We live in an area where Queen Anne’s Lace is abundant and it is a constant part of the scenery all summer long. It lines the roads and fills the empty fields. I am always aware of it now as we hike and spend time outdoors. It makes me think about Anna Botsford Comstock’s words:
“The object of this lesson should be to show the pupils how this weed survives the winter and how it is able to grow where it is not wanted. The weed is very common along most country roadsides, and in many pastures and meadows. It blossoms very late in the autumn, and is available for lessons often as late as November.” Handbook of Nature Study
This year however our family noticed a difference in our summer time Queen Anne’s Lace. Instead of the really tall towering plants with loads of blossoms, we only had short plants which were sparsely covered with flower heads. Our growing season has been very unusual with hotter and drier conditions than the last few years. We are reasoning that that is the cause of the smaller plants. It will be interesting to see the crop that sprouts next year and then make some more comparisons.
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| Some more Autumn weeds to enjoy. |
This is the joy of a year-long nature study of any subject, getting your eyes to see the changes not only from season to season but from year to year.
You may wish to read my Autumn Queen Anne’s Lace entry from 2010 where we looked very carefully at the seeds of this plant. You can complete your own study using this year’s Queen Anne’s Lace challenge along with a free printable notebook page.
hello barb, that’s an interesting observation about the queen anne’s lace and your hotter and drier summers. we’ve been noticing that our summers have become longer and more humid. our roses bloom in june (some even in may this year) and also in september. the magnolia tree outside our window gets a second bloom around the same time. in prior years i found this long summer a bit depressing, but i find i’m adjusting to it now, and expecting it. we just finished a warm october spell, and now it’s cool again. however, i do expect a few more 79 degree/80 degree days before halloween. it’s interesting how our weather is changing. i don’t understand people who can deny this!
Yes, our summers are definitely getting longer…this year I would say about two weeks of absolute summer like weather.
Want to hear something weird? Our dogwood tree bloomed twice this year. No one has ever heard of that before and my dad had to come over and see it for himself. He couldn’t believe it even after he saw it. Crazy seasons.
Barb, my family has spent a great deal of time looking for Queen Anne’s Lace, with no luck. Maybe we don’t know what we are looking for, but I tried following the pictures I saw online.
We hunted down some highways and byways we haven’t gone down before, looking for QAL. I asked my naturalist friend, and she hasn’t seen any either. Any suggestions?
Cristy,
You can pick another weed to study for your year long focus if you want to.
You could do thistle, milkweed, or complete a general weed study.
Thistle:
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2011/11/ohc-more-nature-study-9-thistles.html
Milkweed:
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2011/09/outdoor-hour-challenge-more-nature.html
Weeds and Seeds:
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2008/09/outdoor-hour-challenge-30-weeds-and.html
Thanks, Barb. I will look for another weed to study with my kids.