Saturday, August 7, 2010

Most People Just See a Weed If They See It At All

Deadly Nightshade, also called Belladonna, is a native, wild cousin to the Tomato. Click on each photo to see these tiny little wildflowers larger-than-life.

W I L D F L O W E R S — There is a boardwalk in town that I ride my bike on almost everyday. Not many people use it, but it's a shortcut from my street to the center of town. It's on the edge of a small lake, and at certain times of the year you can see forty or fifty box turtles hanging out on the edge of the water on lily pads and [unfortunately] an old tire that seems to have become an island resort for the small creatures. 

Once or twice a year the town employees cut back the greenery that grows along the sides of the walkway. Right now this beautiful little plant called Deadly Nightshade, or Belladonna is growing along the planks in one area. I've always loved the delicate and tiny purple and yellow flowers of this botanical relative to the tomato. You can see that it even has small fruit that turns red, but as the name implies, is highly toxic.

Most people don't even notice plants like this because they're not in a garden, or they're not large and showy, or bright screaming "Look at me!" but I've always found if you take a minute and really look around wherever you are, you can find all sorts of beauty that is otherwise passed by in the rush of the day. This entire plant is about 10 inches high and perhaps a foot long, and the individual flowers are only 1/4- to a 1/2-inch in size. It can grow into quite a climbing plant, but the flowers are always tiny. I'm sure this plant will be gone soon as it's just about time for the town crew to do their summer cutting. I had to lie down on the boardwalk to get these shots.

For other beautiful, but toxic flowers, click here.

14 comments:

  1. There was a point in my life when I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off, working several jobs at a time, burning myself out, to the point that it literally put me in the hospital with a collapsed lung. My mother came to visit, of course, and gave me a little plaque that read "Take time to smell the flowers". I've lived by that rule ever since. Apparently you've learned that same lesson. So many people get consumed by the rat race that they forget the little things that are SO important. Beautiful flowers. Glad you MADE the time to notice.

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  2. I'LL ALWAYS SMELL THE FLOWERS. WILD OR NOT. GOD PUT THESE FLOWERS HERE FOR US TO ENJOY AND PEOLE ARE MOWING THEM DOWN. FUNNY I JUST AN E MAIL THE OTHER DAY ABOUT JUST THIS THING. DARN, I DELETED IT.

    KEEP THESE FLOWERS PICTURES COMING.

    GRANNY

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  3. SHOULD HAVE SAID I GOT AN E MAIL NOTJUST. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

    GRANNY

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  4. one fun side effect of always looking around for the small things in life: I find money quite often, lol. Not a lot, but I'll find a $5 bill or perhaps a $20 bill every once in a while. I've been at a crowded country fair and watched 50 people walk right over a $20 and no one ever bothered to look down. I gave them at least 5 minutes because I couldn't believe how everyone was just so preoccupied or on their cellphones. I finally picked it up and gave it to my friend so he could buy more rides for his 5 year old daughter. He had already spent a fortune on her, lol.

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  5. I'm picking up pennies all the time, does that count ? LOL!

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  6. I only pick up pennies if they're heads up, then I make a wish! my grandmother taught me that.

    you know what really pisses me off about today's people? well, #999 of the things that piss me off about today's people. lol? They don't pick up change when they drop it! I've seen at least 5-6 people in the last year drop the change that someone gives them in a checkout line and just walk away as if it's too piddling for them to pick up. I think that's just so wrong!

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  7. CASEY,WE'VE ONLY BEEN IN THIS HOUSE A FEW MONTHS AND I'VE FOUND 10 PENNIES OVER THE PERIOD OF THESE MONTHS. GRAMPS NEVER LOOKS DOWN,HE LOST OUT. I'M 10 CENTS RICHER.HALF THE PENNIES WERE FOUND IN THE YARD. YEARS AGO HIS DAD AND I WERE WALKING DOWN THE STREET AND HIS DAD FOUND A 20 DOLLAR BILL. HE SAID HE NEVER TAKES A WALK WITHOUT LOOKING DOWN. HE FOUND ALOT OF MONEY OVER THE YEARS BY LOOKING AT THE GROUND ON HIS WALKS. I FIND MONEY IN THE HOUSE ALL THE TIME. GRAMPS MONEY FALLS OUT OF HIS POCKETS ALL THE TIME. HE NEVER LOOKS DOWN SO I GET TO KEEP IT.FINDER KEEPERS, LOSER WEEPERS. TIME FOR A NAP.

    GRANNY

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  8. I don't use a wallet, I haven't had one in 25 years I'd say. I keep my money in my pockets. It's always falling out, so I think finding other people's money on the ground is Karma's way of evening things out, lol. My friend always get mad at me because I can be so ditzy not realizing I've dropped some cash, especially now that it's so hard to come by, lol.

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  9. You should have seen the kids in the high school I worked at! They had an aversion to change of any kind. TOLD ME that they didn't want it in their pockets. They would either tell me to keep it, buy more to use it up, or just throw it on the floor! I'm talking quarters! Spoiled brats. I can't tell you how many times my own change jar has bailed me out over the years. I could never throw money around like that!

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  10. I keep all of my change! I keep quarters for laundry, keep dimes in one cup and my nickels and pennies in another. My dad always saved dimes, back in the day when you had to put them in a little book to bring back to the bank. He bought all of his 'extras' with those dimes. I also check all of my pennies every night for the older 'wheat' pennies. I have a huge glass jar, maybe 5 gallons, that my Dad started of just wheat pennies so I throw them in there to this day. It's the only change I never use. One night way back when, when sleep was never done, a friend and I checked every old penny in that jar for the elusive copper 1943, worth thousands. I have plenty of the silvery zinc '43s but alas, no copper ones. Another old saying I live by, "If you skip over the pennies on the ground, dollars will never float your way."

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  11. I have a penny collection that was my grandfathers (the same one that painted everything). I know there are alot of zinc pennies in there, but I don't know about the copper ones. And as luck would have it, it is already in storage. Damn! Remind me in a year and I'll check it - LOL!

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  12. YOU TWO GUYS ARE A CHIP OFF GRANNIES BLOCK.LOL

    I'VE GOT COINS IN THE SAFTY BOX AT THE BANK I'M SAVING FOR THE KIDS. WATCH THEY'LL SPEND IT. LOL AND I'LL HAUNT THEM.

    GRANNY BACK TO MY SHOW.

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  13. Poison plants...oh my.

    I checked a book out of the library simply called "Poison." Perhaps, I was born to the Addams Family and later adopted, but I digress. One chapter was devoted to toxic plants. It was fascinating.

    My only brushes with killer flora:

    Deadly Nightshade was the name of a 3 woman rock band when I was living in Amherst MA. They were serious feminists, but friendly enough.

    Monkshood or Wolfsbane was what did in a Canadian actor who I very much liked in the few movies he made. His name was Andre Noble and a few weeks after a movie in which he had his 1st starring role was released he was dead. He was camping close to his home in Newfoundland and he mistook Monkshood for an edible plant. A really horrible mistake. Just touching the leaves can cause your arm to go numb. The sap of just 11 leaves can bring on coronary symptoms.

    This same plant had a role in another movie called "The Dying Gaul." Patricia Clarkson messed with the wrong budding screenwriter and he shredded the root into her take-out salad. That was her last salad.

    Sweet dreams, everyone.

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  14. hey Marius, I like the way you think, lol! Foxglove is another toxic garden plant. I'm with you on the Addam's Family. I have a bit of Munsters in me too. Thanks for all the tips. : ) Sweet Dreams back!

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