Wildflowers of Ainsworth: Golden Alexanders

(Click on images to enlarge)

These guys, growing out by the Canadian National Railway tracks, at first fooled me into thinking that they were wild parsnips. Then it occurred to me that they were blooming rather early, so I checked with Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. I am very excited to have identified yet another species of boring wildflower. If these guys can give you a rash the way wild parsnips can, I haven't found out about it.

The leaves, which have fewer leaflets than the parsnip:


The whole plant:


There may be a story behind the name, "Alexanders," but my usual sources either don't know it or don't care to tell it.

♦    ♦    ♦
In barn swallow news, Mrs. Barn Swallow appears to be in the process of laying the eggs, or maybe she's already incubating them. I notice they line the interior of the nest with down feathers, but I don't know whether they pull the feathers off themselves or collect fallen ones.

Fun fact about barn swallows: although they mate for life, they are notorious for having extramarital flings. In the barn swallow world, this "contributes to genetic diversity" and ultimately benefits the species, but I suppose that's small comfort to the individuals involved. I know my Mr. Barn Swallow has had to fight off numerous interlopers, or maybe it's the same one over and over — I still can't tell one from another.

Slacker Posting Time continues.