Sloe

More pictures today, of the Blackthorn (or Sloe) trees in blossom.

These taken from around 'Swan Lake'....

Beautiful in the sunshine...

Reflections

It was a glorious morning, so we struck out for Straw's Bridge with the sun shining on us and the birds singing.  As usual for a Saturday, the cyclists were a bit of a nuisance as they inconsiderately raced past hogging the whole path and furiously ringing their bells at us to get out of their way - but that's enough bile from me for now.  The scene around the lakes was a lot more peaceful.  The white of the swans was reflected beautifully in the water.

Chiff-Chaffs, Chaffinches and Song Thrushes were as we walked around the lakes, ut the Swans were more interested in seeing if we had any bread.

Dogs

A walk through the woodland which used to be known as "Dog Kennel Coppice" and which now makes up a part of the footpath around Shipley Country Park, reveals the emergence of hundreds of small, bright green plants.

These are Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) and are always among the first green shoots to be seen in Spring.  Looking quite 'perky' in the deep shade under the trees, they are already in full flower as you can see.

The flower buds are a distinctive, triangular shape opening to reveal a bunch of yellow-tipped stamens.  Poisonous to most animals, it has proved fatal to sheep.  Fortunately it has a nasty smell and an extremely acrid taste so ingestion is rare.  Culpepper, speaks of it's 'rank poisonous' qualities in his famous "Herbal".

The name derives from the medicinal virtues of the plant which were first revealed by the God Mercury - apparently!  The Greeks called it Mercury's Grass.  The prefix 'dog' probably comes from the old English way of putting 'dog' before the name of any plant which lacks fragrance (such as Dog Violet, Dog Rose, etc), or other, useful properties normally associated with plants of the same family.  Not bad for a common, garden 'weed'.

Blackthorn

Misty again this morning as we set out for our walk.  But, by the time we got home again, the clouds were breaking and the sun was trying to burst through.

The hedgerows are also beginning to burst, with blossom.  First on the list of spring flowers are the Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).  Also known as Sloes, these bushes are very common around these parts.

The flowers, resplendent with large numbers of yellow-tipped stamens appear before the leaves open, so you get to see them in all their glory, unfettered by greenery.  By the number of unopened buds still adorning the branches, this promises to be another floriferous year - as was last year - If only the sun would shine a little, they might have the chance to open and enjoy it.  And so might we!

Stock

We had a trip to King's Lynn yesterday, to visit my mother.  As usual, mum's garden was full of birds, all helping themselves to her feeders and bird-table full of grain and bread.  Among the most common birds seen yesterday were Stock Doves (Columba oenas).

Smaller and neater than the Wood Pigeons which were also to be seen, Stock Doves also lack the Wood Pigeon's white flashes on the neck.  When the light catches the plumage of Stock Doves, the iridescence shows well, especially with the metallic green 'smudge' on the neck.

The name 'Stock' is thought to come from the Old English word Stocc, meaning tree-stump, log or post.  This is surely a reference to this bird's habit of nesting in holes in trees, unlike most of our native doves and pigeons.  This wood would then be taken by people as 'stock' firewood.

Erica

There is a shrub growing among the trees of the old Hall gardens on Shipley Hill, which is almost smothered with flowers at this time of year.  Standing at least 12ft high, it is quite a sight to behold.

The bell-shaped flowers are best seen close to, but from a distance, they seem to form a froth of white covering the bush.  It is, of course a Pieris, commonly known as Andromeda.

Pieris belong to the family of plants known as Ercaceaea (know you know where the title of today's blog entry comes from).  The family is perhaps more well known for it's heathers than for Pieris, but looking closely at the flowers, you can see where the familial bond lies.

The plant is very poisonous, containing a substance known as Andromedotoxin (also found in Rhododendrons and Azaleas).  Ingesting the leaves, or even the nectar of this plant can cause tingling sensations, salivation, nose and eyes watering, nausea, vomiting, sweating, abdominal pain, headache, weakness, convulsions and rarely death.  Quite a list for such a beautiful plant and one which is so widely planted in our ornamental borders.  Despite this sinister side, it remains a magnificently showy plant.

More Flowers

A second fine day saw us once again striking out for Shipley Hill, but this time tackling it from a different angle.  Heading out towards Mapperley Village, we enjoyed the scenery for the first time this year.  Among the grass at the side of the footpaths, the Colts Foot (Tussilago farfara) flowers are beginning to show their colour.

The scientific name Tussilago may seem a little familiar.  This is because of a cough medicine called Robitussin which takes it's name (at least in part) from this plant.  Tussilago actually means 'cough supressant'.  The plant has been used for various ailments including skin conditions and lung problems.  The flowers were dried and smoked in tobacco pipes at one time.

The Yew trees (Taxus baccata) are also in flower right now.  The small flowers are not easily recognisable and certainly not as 'flower-like' as the Colts Foot.

It was a longer walk today and by the time we had walked through the village, crossed the dam of Mapperley reservoir, climbed Shipley Hill and circled the top taking in both Nottingham and Derby Lodges, we were ready for home and our elevenses.  Malcolm seemed ready for home in this picture.