a spring outing

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This was such a beautiful weekend, so a friend and I spent some time in the woods doing what a couple of middle aged men do, "cut wood", but ultimately I look at the plants. I like to make sure I can identify the plants I see. Case in point, A dear friend complained to me that none of the bulbs she planted last year came up. So I asked her what kind they were. Those fuzzy things we bought last fall. Oh ya, the hairy alliums, umm, uhh, ya don't think that they were those wild garlics we pulled up last week, do ya? She has them growing all over the place lol (she wasn't laughing). Ok! I screwed up there, but if you don't know what to pull up, you may pull up the wrong thing. A good reason to grow things from seed too, so you can recognise seedlings as they grow. On a different path you would think that animals would instinctively know what to eat and what not to eat, but that's not necessarily so. I remember my dog trying to drink antifreeze in a pan once, and of course antifreeze is poisonous. Still with me? So I'm out in the woods admiring all the woodland plants when a patch of yellow flowers pokes in the eye (well not literally). I honestly don't know what that plant is, so I take a picture and look it up when I get home, and my best guess by picture and description is Golden Ragwort (Senecio Aureus), which is very common around here. Research tells me that it was wildflower of the month for 2008 (Virginia Native Plant Society), and and from pet care and horse farm sites, toxic to animals, horses, dogs, and cats. There many poisonous plants in the garden as well. It' good to know or have reference of what plants are poisonous (it's the first rule when hunting mushrooms), here's a site you should at least look at. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/lawn_garden/poison/poison.html Poison is a great conversation piece, so spread the word, heh heh!