose.

Simon Snorkel

Fire practice

A pedigree Border Collar with her red prizes has a water connection as well.

Elemark Waterlily (Lily)

This house in Yarm maintains both the red and and the water link.

Flood Cottage, Yarm

 And finally there is this fellow, definitely seeing red after flying into our lounge window early one morning.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

 If you want to 'spot' some more then please visit seeing-red