Yellow Beauty.....

As Fenway and I walk around the neighborhood or as I drive through the area to do errands or visit friends I've noticed a growing number of small signs planted in front yards. "NO MOW MAY!" I'm assuming this is an effort to let wildflowers bloom this month so that bees and other insects can find pollen.

Pulling dandelions with a special forked tool that was supposed to get the root (HAH!) was one of my fifth-sixth grade summer chores. My dad wanted all the offensive yellow dots out of his perfectly groomed lawn, as did his neighbors.

But when I began, as an adult, to notice the wildflowers around us....on highway trips, on walks in the woods, while planning to weed one of our own flower gardens I began to develop a different view. I bought a small wildflower identification book and it was always in the glove compartment of our car. If we, when the kids were little, were driving from Chicago area to Massachusetts to visit grandparents the book helped pass the time. We learned to identify many blooms on the fly and when we'd stop for a picnic lunch or stretch-your-legs break we'd let the kids pick wildflowers and back in the car we'd page through the book to identify them. Then we'd write the date and location in the margin of that guide. 

Dandelions took on another level of beauty. The bright happy color, the astonishing number of petals, the transition from bloom to blow-away-puff. The shape of the leaves....they were just so pretty.

I woke up this morning to a few fun dandelion facts on a Facebook post. 

• ‘Dandelion’, their common name, has been derived from the French phrase ‘dents de lion’, which means lion tooth. The shape of this plant’s leaves resembles a lion’s tooth. 
• Dandelion makes the only flower representing three celestial bodies during different phases of its life cycle – sun, moon, stars. The yellow flower of the plant resembles the sun, the dispersing seeds of the plant resemble stars, and the puff ball of dandelion plant resembles the moon.

• Animals like butterflies, insects, and birds consume the seeds or nectar of dandelion.  
• The dandelion leaves are 2 to 10 inches long. A rosette is formed by these green leaves at the stem’s base. Dandelion leaves appear tooth-like at the edges.  
• Dandelion plants can reach a height of 17 inches.  
• Dandelions are pollinated by various types of insects. Yellow flower of the plant becomes a puff ball which comprises many fruits known as achenes. Dandelion seeds have a disk-like extension which serves as a parachute and helps dispersal by wind.   In folk medicine, dandelions are used for treating liver disorders and infections. Tea made from dandelion serves as a diuretic i.e., facilitates urine excretion.   
• Dandelions are also called pioneer plants or ruderals – the first plants to colonize any disturbed lands (like land after a wildfire).   

6:45 am - time for Fenway and I to do the first-thing-in-the-morning walk. He will have ears up looking for rabbits....maybe I will count the yellow dots.