Flowering Raspberry - Rubus Odoratus - Ronce Odorante

R. odoratus influorescence

The flowering raspberry (fr. ronce odorante), rubus odoratus, is one of my favourite edibles at the lake. Though it's called flowering raspberry, it doesn't have the same flavour or texture. It's produces a deep red, opaque, slightly velvety fruit. My brothers and I used to call them thumberries as children because the fruit fit onto our thumbs neatly, like little red caps. They're a bit dry in comparison with the wild raspberry, but delicious. The seeds are less present vs the wild raspberry, too, so there's an advantage in that sense. I love the chiffon-like appearance of the petals of this flower. Also, it's quite sticky and hairy on the back; as a kid I used to pluck the flower off the stem and stick it to my shirt, like a pin. Now, before you go thinking I must have been a sweet, pretty kid, I also did that with empty dragonfly nymph shells (actually, I liked those better because they were cool).

Today, I'm dreaming...

Happy Canada Day! -- Joyeuse Fête du Canada!

Joyeuse Fête du Canada! C'est une journée plutôt froide pour le premier juillet. Mais au moins c'est bon pour les épinards et les laitues! J'irai voir les feux d'artifices ce soir.

L. latifolius inflorescence

Here we have a shot of a wild sweet pea (fr. pois vivace), lathyrus latifolius inflorescence (flower stalk). I managed to get the sun in the middle there, causing some beautiful visual artifacts from the brightness of the light.

L. latifolius inflorescence

Here I got the sun behind the petals of one of the flowers. It makes the flower glow, doesn't it? The colour and shape of the flower is particularly clear here, as are the darker veins in the petals. The translucency of the petals is also clear here. My favourite shot of the week.

It's unseasonably cold for Canada Day (July 1st), but of course this whole season has been unusually cold. I hope that we start getting somewhat more summery weather in the coming months, or my eggplants and peppers simply won't prosper this year.