Adventures · Inspiration

Wooly weeds and a mating dance kind of morning

Shelley

My window was open yesterday morning, and I heard a ruckus of birds chattering in the trees surrounding the house.  The crows were yelling at each other.  The Blue Jays were squawking at something – I never know what.

And then I heard the familiar sound of a swoop of sandhill cranes.

I didn’t look out the window, I just listened to them.  They sounded close by.  From the volume of their pow-wow, I suspected they were around the backside of our yard.

I grabbed my camera and headed outside to ‘sneak’ upon them to take a peek and catch a photo or two of them in action.  Without scaring them away.  I would stand there stone-cold and not move.  I could do it, I was sure of it.

On my way, I noticed a tiny clover plant and a yellow flower, growing out through the stones.  Aww…cute, but I need to weed the rocks.  Not now…

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I moved on, snuck slowly around the corner of our garage, right to the spot where I was sure they were.

Nothing.

Guess I’ve lost my bird hunting touch?  Or my sense of where the sounds are coming from direction?

While I was there, I had to find something to take a photo of.  Why waste digital storage space, right?

Boom – right there in front of me – an object I couldn’t resist seeing – a huge (in my book anyhow) Common Mullein plant.

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The wooly leaves were resisting off the morning dew drops.

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This is a younger plant (probably a one-year one), it hasn’t flowered yet.  Who am I kidding? – I’m not an herbalist or a master gardener, I just read about it here.  I’ve seen these fuzzy herbs popping up in our yard and where I grew up my whole life.  They migrated here in the mid-1700s and reached the midwest by 1839 according to the experts.

But I did not know they are considered an herb, with health benefits!

“Mullein tea is a traditional treatment for respiratory problems, such as chest colds, bronchitis and asthma. Mullein leaf tea is slightly bitter; a tea of the flowers is sweeter. Both the leaves and flowers contain mucilage, which is soothing to irritated membranes, and saponins, which make coughs more productive. Research has shown that the herb has strong anti-inflammatory activity, and lab studies suggest that mullein flower infusions have antiviral properties, as well.” – Direct quote from MotherEarthLiving.com link here.

Wow – who knew?  Maybe I should gather some leaves and dry them to make some tea?  Or dry them to sell ’em?  I could be rich!

I read more…(from the link above) and found out the Cherokee even used them to heal ‘prickly rash in armpits’ and they can be used to help heal hemorrhoids, bruises, rheumatic pains, wow.  And you can use the leaves to make your cheeks (on your face) Rosey red.

Pow-Wow, I concur, that’s quite the plant!

Thank goodness, though, I don’t have any of those problems at the moment.  Knock on wood or stone (‘cuz, if Frank’s prompt fits, use it!).  But when I do have those ailments, I know where to pick some leaves and give the herbal cures a try.

It does appear to be a resilient herb in our yard.  It’s growing on the edge of our fire pit ring.  Our budget Christmas tree from last year has stood the test of time, too.

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Where was I?  Oh, yeah, on the lookout for the cranes.  I didn’t see any, so I headed back inside.

Then I heard them again.  WTH?

Where were they?  Oh…there they were — way across the field.  They sounded closer, trust me.  They blended right in with the soybean crops ready for harvesting.  The farmer better hurry up before all the birds and the deer eat ’em all up.

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8 of them omnivore cranes were just hanging out, enjoying the morning sun and snacking on some soybeans.

Wait…on second thought…maybe they were doing a mating dance?

They took off shortly after that, in silence like the moment after…__________________.  Fill in the blank.

And there you have it…I never know what I’ll learn when I pause to stand still to take a moment to peek at what’s happening in the yard.

Post Inspiration – Dutch Goes the Photo – Tuesday Photography Challenge – Stone

PS – Did you know that Common Mullein was an herb?  Do you enjoy watching/listening to Sandhill Cranes?  Have you ever made tea out of the weeds you find in your yard?  Feel free to keep it clean and fill in the blank in comments ;-)!  

 

 

 

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

43 thoughts on “Wooly weeds and a mating dance kind of morning”

  1. My child took a class on foraging and then was really into bringing all sorts of things in from the backyard, turns out I’m a snob about such things, who knew?
    I like your little yellow flower 🙂

    1. LOL – they can be messy. The little bouquets our two would make remind me of me being a snob as the precious plants ‘faded’ away. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

  3. So many plants have curative abilities, it’s really amazing. It’s scary when pharmaceutical companies product and patent, chemical compounds based on those herbs and plants. I’m glad you turned your photos shoot into a very nice second choice.

    1. From plants were, are and will be extracted excellent treatments: penicillins, opioids, digitalics, taxol, salicylates… the problem is not the presentation of the drug (pill or plant powder) but how it’s used..

  5. Never heard of Common Mullein. We have no Sandhill Cranes around here. We have no weeds in our yard because this is the burbs and such things don’t exist here. Therefore no tea for me. 😉

  6. I’ve seen those plants get super big in Michigan, usually destroyed them with the Bush Hog while mowing trails in the wood for the boss years ago. The Cranes are so pretty as they dance about!

      1. I’ve logged what must be hundreds of hours running Bush Hogs over twenty years! Anything they contact is obliterated. Heh! 🤭😂😈😈👻😂

    1. I don’t think we have the cardoons around here?
      We do have bulb thistles though? Hmm. We have many people who make dandelion wine since we have so many of those around here.

  9. I have never heard of that wooly leaf plant until now. You find such interesting plants, animals and events going on right outside your window. Lucky you 🙂
    I have never made tea out of anything except tea leaves and tea bags. And that’s fine with me.
    Your crane photos are wonderful – glad you persevered.

    1. Thank you – it’s kind of a revival of my childhood – I noticed all these things way back when, but didn’t have a camera (with an SD card!!)
      I’ve never made tea either – we’ll see if I try or not, the handy little bags make it much easier to heat up a cup and go!
      Thank you!!

  10. 🙂 🙂 After mushrooms come medicin plants. I like finding in you someone who could share my interests. I claim myself as a follower of “Radagast”…
    ” Maybe I should gather some leaves and dry them to make some tea?” I just add that all preparations to be drunk must be finely filtered to remove irritating hair. Great against winter coming cough!

    1. Ah, yes, the ‘shrooms and plants are fascinating. A lot to discover, that’s for sure!!
      I’m considering being brave enough to do the tea, and will filter as you suggest. I found a couple plants that are still flowering – they’re supposed to make the tea more sweet?! We’ll see. Thank you for sharing your sense of Radagast adventure!

          1. I do, thank you.
            Specially, I discovered through news and current affairs programs an English colorful character whose originality is matched only by her notoriety. I recommend that you read a Financial Times article titles “Taking tea in Wonderland”. I can find a little of myself, in her eccentricity… That I could named the spirit of Radagast.

  11. Beautiful birds, amazing dance… I’ve never knowned , seen before those birds.. Thank you!
    Beautiful Oxalis corniculata that could helps to restructure the soil, but not to eat (oxalic acid)

    1. Thank you, glad you enjoyed them.
      Really? Oh, my, we used to eat the leaves of them and the flower buds before opening – they are sour. We have green versions and the red leaf versions? Are they different?

      1. More than 500 species exist in the genus Oxalis. I AM NOT A SPECIALIST.
        Oxalis corniculata variety atropurpurea has red leaves, is this the variety you are talking about?
        For consumption, it should be limited to young leaves and young flowers and small amounts of some Oxalis, such as: Oxalis acetosella, Oxalis stricta or Oxalis corniculata. But, as for its old fruits (capsules), they should not be eaten + ( look at oxalic acid contradications too)…

      2. Oxalis corniculata and Oxalis corniculata var atropurpurea are different but can be eaten (young fruits, leaves and flowers) in small amount. 500 botany species in this genus and lot of varieties… so I shall never know them all…

          1. Just botany university studies in the 85’s. As Radagast is doing, I am continually looking for plants whatever I do, wherever I wonder or drive… It could be a dangerous avocation…

  12. Oh, bright, courageous yellow flower,
    who knows how long will be your hour
    in the sun — before it’s over
    and you lie mingled with the clover?

    A friendly soul has caught your glow
    and shared it, so we all can know
    the beauty hidden between blades
    among the grasses of your glade.

  13. We have those same ‘herbs’ here. I thought they were weeds? I learn something new every day. I once took a yellow flower photo like your when we were in London. I was amazed that such a thing of beauty could poke it’s head above the dirty cobble stones of a back road. Just lovely.
    PS: I danced like that for my husband once. He threw a frying pan at me to get me to stop.
    Oh well.

    1. LOL – after I discovered the ‘herb’ factor, I started to notice how many of these plants we have in our area. And that they are plants people actually buy for their gardens, and the seeds are harvestable, and I dreamed of retiring on the profits I could make….
      LOL! I’m glad you dodged the frying pan!!! 😉

    2. Cindi,
      Thanks so much for my first laugh of the day!!

      What you apparently did not realize is that the frying pan toss is all part of the mating ritual … but only if it misses!

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