A-Z Challenge 2016 - Wildflowers 'D'

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

'D'- Daisy, Dandelion, Dog Rose

Who remembers days when you got frustrated because you were unable to make - 

A daisy chain

Perhaps Emily Dickinson was right when she wrote

                     The Daisy follows soft the Sun --
                     And when his golden walk is done --
                     Sits shyly at his feet 

The daisy is a flower that occurs in grassland everywhere.

Daisies at the roadside

There would be plenty with long stalks to make a chain here even if the setting is not as exotic as that where this mother and child were seated.

The daisy chain (oil on canvas; Maude Goodman, 1844-1936)

Childhood memories will include, for many, telling the time by -

A dandelion clock

          Dear common flower, that grow'st beside the way,

          Fringing the dusty road with harmless gold,

No, not -

The daisy

But - 

The dandelion

Famous as an ingredient in wine (made from the flower heads) the dandelion was once used medicinally for constipation and eczema, The tangy leaves may also be used in salads. However I remember picking the leaves to feed a rabbit.

Dandelions and daisies are not always welcomed on pristine lawns, however you should remember that if you can stand on seven daisies at once, 'summer is come'.

A summer sight that is always good to see in June and July is a rose that grows in hedgerows and woods.

Dog rose

As you can see the flowers may be white or pink. In the autumn there is no risk of missing their fruit.

Hips

Hips may be used to make wine and liqueurs and are the main ingredient in rose-hip syrup, a rich source of vitamin C.

If you wonder why it's called a dog rose this may be because it was once said to have been used by the Romans to treat rabies, or that its thorns look like canine teeth. I can vouch for the fact that they are sharp!

Attributions:

• Poem - Emily Dickinson, The Daisy follows soft the sun
• Poem - James Russell Lowell (1819-1891), To the Dandelion
• A daisy chain - Escrip en wikipedia - public domain
• The daisy chain (Maude Goodman) - public domain
• The Dandelion Clock - Marco27 - CC BY-SA 2.0 generic

Iceland Wildflowers - Sunday Stamps

In the 1960s Iceland issued a set of wildflower stamps. A simple design but they are quite effective even if I can't name all the flowers.

Iceland Wildflowers

However I had more success with the next lot.

Iceland Wildflowers

Even I can recognise the clover and the dandelion. 

This year has been a particularly good year for the dandelion on our roadside verges. I'm less enamoured with the huge ones growing in our flower beds.

For more floral stamps visit Viridian's Sunday-stamps-170.html

A-Z Challenge 2013 - 'D' - Daffodils

My A-Z posts this year are based on 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 – a sort of wish they were here.

D - Daffodils, Daisy, Dandelion, Dove, Dunnock

There is only one way to start this post; with William Wordsworth, of course,

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hill,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Daffodils

 Wordsworth spent of lot of time in the Lake District which enabled him too write:

In youth from rock to rock I went,

From hill to hill in discontent

Of pleasure high and turbulent,

Most pleased when most uneasy;

But now my own delights I make, -

My thirst at every rill can slake,

and gladly Nature's love partake

of Thee, sweet Daisy!

Daisies

Somehow I think these were not the type of daisy meant by Wordsworth. 

Daisies in the lawn are not to be encouraged nor is the dandelion is a plant we want to see:

A Patch of Dandelions

 With locks of gold today;

Tomorrow, silver grey;

Dandelion Seed Head

 Then blossom-bald. Behold,

O man, they fortune told!

 The hedge sparrow (dunnock) is a common garden bird that enthrals you with its song:

Dunnock

 A dunnock perched content on outhouse beams,
Plump-feathered in striped brown and misty grey,
That I disturbed from drowsy dunnock dreams
To startled flight. Away! Escape! Away!

If we are to escape let’s have some fun before we go:

Let's take off all our clothes. It's time for shamelessness.
On nights of self-reflection, we go skinny-dipping with our self-perception.
We join the stars dancing on the water
and we emerge, red-skinned not red-faced. A collared dove coo-coo-coos

Collared Dove

At one time the collard dove was a very common visitor to our garden; now it has been crowded out by the ubiquitous wood pigeon.

A late candidate for inclusion in this post is:

A Dog in Disgrace

 Poems

• I wandered lonely as a cloud – Wordsworth
• To the Daisy - Wordsworth
• The Dandelion – John B Tabb
• Dunnock – Alan Hartley
• The Collared Dove – Alexander Hawkins

Photo attributions:

• Patch of Dandelions – By Robert Engelhart – CC BY-SA 3.0
• Dandelion Seed Head – By Tony Hisgett, Birmingham, UK – CC BY-SA 2.0
• Dunnock – by Dr Raju Kasambe – CC BY-SA 3.0
• Collared Dove – Adrian Pingstone – Public domain

Life's Clocks - Sepia Saturday

At an early age we are taught to tell the time often using a cardboard clock on which the hands may be changed, aided by nursery rhymes like Hickory Dickory Dock.

You may even be led to believe that you can tell the time by blowing

A Dandelion Clock

(By Marco27 - CC A-S A 2.0 generic license)

But when I went to Stamford School in Lincolnshire life was ruled by the School clock and the bell.

Stamford School and Chapel

Just so that there can be no mistake here's the clock and the bell.

Clock and Bell

If I hadn't learnt the lesson then I'm reminded every day I walk up my village lane.

Sundial Cottage

It may be difficult to tell the time by this due to the shadows cast by the ivy and the climbing plant but when I get to the town of Yarm there is no confusion.

Yarm Town Hall (built 1710)

By coincidence I was in Yarm today to replace the battery in my watch which was losing several minutes a day. You could say I did it at the eleventh hour.

Had it stopped I'm sure someone would have said 'I told you so.'

If I could tell you - W H Auden

These days a lot of people check the time  and play games on their smart phones; mine just makes calls. I used to play clock patience with a pack of cards, but now like many others it's just Hearts and Spider Solitaire on a computer.

We don't have a clock like this.

De Scott Evans Grandfather's Clock (1891 oil on canvas)

Private Collection - The Athaneum - De Scott Evans (1847-1898)

Which reminds me that I'm a grandad 

Grandfather's Clock

Next weekend we are to attend a memorial service for a couple we knew who died earlier this year. You may remember John Hannah in Four Weddings and a Funeral reciting these words.

Stop all the clocks

Now I guess it's time for you to check out what other time travellers have posted at Sepia-saturday-141