Cosmos Wake-Up, Oak Gall Wasps, and Dragons
Awesome August Advances into Audacious Autumn
Cosmos flowers leap out at the unexpecting passer-by. Their blindingly bright colouring is definitely a wake-up call, especially if not enough coffee has been taken on board before PupperJack’s morning amble.
A magnificent oleander in flower with an accompanying Elephant Ear. What a fab planting!
On the Downs in Bristol — where the lions are — on a searingly hot day in late summer when there’s been no rain for weeks, droughts have been declared everywhere and wildfires ignite at will — someone decided that a disposable BBQ was a good idea.
Yeah. It’s true. In above-average heatwaves, someone used a disposable BBQ directly onto the already-dried-out, highly flammable grass of the Downs.
I am making no comment. No. Nope. None. None at all. No.
We’re lucky in the facilities we have available to us, including the ‘Oat Float’. I was told last time it was in my road they had — apart from all the healthy stuff — carrot cake, too. Yum!
“We’re Bristol’s first mobile zero-waste shop, bringing packaging-free shopping to your doorstep in our converted electric milk float.”
Clematis is one of the plants more successfully keeping its cool in this very hot weather. They do seem to be growing more in the shade than many plants, though. Clever clematis!
I particularly like these dark-coloured clematis.
I noticed the oak trees are covered in acorns this year. Then I noticed other growths on them, too — like the spiky, green thing above.
I have discovered since that these are the result of gall wasps that feed on the acorns.
They are known as ‘knopper galls’ and inside them are tiny parasitic wasps. The gall is what provides the wasp with a home and food and it is the oak’s reaction to it. The wasp might not emerge as an adult for a few years.
Because of their high tannin content, galls have been used in the tanning industry; also they were, in the past, ground up and made into ink.
Predators! Everywhere!
I distracted PupperJack from both of these two and smuggled him past before he spotted them and woke up the entire city with his shrieks about dastardly pillaging predators.
And these cool cats — they just carried on minding their own business.
This house has dragons on its roof! They’re quite far away, but they are unmistakeably Game of Thrones-type dragons.
Just around the corner from us is this heavily laden rowan tree.
According to folklore, this is a sure sign of a hard winter to come. Let’s hope that is myth, given the energy bills that are on their way …
We spotted these creamy white ivy leaves — they’re not supposed to be white — they’re supposed to be green.
When leaves lose their green colour, it’s called chlorosis and is usually caused by a deficit of some sort. It does look attractive, though, the contrast between the green and the creamy white.
This is a fab plant and I want one. It’s a Phormium — I have the green and yellow version and am now determined to find room for the more colourful one, as above.
In the meantime, doggos were ready for ‘International Bow Day’ recently. Except for Border Collie, who had ‘lost’ his …
And PupperJack sends greetings from his thinking corner out by the arbour. He’s fed up with politics and is spending more time thinking positive thoughts outside, away from the radio.
Dennett started the Photo-a-Day Challenge to help combat the pandemic blues. Since then many others kindly share their week with us:
Erika Burkhalter, Anne Bonfert, Tracy Aston, Lisa Bolin, Juan O. Aguilera, David Wade Chambers, June Nguyen, Mia Verita, LensAfield, Barbara Radisavljevic, Diana Lotti, Barb Dalton, Kim Zuch, K. Barrett, Penny Grubb, Ellie Jacobson, Shruthi Sundaram, Jillian Amatt — Artistic Voyages, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles
(If your name should, or should not, be on this list, please let me know.)
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