Over the past several weeks, the Queen Anne’s Lace has made its annual appearance. Usually we’ve got grandchildren visiting the Farm and that’s the way that it happened again this year. These two pictures, however, are from past years; both girls are “much” older now. Catching fire flies is also one of the standard activities when the Queen Anne’s Lace is in bloom and the kids are at the Farm.

Internet information says that the red center of the flower is supposed to be a drop of Queen Anne’s blood when she pricked herself while sewing the lace. It also says this is a “nativized” plant which means that it was introduced into North America, but now it thrives in the wild. In fact, the state of Minnesota classifies it as a noxious weed. But, weeds are in the eye of the beholder.

Queen Anne’s Lace is related to the wild carrot and there are on-line suggestions for eating it. We tried these pancakes several years ago, but there wasn’t much of a distinctive taste. Mainly it was for decoration, I think. However, there were warnings to go with the cooking ideas. “Don’t confuse Queen Anne’s Lace with poison hemlock.” What? So much for on-line suggestions! Margaret deserves thanks for making the pancakes and for building these two photo collages.

The calving paddock just south of our house has strips of the plant that are probably related to soil saturation. The green and more wet waterway has bands of the white flowers on either side. But there are fewer flowers in the foreground of the photo and over on the hilltop with the trees. These zones of vegetation may correspond with distinct soils developed over layers of different parent material. And, the layers of silt, clay, and organic matter each hold different amounts of water. This is all a “teaser” for the post next week!