Friday 24 April 2009

Cardamine

What a profusion of Lady's Smock (Cardamine Pratensis) there is this year. It like dampness so maybe the winter weather has encouraged it but for whatever reason it is in abundance. There were thousands of them on the Lesh Lane common which seemed to appear overnight. When I first saw them I was amazed and just went Wow how wonderful. I turned the corner yesterday expecting to see them in all their glory - nothing - the council had been round and cut the grass, how sad.

The picture on this page is taken on the waste land round the Furness General Hospital where I have been visiting my mother who always calls them Meadowsweet, if she was not laid up with a fractured hip she would have enjoyed them. Apparently they are sometimes called Cuckoo Flowers because they appear when the first Cuckoo call is usually heard. As is the tradition I always make a wish when hearing the first Cuckoo but think it is a bit early yet up here in the north. Gives me time to decide what to wish!

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