Cuckoo pint

Today was not without drama.

I was quietly at home this morning doing more sorting, filing, tidying etc. At lunchtime I expected the Tesco delivery van.

Suddenly I heard a great commotion. When I went to the window, the van was there and shouts of "Help me, help me" could be heard. I thought the tail gate must have come down on the driver.

I was wrong. He had seen that my garage was open as was my car. The tailgate was up because I had been adding items for the tip and the charity shop. Instead of ringing the front doorbell, he had pressed the control for the electric door. It started to descend, taking the tailgate with it.

Damage had ensued. I thought the man had been hit on the head. He was in a terrible state, very angry and upset. He would not let me see if he was OK (turned out he had not been physically injured) and he just wanted to offload the shopping and get away.

I didn't want him to drive off like that, but he did.

The damage is superficial, although there are bits of paint chipped off. I'm not precious about property so I was not at all angry with him.

He phoned later to apologise and say he had been in shock.

Phew! Apparently Tesco will foot the bill for repairs. I'll believe it when it is confirmed.

I went for a late afternoon walk in Acomb Woods. It was a delight. Here you see that cuckoo pint is in flower, as were red campion, forget me nots, leopard's bane and globe flowers. I had a struggle choosing which to blip. More on Facebook.

This season reminds me of that first year of Covid. I walked every day and photographed wild flowers as I went. It was helpful then and it is now, in very different circumstances.

Arum maculatum has many common names. I had not heard starch root before. The roots can be used to make starch for collars.