I Love Weed Identification Sites

Maybe because it's so dark in the morning now or maybe I'm just getting tired of running but I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning. I hear that, after their first marathon training experience, some people don't even take a break but continue running and training for other marathons, while other people say that, while they're glad they did it, they will never run another marathon again. I think I will fall into the latter group. We'll see.

At least this morning wasn't rainy or too cold, although it was still dark when I started out. And I was wearing all my regular workout clothes and my new sneakers felt comfortable.

I haven't been writing about them lately but I still admire the wildflowers as I run. One of the reasons that I don't really write about them anymore is that I'm seeing the same ones over and over again. And when I do see a different one, it's usually an isolated situation of one or two plants in a particular location and I don't have my camera and can't remember enough about the flower to try to identify once I get home.

But today I noticed groups and groups of the same plant along my route which I feel the need to identify. The plants seem mostly to grow in the deep drainage ditches along the road, are maybe 3 feet tall, with blue-green leaves and orange flowers. After I'd seen so many that I decided I need to learn more about them, I stopped to try to pick a piece to bring home. But I didn't want to fall into the ditch so I had to keep going empty-handed.

Later on, at about mile 3, I found a patch of them growing near the lake and was able to pick a small piece of the plant. Upon closer examination, the flowers are kind of horn-shaped (reminding me of a smaller version of monkey flower) with an orange-yellow body, darker reddish-orange at the mouth and orange spots inside. Very pretty flowers and a very beautiful shape.

[In searching for an illustration for monkey flower, I noticed on the Connecticut Botanical Society's page a section where you could search for flowers by color. Looking at the Red and Orange section, the first flower, Jewelweed or Spotted Touch-me-not, seemed like it might be what I had seen but I wasn't sure since the plants I saw had many flowers per stem. So I did another search using the scientific name Impatiens capensis and then, on the Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide (which has been useful several times already) I found confirmation of the name. So Jewelweed it is.]

While beginning the trek uphill with a piece of at-that-point unidentified Jewelweed and two milkweed pods (treats for Larsson) in my right hand, I saw two antlered young deer grazing in a big field. They both stared at me, probably wondering if I was crazy for trudging up the hill like I was doing but then, when I said "Good Morning" to them, they bolted for the protection of the woods. Maybe I didn't quite seem human before I opened my mouth.

Nothing remarkable after that point. I made it home without walking and finished in 1 hour and 17 minutes.

The weekday mileage continues to increase which means Thursday's run is now going to be 4 miles instead of three. I'll be running the route on which I saw the great blue heron and heard the rooster crow so I'm hoping for something equally exciting tomorrow.