OUR WALK CONTINUED, NEAR THE OLD STONE BRIDGE TO SEE THE BLUEBELLS

Continuing our walk, I met this young lady and as she could see that I was so taken with her 'back-to-front backpack' that she stopped to have a chat.  There was a compartment - air holes - and inside was her cat lying down very comfortably.  I had never seen one of these before but perhaps if you have a furry-family member, maybe you have.  I found a similar one here on Amazon.  

A great way of taking her cat along and not have to worry about her while she was away.  Not sure it would be a good idea when the weather got hot and humid, but she had so much love for her cat that I doubt she would do that.  Such a nice young lady and one of those pleasant interludes you get on walks occasionally.

We return to our walk by Bull Run, and found the Spring Beauty and Wild Violets, which I mentioned more descriptively here in my post from a previous visit to Green Spring Gardens.  These violets are a darker purple.

Spring Beauty

The following is a Trout Lily.  The name comes from the plant's mottled leaves, which look like the markings on a brook trout.  It is also known as the Dogtooth violet or Adder's tongue.

Some Trout Lily colonies are 200 to 300 years old.

I had such a surprise when I looked at the next picture on my laptop.  I found more Dutchmen's Breeches.  I apparently was so focused on the Bluebells and the Trout Lilies and the Spring Beauty, that I didn't notice those little white flowers in front and on the right hand side of the tree trunk. Rolling eyes to the skies here.

In the next photo you can see hubs pointing across Bull Run, telling me that there are a whole lot more Bluebells on the other side.  Hard to get to though, we don't know a way to get across.  I asked how deep it was and was met with raised eyebrows, oh no, nope, nope, nope!  I was joking, sort of but the grass is always greener on the other side of the hill, or in this case Bull Run.  I was hoping for some stepping stones but had to admit to myself that my hopping-across-the-river-on-the-ever-so-slick-stepping-stone days are done, at least until my next life time.  

And there were plenty of Bluebells on this side of the river.

In the photo below I was staring at what I recently discovered was a Bagworm cocoon.  You can just make it out hanging from a branch at the bottom and between the two tree trunks on the left.

Here's a closer view.  I am used to seeing tent moths in the area, but these are relative new to me and I have only ever noticed them once before on a walk at Chinn Ridge in Manassas.  You can read all about them at this website if interested in such things.  A very destructive little critter!

And talking about critters, I am not sure what this type of ant is.  He was scurrying along near my feet and I didn't see any companions.  I would say he was about half an inch long.  My cell phone impressed me that I could take this photo of the ant.  He was moving fast!

At last we are at the end of our walk.  Hubs had taken a seat on the bridge, grinning and patiently waiting for me as I focused on everything around me.

It is good to be getting out and about again.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by. I will be back on Monday.

Stay safe, stay happy and stay healthy.

GREEN SPRING GARDENS CONTINUED - MORE FLOWERS

 

The Magnolia blooms were a little past their prime but still very pretty.  I learned that the trees can last 80 to 120 years.  The size depends on the species.  Smaller species are only about 15 feet tall.  Larger species can grow to 80 feet in height.  

Magnolias are believed to be the earliest known flowering plant, with their fossils dating back over 100 million years.  Magnolia trees even existed before bees, so they rely on beetles for pollination.  

Instead of nectar the flowers produce large quantities of pollen that the beetles use for food.  I read this information and more at this link.

I shared information on the history of the house here if you would like to take a look.

This is the Grape Hyacinth (Muscari)

It is a perennial plant native to Greece and Asia and grow to be 6 to 8 inches in height.  

Despite its name it is not actually related to the hyacinth; muscari are members of the Lily family.  If you go to this link you will find a lot more information.

This is where I found the poem that I shared in my post a little while ago. It was outside a fenced off garden where they grow produce and other plants throughout the year.

The following cluster of flowers is called Virginia Springbeauty.  It is also called Fairy spud, Spring beauty, Good morning spring, Narrowleaf springbeauty, Eastern springbeauty, Common spring-beauty, Spring-beauty and Grass-flower.

It is native to Eastern North America, from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean.  It is a very important native plant for bees, as it is one of the earliest nectar sources.  This is one of the earliest wildflowers to bloom in Spring.  The tuber roots are edible and taste like sweet potato.  It can grow en-mass and is a gorgeous pink-white carpet on the forest floor.  They are often found growing near Wild Violets.  All this information I found here.

Wild Violets.  

There are 600 species of Violets.  They have been cultivated from about 500 BC and their color can depend on the species; they can be purple, blue, white, cream or multicolor.  

Native Americans had many uses for violets.  They made blue dye from them to dye their arrows.  They also soaked corn seed in an infusion made from the roots before it was planted to keep insect pests from eating the seeds.  

The Inuktitut/Inuit people placed stems and flowers among their clothes to give them a sweet fragrance, and almost all ate the leave and flowers.  

Violets were also Napoleon Bonaparte's Signature Flower.  He used the blooms to cover his wife Josephine's grave when she died in 1814.  In fact, he was called Corporal Violet by friends, after promising them he would return from his exile in Elba before violet season.  Bonaparte's supporters even used violets to determine if someone was loyal to him, by asking them if they liked the flowers - only a response of "Eh, bien" proved loyalty, according to the American Violet Society.

This is the Hellebore, and my information and more came from this link.  It is a plant that belongs to the buttercup family.  There are around 10 species of hellebore that originated from Europe and Asia.  Hellebore was extensively used as herbal remedies in the past but due to a high content of toxic substances, hellebore is mostly cultivated for ornamental purposes today.  Christmas rose, Winter rose and Lenten rose are popular types of hellebores.  Despite their name, they are not genetically related with roses.  The name "Helleborus" originates from the Greek words "helle" which means 'to take away' and "bora" which means "food".  The name refers to the emetic properties of this plant.  Like many plants it is quite toxic.  Historians believe that hellebore was one of the plants (part of an herbal mixture) responsible for the death of Alexander the Great.

These are the flowers that I was asked about yesterday.  The ID marker is a little fuzzy but it will show you what they are.  At this link it said, "'Golden Bells' Miniature Daffodil charms with dainty golden cups atop stars of small basal petals.  Cheery, upward-facing blooms extend the daffodil season from late spring through early summer.  Once established, each bulb can produce up to 15 flowers for masses of buttercup yellow color.  Their dwarf size and narrow leaf blades make 'Golden Bells' idea for naturalizing in lawns and meadows (Narcissus bulbocodium)."   

More here. "Daffodil 'Golden Bells' is known as the Yellow Hoop Petticoat narcissi."

I will finish now.  I tend to get carried away when finding out about the flowers and plants I photograph.  

Thank you so much for stopping by today and I hope the flowers around you bring you joy. Enjoy the rest of your week.

OATLANDS PLANTATION, LEESBURG, VIRGINIA

My post today is from Oatlands Plantation. The last time we visited was in May 2016.  As we wanted to go for a ride in the countryside and go for a walk at the same time, we stopped at the plantation.  The grounds are ideal for getting our exercise. If you would like to learn more, you can click on its name in red lettering above.  (Any red lettering throughout any of my posts is a link to more information.)

We had intended to go on a tour of the house, but the last tour of the day had already started.  No matter, we had a lovely time in the open air, which was our intended purpose anyhow.  The weather was glorious!  The first photo of the house is the front view.  It is hard to get a good photo head on as it has a very large tree obstructing the view.  The second photo is taken of the back, and the third is a side view as we walk along the narrow, pebbly road back to our car. 

The first few lines on its history says: "In 1798 a young bachelor named George Carter inherited 3,408 acres of prime Loudoun County, Virginia farmland.  Carter was a descendant of one of Virginia's first families."  More of the Carter history at Oatlands can be found here.  

In 1903 it was bought by William Corcoran Eustis and his wife Edith Livingston Morton.  Their history can be found here.

I have been looking forward to Spring for many reasons.  One is to see the Dogwoods bloom again.  This beauty is the State Flower of Virginia.  I enjoyed reading about it at this link, and I enjoyed taking photos.

Wild Violets are everywhere you walk.  It looked like the grass was blooming purple.

They made a pretty carpet effect on the lawn but not everyone wants them in their garden, from what I read.  The wild ones spread through underground rhizomes. Here is a link you can read about them.

We stopped off at the Visitor Center first.  It is called the Carriage House.

Below, if you enlarge the photo, you will be able to read a few things about the Eustis family.

The pathway leading up to the center is made of bricks engraved with people's names and sometimes organizations.

You enter and exit out of the gift shop.  Clever people, they know how to throw out that hook.  The lady behind the counter was very friendly and started chatting immediately.  She answered our questions about the plantation and gave us an information flyer.  We had arrived later in the day and the place was very quiet.  We felt we had the whole grounds to ourselves, apart from a very small group of well-behaved teenagers who were already heading out.  There was also one other couple around our age who headed in the opposite direction, no doubt enjoying their alone time feeling just as we were.

I do love browsing around these gift shops, and they often sell items I don't see in other stores.   I did see this small vase, very simple in design.  In the shop I hummed and hawed in front of it, imagining the colorful flowers that would set it off beautifully.  The place for its new setting already chosen, in my head, on the kitchen table.  After browsing around other corners - it wasn't a large gift shop - I knew the vase would be going home, along with a couple of other trinkets intended for birthday people.  Gregg popped back to the car parked a short distance away, deposited the package in the trunk, and we continued our walk.

The Bleeding Hearts were planted in a flower bed in front of the Carriage House.

The Redbud Trees were also blooming.

"There's nothing more beautiful than watching trees getting dressed up for Spring and Summer."

~Charmain J. Forde~

 I love looking at those pretty blooms.  I read that early settlers found the blossoms of the redbud a delicious addition to their salads.  Early folk healers used the bark to treat common maladies and sometimes even leukemia.  Many Native Americans chose the wood of the California redbud for their bows.  I won't be trying redbuds in my salad any time soon, or trying their healing properties, or making any bows, but I did find this all very interesting.  Those old-age cures seem to be making a come-back don't they and ingenuity is the mother of invention, especially so in those days?  I am always impressed how our forefathers made-do with what little they had, and shake my head in wonderment.

This is where I will end today's post.  Just like every time we visit anywhere, I have at least one more post to share but will leave that until next time.

Good to be up and running.  I truly was surprised, and grateful, getting my computer fixed so quickly.  Once again, thank you so much for the support and for visiting my blog.  Enjoy the rest of your week everyone.