3:00 snapshot #748

This is our laundry pile and Rock Band den.

I love May. It's pretty pleasant, weather-wise, especially at work (where I like it cooler than I do at home, because I have to wear long sleeves and pants there), and life is exploding everywhere. The obnoxious insects aren't out in full force, but there are a lot of bugs for me to enjoy, and the first agaric-type mushrooms are popping up. But I'm kind of insanely busy this month.

I have a very brief movie review I want to finish up for soylent_screen and a book review (for a two book series) to write for the zookeeper newsletter. A week from tomorrow I have a mushroom class to teach, and I need to completely redo my powerpoint to feel good about it. Got some fun social things coming up, like two friends visiting this weekend, and a party on Memorial day weekend. I'm working on the Saturday of Memorial day weekend, but I have two of the Mondays off. Lots of projects out in the yard to work on, too.

I'm not complaining, but hoo boy, things are ramping up.

Flower

I was going to do this flower for the 100 species project, but damned if I know what it is. Maybe next year.

100 Species #48: Lily of the valley

This spray of pink lilies of the valley (Convallaria majalis 'Rosea') came up below our eastern white pine trio.

Lily of the valley is a plant that forms a ground cover in forests, producing tiny but very fragrant flowers. It's a common sight in New England woods, but whether it was present there before European colonization is apparently in question. Some sources, like Cornell University, say it is native to northeastern North America while many others insist that it is strictly a European native.

I like the way it unfurls from below the soil, turning barren winter ground into a sea of green in spring. All parts of the plant are poisonous, though presumably it produces it's little red berries to be eaten by some animal. Perhaps it lures birds to eat the berries, and germinates the seed in the bellies of dead bird carcasses. I'm kidding, but if anyone is aware of the natural seed-dispersal method of this species, it would be interesting to know.

(I used the "wildflowers" tag because this plant is often encountered in a wild state, even though the individual pictured here is a cultivated garden perennial.)