Saturday, August 02, 2025

Loosestrife Lane

We are experiencing a few cooler days, thank goodness. Unfortunately, the long range forecast predicts that the heat will soon return for much of August. What we can hope is that August heart will not quite match July heat. Fingers crossed.

After a walk downtown on Thursday, which seemed like a slog with my leg acting up, we drove over to tour little park yesterday, and took a shorter walk through it and then for some way along the trail beyond.

As we passed by the pond, we were taken aback by a showing of purple loosestrife. I know it's invasive, but it sure looked pretty, and the bees seemed to appreciate it too although they were too busy to photograph.


We tried closeups.


But we found that, while loosestrife looks pretty en masse, the plant doesn't photograph very well up close. or it didn't for us. I did put a radial filter on this photo to try to pull something out of it, but you can probably see what I mean. It's a bit of a messy flower.


After the excursion. we picked up coffee and turkey bacon sandwiches and took them to the big park and are them on a bench by the river. For once, we did not take a selfie. Aren't you glad?


19 comments:

  1. LOL. I laughed 😂 when I read your comment about no selfie. Beautiful photos. ❤️ Yes, the closeup blurs, I see what you mean.

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  2. Loosestrife, takes over everything, starves the wildlife because it demolishes their food sources. The fascist of the natural world!
    Thank you for no food selfie, too funny. You could have used a stock shot and we'd never have known!

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  3. Despite its invasiveness and inability to photograph well, loosestrife is a colorful invader. Dining al fresco is always welcome with or without a selfie.

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  4. The picnic sounds lovely. We hope to have one today.

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  5. I do like the color of the flowers, and the bees do too. This reminds me of the blazing stars I have in the garden that are singular spikes. But I can see how hard it is to get a good/creative shot of these.
    Sounds like a good day in the park and a picnic!

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  6. It's a pretty color, even if not all that pretty overall.

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  7. Oh no, no selfies! Sigh, how can I live through today! (I'll manage somehow.) Nice colorful flowers, which do look best in the distance. It's so nice to have some coolness today!

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    1. I am somewhat disappointed that you will manage without seeing this glorious couple.

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  8. Ah. No selfie, but Sue did get a 'you-ie'. The term 'invasive' has always confused me. As you note, the plant is pretty. It attracts the pollinators. If a plant accomplishes the same thing as a native plant, why is it seen as a negative? I was just reading about loosestrife on another blog. In the UK, it is not seen as a nuisance.

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    1. I guess it overtakes other plants, but it is pretty. Apparently, it is native to England, so maybe it behaves better there. 😀

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  9. It does look pretty.

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  10. You and Sue take such good selfies! I used to see loosestrife growing along the marshes that border some of the road I live on. Either it's gone or I don't get out enough.

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  11. A nice outing, always made better with a sandwich! Some plants are just like that, so difficult to photograph - better in person.

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  12. Sounds like a lovely walk. The photos are very nice and I enjoyed the effect on the last one. The picnic by the river of a turkey and bacon sandwich with coffee would be marvelous! Glad to know your weather has cooled down. Ours too in Northern Virginia so we are enjoying it while it lasts.

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  13. I think it’s adorable to see the both of you together in a selfie. I’ve never heard of loosestrife, but it’s pretty.

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  14. That really is a pretty color.

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  15. That close up made me dizzy--how weird! It is a lovely color and if the bees like it, that's also a plus. We're cooler now too and might even get some RAIN. (much needed)

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  16. The zoom out effect is quite dramatic

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  17. Purple loosestrife is a very bad invasive. farmers planted it for forage a one time
    .

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