A FLOWER OF THE COTTON PLANT

This post was originally written in 2011. In more recent visits I haven't seen this plant, so I am glad I have these to remember them.

Sharing again from my archives, this is the flower of the cotton plant. I was very surprised when I walked through the garden near the visitors' center at Walney to find these pretty blooms. I was even more surprised after discovering the blooms were from a cotton plant. I had never seen one before and in pictures had only seen those fluffy balls of cotton before they are harvested.

I have since learned that there are several species of 'wild cotton' (cotton that grows uncultivated in the world). They have been found in Australia, Africa, Arizona, Central America, Lower California, Brazil, Mexico and other tropical countries and islands.

Because of problems with their refinement, they are not economically feasible to use. Through genetic assistance and breeding, today's cottons have evolved from these 'wild' sources and are more processing friendly.

Currently there are five prominent types of cotton being grown commercially around the world. They are Egyptian, Sea Island, American Pima, Asiatic and Upland. Because of their need for a long, sunny growing period with at least 160 frost free days, they are grown between latitudes 45 degrees north and 30 degrees south. The major producing countries within this region are the United States, People's Republic of China, India, Pakistan, and Republic of Uzbekistan. Also, Brazil, Australia, Egypt, Argentina, Turkey, Greece, Syria and other produce significant but lesser amounts.

In the U.S. there are 14 major cotton growing states that produce Upland Cotton. They are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Some cotton is also grown in Florida, Kansas and New Mexico.

American Pima Cotton is grown in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. All these states form a region in the United States called the Cotton Belt and have three things in common, lots of sunshine, water and fertile soil, very important to growing a good cotton crop.

I found all my information and a lot more at this website.

Thank you for visiting and as always, I hope you have a great day.

MORE OF THE WASP NEST AT WALNEY - 8-4-25

As I write this (8/6/25 at 3.52 p.m.) it is 77 degrees F. (25 degrees C). The cooler temperatures have been wonderful, with hardly any humidity. No doubt the temperatures will be rising again but we have been making the most of it.

 On the 4th we went to Walney Pond. Above you can see the wasp nest I added to my collage I shared here. Gregg spotted it first - I fondly call him 'eagle eyes' as he sees these things before I do. This nest was at least a foot in diameter and a foot-and-a-half long. Very active as we could see its residents going in and out of entrance holes. It is in a tricky area and is not even ten feet from where everyone walks and low, head-height. We worry about children playing in the area, and have envisioned someone running into it, perish the thought! We have already gotten in touch with the appropriate department at the local government center. Hopefully it will be taken care of soon and we will keep checking as we often pass by. I looked as we drove off. If you know where to look it can be seen quite clearly, but not immediately obvious when closer.

I took several photos using the zoom lens and found it fascinating to look at when on the larger screen of my laptop. Clever and amazing these nature's engineers. Not sure what kind of wasp or maybe a hornet? Any experts out there? I've looked online and seen similar, maybe the one at this link.

Last shot further along the pathway from the other side. It is also quite close to the edge of the pond.

A couple of more photos and that's it from this area.

Next we drove to the Visitor Center just up the road. 

Common milkweed were growing among all the Black-eyed susans, not only in the flower beds in front of the house...

but also in the separate round butterfly garden. 

First I wanted to share something else. I saw a flurry of movement on the steps of the house and if you look on the far right of that first step you will see...

a skink, possibly a five-lined skink which are the most common lizards in northern Virginia, according to what I found out at this website. Please let me know what you think if you check it out.

Another much smaller lizard crawled out of that larger crack on the right but wasn't as brave as its larger companion. It disappeared immediately.  

I saw a bug on this Black-eyed susan and couldn’t find a lot of information but identified it as an assassin bug. Once it forms full wings, its back will no longer be visible. Also found a clearer photo of it here.

Here's a closer look. I had a hard time focusing.

Onto the Black-eyed susans.

One last photo for today taken of the flower bed in front of the old house that is now the visitor center.

There will be more flowers soon.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day.

A FEW FLOWERS

I wrote all about Queen Anne's Lace at this post.  Whenever I see it blooming I always take photos.  I don't have to go too far to see these.  All the information about this flower you can find at the above link.

Next come the Black-eyed Susans.  I shared the following photo that I turned into art, which you can see here.

And another from the same area at this link where I share info about the Lazy Susans.

I love the look of Lazy Susans.

This is a favorite photo of one of the windows at the visitor center.  Those aren't birds flying around as I first thought. I took a quick look from a little distance away.  They are stickers to safeguard our feathered friends.

Not sure what the next one is.  My plant app gave me another name.  I rarely find myself doubting them but as I didn't have much surrounding for them to clue in on, leaves and whatnot, my Doubting Thomas radar kicked in.  They told me it was Western-purslane.  I don't think so.  Who knows, it could even be a coneflower!   Maybe one of our more knowledgeable blogging friends will be able to give its form a correct identification.

That's all for today.

Thank you for visiting and I hope your week is going well.

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE MADE...

 

We chatted to a special person this week and did a 'remember when', with moments shared from our younger years.  This was long before I met my Dear Other Half, but he joined in as we transitioned to memories from childhood.

It was such an enjoyable conversation, and I was still thinking about all those memories the next day. My creativity gene kicked in and I started playing on paint shop pro, and also found graphics on pixabay.com. It incorporates the interest I have for clothing down through the ages. Looking back I would have enjoyed working in the costume department at a theater. I had met someone who was very involved with a local theater group and I was being encouraged to join, but then I met someone else who became the love of my life, and here I am.  Different forks in the road and all that, one I was very happy to travel along.  

This photo is a place we go to often and have shared several times. Because I enjoy being around animals, the dogs and cats had to go in. It would have gotten a bit too crowded with any wildlife. Another put-together picture in the future I'm thinking.

I found the saying online but there was no author attached.

I hope your week has gone well. Thank you for calling as often as you do. I only wish I could fix you a proper cup of tea, or coffee, so that you could tell me about your own childhood memories.

Here's a virtual cuppa instead.

Happy Thursday!

A WALK NEAR WALNEY VISITOR CENTER

 We were at another favorite area we go to, a place near Walney Visitor Center.  There won't be too many photos this time, but if you click on this link, you will be able to see other posts I have taken over the years.  

There are small patches of land that have been fenced off, for produce, an orchard and not sure about a third.  

We sat on our usual bench underneath the arbor for ten minutes and watched bluebird parents come and go, as they brought food for their babies.  

Decals found in a window at the Visitor Center and...

Dandelions!  How come I love a whole field of dandelions and yet don't want any in my garden?  That should be the start of a poem, "Ode to a Dandelion".  There is more to the dandelion than we see as a pesky weed.  Thinking back to my childhood, my father used to make dandelion wine.  I remember once he put too much sugar in a batch and those bottles of wine that were stored in a small cupboard underneath the staircase, all the corks popped off like a rocket.  

It not only caused a big mess, but the house smelled of wine for weeks, even with all of Mum's cleaning.  She was a good sport, even though she wasn't too happy about that.  I always remember laughter for years after, as the story was remembered and retold among family and friends.  There was a series of bangs as one by one the corks blew their top, one after the other, in quick succession.  The Spruce has a recipe for dandelion wine here.  If I ever made it, I would be measuring that sugar very precisely.

At this website there is a paragraph which reads: "Did you know, for instance, that the leaves, flowers, and roots of dandelion are edible or that the dandelion has purported medicinal properties? Bees and other pollinators also rely on them for a nectar source early in the growing season.”

Common Blue Violet and Dandelion

~Ground Ivy~

~Common Blue Violet~

~Bearded Iris~

~Paradise Apple~

and one last view of the fenced-off vegetable garden.

That's the end of my photos taken near the Walney Visitor Center.