More from Southwick Beach State Park.
The Daily Bucket is a place where we post and exchange our observations about what is happening in the natural world in our neighborhoods. Birds, blooms, bugs & more - each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
July 16, 2013
This lovely weed is now blooming. It lines the path over our small dune and down to the beach.
It took awhile to figure out what it is; finally went thru the not-native section of my wildflower book and spotted it right away. Bouncing Bet or Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis). Once I had that name I was able to search on the web for more information.
From the Virginia Tech Weed ID site - which I now have bookmarked!
Often called soapwort because it produces a soapy lather when crushed, this weed was grown by early settlers for use as a cleaning detergent and soap. Bouncingbet was also cultivated during the Industrial Revolution when cloth was first manufactured on a large scale. Bouncingbet was introduced from Europe and is now distributed throughout North America.
Here's another website for those further west -
from Colorado
Then there is the place selling seeds for this weed. "Heirloom flower whose stems & roots can be used to create gentle suds. Plants will spread in most soils. 30 seeds per packet $2.75" Really? Heirloom flower?
A quick bucket for the day - another hot one here on the east shore of lake Ontario, mid-80s and dry. The cow corn out in the fields is starting to tassel already but the leaves are stressed. Any rain in the next week and the corn should be fine.
And The Daily Bucket is now open for your thoughts and observations...
"Green Diary Rescue" is Back!
After a hiatus of over 1 1/2 years, Meteor Blades has revived his excellent series. As MB explained, this weekly diary is a "round-up with excerpts and links... of the hard work so many Kossacks put into bringing matters of environmental concern to the community... I'll be starting out with some commentary of my own on an issue related to the environment, a word I take in its broadest meaning."
"Green Diary Rescue" will be posted every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time on the Daily Kos front page.