Something old, something new…

Well, here’s an oldie but goodie, I hope. Sure, we’ve seen plenty of deer before, and I can positively assert that I already have pictures of this one due to the long thin identifying mark down her left side, but still, it’s nice to see such a magnificent creature out enjoying the park right after all the commotion of the Farmers Market, isn’t it?

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By the way, when we first met her, in the southern parking lot, back on June 11, she also didn’t know what to make of me, and came pretty close trying to determine what I was made of. If you go back and look, you’ll see I chose a picture then that didn’t feature the mark because it still looked a little fresh, and I’m sure glad to see that it seems to have healed up pretty well.

Now, onto the new stuff! Below, I’m pretty confident that we have St John’s wort aka perforate St John’s wort or common St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum). Note how the petals appear asymmetrical, like little fan blades with tiny black dots along the edges.

The Pedia of Wik reports:

“St. John’s wort has been used in alternative medicine as a likely effective aid in treating mild to moderate depression and related symptoms such as anxiety or insomnia. [However,] study results on the effectiveness of St. John’s wort for depression have been mixed. [And,] since St. John’s wort causes drug interactions, it might not be an appropriate choice for many people, particularly those who take other medications. [Moreover,] the plant is poisonous to livestock.“

It continues “the common name “St John’s wort” may refer to any species of the genus Hypericum. Therefore, Hypericum perforatum is sometimes called “common St John’s wort” or “perforate St John’s wort” to differentiate it.“

Finally, “St John’s wort is named as such because it commonly flowers, blossoms and is harvested at the time of the summer solstice in late June, around St John’s Feast Day on 24 June.“

Lastly, we appear to have some fresh little Japanese Parasol or Pleated Inky Cap mushrooms (Parasola plicatilis), below. Sadly, urbanmushrooms.com reports that it is “too flimsy to eat”, which really sounds like more of a challenge than a prohibition, doesn’t it?

First-Nature.com is a little firmer with “generally regarded as inedible”, but not much, eh? They make you wonder if they’re not just saving some tasty little morsels for themselves, don’t they?

Well, that’s it for today, thanks for checking in, and see you all in July!