A Spot of Gold

Dear Diary,

Yesterday was horribly hot and today will be over 31C.  I hope we might get a thunderstorm later in the day.  In the meantime, there is always butterfly watching in the garden.  There seems to be more than usual this year.  This little Red Admiral is really enjoying the catmint and was so easy to spot, its golden wings highlighted by the early morning sun.  On a sad note, it seems the Robins have abandoned the nest in Auntie's tree.  I've seen no activity in a couple of days and no Robins hopping around in the yard.  I'd tried very hard not to disturb them but to no avail.  Very disappointing.

A Facebook friend gave me some interesting information about Joe Pye Weed and I thought I'd pass it on:  "There are two versions of how the joe-pye weed got its name. The most common one traces it to a 18th Century Native American medicine man named Joe Pye, who traveled the length of New England treating fevers — typhoid fever in particular — with an infusion made from the plant’s leaves. The other story asserts that joe-pye is a corruption of the Native American word for typhoid, jopi."  I tend to think the later is more likely.  Interesting I thought.