Rose Campion

Lychnis coronaria

This is the "Alba" form of rose campion that I mentioned in the story about the garden thief. The vivid magenta flowers of the common form are in the background.

We have had 24 hours of a hot, dry nor'wester. It is surprising how quickly everything dries out. Suddenly the garden looks battered and seedy.

This morning I stood out on the bank overlooking the field where the ewes and lamb were. The grass has grown tall so that the little bull and his harem are walking knee deep in it. In the early part of the 20th century a creek ran through here. Now there is a hollow meandering the length of the field.

The gusty nor'wester was blowing so hard I had trouble remaining upright. The grass was like a broad green river. The wind streamed across the flat areas in gusty bursts, and swirled in the hollow, with eddies spilling out over the top. The turbulence caused rapids to appear and to vanish in moments. Sometimes a gust would change the direction of the flow and increase the turmoil. And all the time frantic trees were roaring around me. It was a marvellous experience.