I’m face-blind. I have a terrible time remembering what people look like; I’ve sometimes walked up to myself in a full length mirror I didn’t know was there without realizing that the person I was approaching was me. It’s a social embarrassment and I’ve learned to tell new acquaintances that if I walk right by them the next time we meet it’s because I don’t have a clue that I’ve ever seen them before.
The reason I mention this now is that I can and do remember plants and animals very well.
As old friends appear on the Green I always know their names:
Yellow rocket
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Perhaps by now you’re wondering why I mentioned my face-blindness. Well, here’s why: I found this pretty yellow wildflower blooming near the corral and said, “Bird’s foot trefoil!”
It never grew on the Green before and I probably hadn’t seen it in years – but I knew:
The reason it’s called that is that the seed pods, when they form, look like a bird’s foot. But there were no pods yet; I just knew. (Of course the plant wouldn’t have been offended if I didn’t remember its name – unlike some of the people I’ve met.)
But there are also brand new things to try to identify. I think GallopNYC is bringing seeds along with those bales of hay; that’s why these new things keep appearing. And not only didn’t I know the names of these two, but I can’t find the grassy one in my excellent weed book. The flower is little starwort:
Do you remember seeing them before? Did you remember their names?
These pictures were taken during the month of May; the first flowers bloomed at the beginning of the month and were gone by the time the last were in bloom. Those in turn have died back to make room for the next wave.
And I recognized the velvet grass – but what on earth is this?
I’ll close with what’s blooming now: day lilies!
And for dessert (it wasn’t on the Green, but I just have to share it with you): a tiger swallowtail butterfly drinking somebody’s spilled ice treat:
