Cygnets, Lilies, Loosestrife, and Honesty Pods (And Forgettable Latin Names)

The heatwave has returned, so the fan has had to come back out! If we continue to have hot summers from now on, I suspect they will put air conditioning in new builds. For my little flat, I will have to make do with the fan. Today’s walk was around my local pond. It was too hot to go too far.

Following the footpath around the pond, I spotted some paper thin, silver seed pods commonly known as Honesty. Their official Latin name is Lunaria annua, though who’s actually going to remember that? They’re almost completely translucent, making them favourite among florists. I know where to come if I need some free ones.

Further out into the pond, there are lots of water lily pads floating on the water, with tiny damselflies darting between them.

The highlight of the walk was spotting the resident swan family. The proud parent swans were gliding alongside four healthy, fluffy grey cygnets. Seeing all four growing and thriving together was a reassuring sight, as they are quite vulnerable at this age.

Along the edge of the water, some twisted purple loosestrife was coming up alongside the reeds.

I sat briefly on a bench before heading back home to the cool indoors.