Flaming June

It must be Summer.  The wind is blowing, there is a little drizzle in the air and it's not too warm again this morning.  So, to cheer things up a bit, some random pictures from our walks over the past few weeks.
Firstly a tall, flowering plant from Mapperley woods.  The Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea).  Well-loved by the few bees which seem to be left these days, they add a nice splash of colour to the dark, undergrowth of the wood.

All parts of this plant are poisonous as they contain digitoxin, a highly toxic substance used to deadly effect in Agatha Christie's 'Appointment With Death'.
A little ray of sunshine next with a close-up view of a Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens) complete with shiny petal surface and a myriad of stamens at the centre.  Again, this is a poisonous plant, but cutting and drying for use in hay, eliminates the toxins making it edible as animal fodder.

Thirdly, a beady eye was being kept on us as we walked around the lakes of Straw's Bridge.  It belonged to a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis).  One of many which spend their days following people around in the hope that a bread bag will be taken out and the contents dispersed among their number.  Only when it is, does the fighting begin!