Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Le Pissenlit

The dandelion in English. This one is in the back garden and I took the photo on Tuesday, during a period of overcast. I might have done better to take the tripod out, but I was lazy.

Half the seeds have blown away.

This is the time of year when all, or at least most, of the dandelions in our yard and out in the vineyard have flowered and made their seeds. One small gust of wind and half or all of the little parachutes detach and fly away. They also disperse when animals brush up against them and carry away the seeds in their fur.

The same flower seen from above.

Animals like, say, puppy dogs named Callie.

I'm afraid there's no denyin'
I'm just a dandy lion,
a fate I don't deserve.

9 comments:

  1. That second photo is absolutely spectacular!

    It kind of resembles a critter viewed through an electron microscope,

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  2. wow great pics....Barb

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  3. How pretty dandelions are - such a pity they're just weeds.

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  4. my ancestors imported them to new england as a valuable crop; one man's vitals is another man's weed.

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  5. chris, thanks. I thought it looked kind of like a virus...

    barb, merci!

    jean, but they're edible when they're young!

    spo, there you go.

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  6. GORGOEOUS!!!

    Makes me want to grab my MACRO and GOOOOOOO!!!
    Love your photography, Walt...
    I'm off to Dublin tonight...

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  7. i love dandelions!

    what's not to love about a plant that is such a cheerful color, one of the world's most nutritious greens and cleanses the liver. not to mention the versatility of the plant...roots can be ground, dried and roasted for a coffee substitute, leaves can be eaten raw in salad or cooked in soups, sauteed, etc and the blossoms can make jelly, syrup and wine!

    it's really too bad that people don't realize all the virtues of them.

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  8. Le pissenlit always makes me think "wet the bed", lol.

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  9. leesa, enjoy!

    tansy, I knew you could use the greens, but had no idea about the rest. Cool!

    tornwordo, I know, funny name, eh? It's named that deliberately because it's a diuretic, and well, you know the rest!

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