White deadnettles

Managed to escape the office for a quick lunchtime walk today. I was fascinated by the amount of life in a clump of deadnettles - spiders, ladybirds, shield bugs, bees and lots of assorted flies. I got some reasonable photos of a brown version of the green shield bug (at least I think that is what it was) but decided that these clusters of flowers on the deadnettle were more interesting.

According to Wikipedia, the flowers are produced in whorls called verticillasters. There's a word I've not come across before. You can also eat the leaves as a salad vegetable but given the number of dog walkers who passed me (and gave the obligatory 'funny look', I wouldn't fancy eating them from that location.

Did something I've been promising myself to do for ages when I got home. There's a 5 km park run every Saturday morning by the river near us. I've never run that far out of doors but wondered about having a go. Tonight I managed to run the full distance (with husband acting as pacemaker and supporter) in just over 36 minutes. This means I would be one of the last but not THE last if I joined in on a Saturday. Gives me something to aim for in the next few weeks if I'm feeling brave. Have inhaled far too much pollen now though and am wheezing away....