#redstem

[dawnclan-duskclan]

"I think Cavestar is flirting with me," Redstem said.

"Yeah?" Pansypoppy replied halfheartedly. He'd long since tuned out the talkative warrior's words.

And it wasn't like collecting soft oak leaves from young shrubs took any focus. That Pansypoppy preferred focusing his attention on his mind-numbing task rather than Redstem's prattling was only testament to how quickly the red warrior grated on his nerves.

Redstem wasn't even helping.

Pansypoppy didn't needed help gathering herbs, but he'd be foolish to venture into to the Daylands alone.

Therefore, Redstem.

Though Pansypoppy thought being a healer's escort into one of the more contested zones of the Daylands would involve far more looking for DuskClan threats and far less talking.

Redstem was undeterred by Pansypoppy's lackluster response. "You talk to Cavestar a lot, Pansy. What do you think?"

Pansypoppy's tail lashed and his claws took off more than just leaves. He hated when Redstem shortened his name, had told the tomcat to stop many times, but always when he least expected it, there Redstem was, Pansy, like he hadn't worked his tail off to get his full name!

He hoped that Redstem would take his silence as an opening to go off on another ramble, but, annoyingly, for the first time in his entire life, maybe, the selfish warrior actually wanted his opinion. "Pansy?"

"I don't know," the grey healer said, swallowing his frustration. It wouldn't help anyone to start an argument here, this close to the Horizon.

The Waterwings were uncharacteristically calm today (which is why Pansypoppy had been so eager to go out, even if the only warrior escort available was Redstem) and his pelt was dappled in shadow from budding trees. He'd simply been following his nose: plants this way! the wind sang, and with Redstem's self-guided soliloquies distracting him, Pansypoppy hadn't been paying much attention to his surroundings.

They shouldn't be this close to the Horizon with only one warrior, especially one that wasn't doing a very good job of keeping watch.. Worry prickled his pelt. Pansypoppy turned to Redstem, intending to tell him that they should leave before they were wearing DuskClan warriors for pelts, when Redstem abruptly stepped into his space, bumping under the healer's chin.

"Come on, you can tell me," the ginger tom wheedled. "If Cavestar does have a crush on me, I've already figured it out, haven't I? No harm in dropping the feather."

Redstem's fire-tipped tail poked Pansypoppy in the nose and it took all the healer's willpower not to snap at it. Instead, he blew a long breath from his nose, picked up the small bundle of herbs he'd collected--a pitiful amount, really, not worth this--and quirked his tail back toward the Dawnlands.

"Yes!" Redstem shouted, leaping forward with far too much enthusiasm. How many DuskClan warriors heard his yowl and were headed their way? Pansypoppy picked up his pace. "That means it's true, right? She likes me! I knew it! Stars, I'm good."

The Waterwings stirred and a slight rain started to patter against the leaves around them.

Wonderful.

At least Pansypoppy had an excuse for why he kept his ears down and why his tail lashed in frustration as his pelt grew heavier and heavier with water. Even Redstem's commentary slowed as the sprinkle turned to a constant drizzle.

All for a few measly leaves.

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[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Friday 10 March 2023

Just bursting into leaf is the Cornus alba 'Sibirica' (Siberian dogwood) which has provided great stem colour all winter. This deciduous shrub will soon be pruned to ensure the regrowth of new red stems for next winter.

Jill Raggett

[crudlynaturephotos]

[robotblues]

[thebotanicalarcade]

[zoology-time]

Redstem Stork's bill (flowering & fruiting), Erodium cicutarium

[k-botany]

Erodium cicutarium L. Family: Geraniaceae

Common name: Redstem Filaree or Redstem Stork's Bill.

The name "Erodium cicutarium" comes from the Greek word "erodios" meaning "heron," due to the fruit's resemblance to a heron's beak, and "cicutarium" from the Latin "cicuta," referring to the similarity of its leaves to those of the toxic hemlock plant.

[goblinofthelaboratory]

my favorite flower redstem filaree (Erodium cicutarium) is budding despite the cold and im just beaming about it.

even though there is snow and mud and slush, the tiny wildflower, the one overlooked, the one rooted out as a weed only grown in sidewalk cracks, this flower grows. it buds and blooms in early march when it is wet and miserable.

it shall remain blooming, flowering, persisting, until frost turns it dormant once more. Yet it returns every year. the same places, same plants, reawakened.

[carolinawrenn]

Redstem stork's-bill (erodium cicutarium).

[goblinofthelaboratory]

Redstem Filaree Erodium Cicutarium

it grows in the rocks and cracks and i adore this gritty, tiny flower. i think it's the best flower ever and nothing will change my mind. my baby my icon my beloved i want it in my life forever

What's everyone's favourite flowers that aren't like. The normal ones. Like everyone's a fan of roses and sunflowers what's a more niche one. One you don't get in gift sets. Mine's sweet peas

[dawnclan-duskclan]

"We should hunt in the Twilight today," Redstem said.

"By the waterfall?" Woodfern put her paws up on a boulder, peering over the cluster of stones, captivated by the storm.

For his part, Redstem eyed the Daylands with a wrinkled nose. Sheets of water poured from above, hiding the green of the trees behind a swirling curtain of grey. It was almost pretty, the way the Sun cast each droplet in light, a dance of a million stars.

But even from DawnClan's camp, well within in the Twilight, he could hear the dull roar of wind and rain as the localized storm under the Sunroost growled, fierce as any warrior. Cold wind poured outward from the swirling storm, weak where they stood, but Redstem knew the gale would only grow stronger and icier the closer they ventured to the Daylands.

Depressingly, the thick sheets of rain shuttered the Sun crystal's light and once the pair of hunters left DawnClan's camp and the cluster of bright Star crystals it contained, the Twilight was as dark as the Dimreaches at Shadowsun: stones and cliff faces a smudge of shadow in the darkness, with the only meaningful illumination cast by individual Star crystals in puddles of rainbow-hued Starshine.

"No," Redstem decided, "the waterfall’s too close." Woodfern's tail-tip twitched, signaling the younger molly's faint disappointment. But Redstem wasn’t about to spend the next Suncycle with the ache of frost in his lungs and toes, so even if he knew he was setting them up for a challenging hunt, he turned his back to the Sun and set off into the deep Twilight.

Redstem chose a crevasse between two tall cliff faces in the mountainous south, where plenty of Star crystals illuminated the stone and scattered tumbles of vine-covered stones supported a small population of mice, lizards, and even a few snakes at the top of the food chain. The older tom curled his lip. He hated the idea of eating reptiles, cold, scaly, and bitter, but DawnClan needed to eat. 

So Redstem gritted his teeth and set to it.

Woodfern followed silently (and, perhaps, a little petulantly) as Redstem led the small hunting patrol to the gorge. She didn't hesitate to leave the red tomcat behind as soon as they arrived, plunging deep into the narrowest crevasse she could find, taking her far away from where he hunted.

Frustration clawed a growl from her throat.

She wasn't dumb enough to suggest going to the Daylands--she wasn't an idiot, they couldn't withstand a Waterwing storm and even if they could, any prey there would be deep in its burrows--but they could have gone closer! This far into the Twilight, they might find a few straggling mice or cold, scaly things that skittered in the shadows, but there certainly wouldn't be a fat hare or a bird in her future.

Woodfern slapped a pebble with her paw, relishing in the awesome c l a c k ! it made as it impacted the cliffside. The sound echoed in the narrow crevasse and vibrated the fur in her inner ear until it tickled. Movement flashed to her right and the silver spotted molly shot her paw out on instinct, pinning a tiny lizard to the stone. She curled her claws into its neck and the thrill of the chase quickly melted into disappointment: the lizard was so small, barely a mouthful, and she'd need dozens--no, hundreds--of the stupid things to feed even Boulderkit.

Woodfern growled and stalked off, leaving the small lizard where it fell. If it was still there when she came back, she'd pick it up. If not, well, it wasn't much of a loss. Certainly not worth the time to find a spot to cache it.

An indeterminate, frustrating time later, she heard Redstem's voice echo through the chasms. Her stomach rumbled. She should have eaten that small lizard to take the edge off, StarClan and the Code be damned. Woodfern retraced her pawsteps to pick up the singular mouse she'd managed to catch, her tail lashing as she followed her own trail of scent through twisting canyons to where she started her hunt. The lizard lay on the ground--mocking, accusatory, insulting really--but she picked it up all the same.

At least it made her mouse look bigger in comparison.

Redstem hadn't had any better luck and Woodfern narrowed her eyes at the pitiful pair of lizards between his paws, neither one much bigger than her own. "We've wasted enough time here," the red tom muttered, atypically dispirited, and she would have snapped something back, but she was too upset to find the words.

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[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 4 April 2023

The stems of Rubus phoenicolasius (Japanese wineberry) show up well in winter, especially when sunlight strikes them. Here the stems are trained against a grey fence ready to flower and crop in the coming year. The fruit can be eaten straight off the canes or cook in the same way as raspberries.

Jill Raggett

[crudlynaturephotos]

[zosialynchphotography]

Vacant lots #1: NE Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard and Senate Street, Portland, Oregon. March 2024.

I'm pretty bad at identifying grasses, but some of the other species in the field were: redstem stork's bill (Erodium cicutarium), dovesfoot geranium (Geranium molle), hairy cat's ear (Hypochaeris radicata), narrowleaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata), common chickweed (Stellaria media), common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), and slender speedwell (Veronica filiformis)

[mbsposts]

20230609 Green River Campground

REDSTEM STORK'S-BILL or REDSTEM FILAREE or PINWEED Erodium cicutarium