Tuesday~ July 15 ~2008

Here at Softlife we enjoy bird watching as much as the next guy. It is a very meditative sport. Today we spotted this Woolywinged Grosbeak perched in a Birch tree in a suburban garden.

Before long, it took off like a bird on the wing...

We tracked it successfully through the gardens and lawns of the American middle class, until at last it landed. The magnificent bird cast it's keen gaze around the garden, searching the landscape for something... but what?

Oh Ho! We should have known! The Woolywinged Grosbeak is a nectar sucking bir die, and here we see it intently foraging for blossoms to siphon.

After sampling several types of aromatic blooms, the Woolywinged Grosbeak took to the air once again. We followed as best we could.

And here we see the object of it's winged quest, Digitalis Purpurea, commonly known as Foxglove. The Foxglove derives it's common name from the shape of the flowers, which resemble the finger of a glove. It was originally Folksglove- the glove of the "good folk" or fairies, whose favourite haunts were supposed to be in the deep hollows and woody dells, where the Foxglove delights to grow. It is also highly poisonous...