red bartsia

the small but intricate flowers of red bartsia, growing in meadows near you. Once considered a cure for toothache, hence its latin name odontites (as in orth-odontics ...straight teeth). It is semi parasitical and closely related to lousewort and yellow rattle (qv)

paintings by nature ... water mint

early morning dew on water mint, in a marsh near you

paintings by nature no 3891:- marsh woundwort

I never cease to marvel at the beauty and complexity of common things. This photo shows the beautiful intricate markings of the flowers of marsh woundwort, to be found growing in ditches near you.

something new - gipsywort

It is always exciting to stumble across something completely new. This is gipsywort. It is supposed to be common although I have never noticed it before. Superficially it looks like white deadnettle. It is the source of a black dye that, in the past, itinerant fortune tellers were supposed to use to give themselves a more swarthy appearance that would lend credibility to their gipsy/ancient Egyptian origins.

red admiral of Venterdon

a beautiful day has brought out a lot of red admirals and painted ladies, and they are drawn like magnets to buddleia flowers.

a small visitor

a wood mouse, caught sunbathing, and surprisingly unworried about posing for a photograph.