Wildflower Walks and Avoiding Adversity

'52@50' no. 3 - Learning About Wildflowers

Continuing my new series of doing 52 new things in my 50th year, this week's adventure was peaceful and benign without a hint of adrenaline - learning the names of some native wildflowers. 

I want to do more of the simple things in life that I have long had the intention of doing 'when I have time'. Well that time never seems to arrive - there's always something waiting to fill it, so I am consciously creating space in my life for these new and different things, whether they are thrilling or not. This week, armed with a little pocket book of wildflowers, I've been out and about on the North Downs taking in all that Mother Nature has to offer at this glorious time of year.

The hedgerows, woods and fields that myself and The Furry Guru frequent are full of them. They seem to be more prolific than usual - or maybe it's that they've all flowered at the same time this year and so are more noticeable. Anyway, I'm noticing them... but up until now I haven't know exactly what I was noticing.

I remember the names of the plants in my garden, those that I read about in books and magazines and even the ones that Monty Don tells me about on Gardener's World, but I really don't know many names of our native wildflowers. Many of them are instantly recognisable (such as buttercups) and some are familiar because they are used in their cultivated form in the garden (such as geraniums). Some I know by their common name but not much else and some I have absolutely no idea about at all. I thought it would be a nice thing to learn some more over the next few months and add it in to my year of experiencing new things.

Here are a few of the flowers that I've been learning about (all pictures taken by me):

This little blue flower is Bugle. I have a bit of this in my garden already. In the garden centre it is sold by its Latin name - Ajuga reptans. It has a spire of blue flowers and often grows in clumps as it spreads well.

The Furry Guru studying the Bugle.

Instantly recognisable, Buttercups have their own beauty in their wild setting... but in my garden I count them as a weed.

This is everywhere at the moment - especially on roadsides. It has many common names (Cow Parsley, Queen Anne's Lace or Wild Chervil) but its full Latin name is Anthriscus sylvestris. The big flower heads are in fact made up of several short stems, each with a cluster of tiny flowers which give it its lacy look. It is part of the carrot family.

This is the Common Dog-violet (Viola riviniana). It is tiny and looks very delicate but its tough and it grows almost everywhere. It is part of the same family at the pansies that we see in garden centres and often plant in pots and window boxes. It is not related though to the African violet which we in the UK use as a houseplant - that is from a different family (Saintpaulia) but has, confusingly, been given the common name of violet.

This plant is even tinier - the Common Speedwell (also known as Germander or Bird's Eye) grows really close to the ground so when it isn't flowering you wouldn't notice it. At this time of year it's sky blue flowers catch the eye and, if you go in for a closer look, you can see that each one has a little white centre like an eye. The Common Speedwell's Latin name is Veronica chamaedrys.

This is the Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon). Coming into flower just as the Bluebells are going over, this grows in woodland areas. Its leaves and structure are similar to the stinging nettle but, although it comes from the same family, its quite harmless.

This is a wild geranium or Cranesbill. You can just see the unopened flowers in the picture whose shape resembles the beak of a bird - hence the name. There are many different types of Cranesbill (I think this might be Geranium robertianum or Herb Robert), many of which we grow in our gardens because they are hardy and don't need much attention.

This is Bush Vetch. It is part of the legume family and its leaves and flowers resemble those of peas so it is very easy to identify.

This delicate little white flower is Greater Stitchwort. It has the wonderful Latin name of Stellaria holostea, (stellar meaning starlike) and it is easy to see why. Its also known by the name Star of Bethlehem. It grows in grassy banks, hedgerows and in woodlands.

I feel I've learned a lot this week and I'm going to carry on taking my little book out with me all summer to expand my knowledge. There are about 1500 species of wildflower in the UK so that should keep me busy for a while! If you're interested to learn about our beautiful wildflowers too I recommend you find a book specifically for identification whilst out walking. My book groups plants by their families rather than their colour which is great if you're a botanist I guess but means I have to leaf through it (pardon the pun) until I spot the photo of the plant I'm looking at - it would be much easier if the book divided the flowers by colour. 

The Face Everything Technique: Why Avoiding Difficulties Doesn’t Work

By Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net

We are, all of us, amazing at avoiding things.

Our minds are less “thinking machines” than they are “avoiding machines.” And the incredible thing is that we aren’t even usually aware that we’re avoiding thinking about something.

I’ll give you a few examples:

Right now you’re reading this article but probably avoiding the difficult thing you don’t want to think about. 

We are constantly checking messages, news, feeds, notifications … to avoid doing something we don’t want to face.

When we’re facing difficulties in life, we try to tell ourselves that’s it’s OK because (fill in the blank), or get busy with some activity or numbing agent (like alcohol) so we don’t have to face the difficulties. 

When a problem comes up, our reaction is to want to go do something else, put it off. 

We put off paying bills, doing taxes, dealing with long emails, dealing with clutter, because we don’t want to face these difficulties. 

We put off exercise because it’s uncomfortable. 

In fact, there are thousands more examples, every day, that come up and that we don’t even notice, because our minds switch to thinking about something else.

Try this right now: pause for a minute and think about what difficulty you’re avoiding thinking about right now.

You will either notice a difficulty you don’t like, or your mind will quickly turn to doing something else before the minute is up.

What you’ve done is part of what I call the Face Everything Technique … which I’ll explain in a minute, after we talk about why avoiding everything is an ineffective strategy.

Avoidance Doesn’t Work
Our minds want to run from whatever discomfort, pain, difficulty we’re facing … and this is a good strategy for temporarily not having to deal with difficulty and pain. So in the present moment, we might feel some temporary relief.

But what it does is relegate us to a life of running. A life of distraction and never facing what ails us. We keep ourselves busy, but never learn to deal with what’s inside us, what’s in front of us.

This means we are at the mercy of our fears, of our discomforts. We are like little children who don’t want to do any hard work, but want the latest shiny fun thing.

This results in not working on the important work (or at least putting it off until it starts to get painful). The same is true of exercise, healthy eating, finances, clutter, relationships, and more.

In the end, we usually have to deal with these things, but they’ve just gotten worse. It would have been better to face them early on, when they weren’t such a big deal.


The Face Everything Technique

This technique is based on the idea that it’s better to be aware of things, and to deal with them like an adult, instead of running.

And if we do, none of it’s that big of a deal.

Here’s how it works:

Create awareness by asking, “What am I doing right now?” Throughout the day, set reminders or put little notes that remind you to ask, “What am I doing right now?” The answer might be, “Checking Facebook,” or “Switching to a new browser tab,” or “Eating some chips.” Something simple and mundane like that, but just ask yourself what you’re doing, to start to bring awareness.

Next, ask yourself, “What am I avoiding?” When things get difficult or uncomfortable, we automatically switch to something else. We run. We avoid, like crazy. You’re doing it all day long, but not realizing it. Ask what you’re avoiding: some fear, some difficult task, some difficult emotion, some discomfort, or just staying present in the current moment? Name what you’re avoiding.

Now face it. Just stay with this fear, discomfort, difficulty, in the present moment. Not your story about it that you’re telling yourself in your head, but the actual physical feeling in your body in the present moment. How bad is it? You’ll find that it’s No Big Deal. Stay with it for a little longer. And a little longer after that — challenge yourself.

Take appropriate action. Now that you’ve faced it and have seen that it’s not such a big deal, you can act like an adult rather than a little child: you can decide what the best action is right now. If you’re afraid of doing some task, but you’ve faced it and seen that the fear is not such a big deal … you can remind yourself that the task will benefit you and others, and is much more important than your little fear. If you’re avoiding a difficult conversation with someone because you’re angry, you can see that the anger and offense is not such a big deal, and you can talk to the person calmly and appropriately, with empathy and compassion, and figure out a solution.

Of course, not all problems will just evaporate using this method, but I can tell you that you’ll be able to face many more things as you practice this method. You’ll get better at dealing with discomfort, instead of running from it as most people do. You’ll get better at not procrastinating, and doing uncomfortable tasks. You’ll be more present and more willing to stay in the moment rather than needing distractions all the time. Not overnight, but with practice.

You might have the urge to dismiss this article, to avoid practicing this technique. That too is avoidance, and I urge you to face it this moment.

This week's recipe.... Tuscan Tomato Salad

This is another Jamie Oliver recipe. With its olive oil and basil and ciabatta bread it really does taste all summery and mediterranean. It's quick and easy to make and it goes well with the lasagne that I shared recently (click here to view that post) . If you do prepare it in advance don't put the bread in too early otherwise it will go soggy - you want it to soak up the flavours but still retain some of its crunch.

200 g stale or part-baked ciabatta bread
600 g ripe mixed tomatoes, roughly chopped
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 handful small capers, soaked and drained
1 red onion, peeled, halved and very finely sliced
280 g roasted peppers in olive oil , drained and roughly chopped
good-quality red wine vinegar
good-quality extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch fresh basil , leaves picked

In Jamie Oliver's recipe he adds anchovies but I prefer my fishes to be swimming in the ocean so I haven't included them - I'm sure you won't miss them.

Here's how to make it:

Tear the ciabatta into thumb-sized pieces, then pop them on a tray in a warm place to dry out a little.

Put the tomatoes into a bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix together. Add the capers, onion, peppers and bread. Mix again - Jamie recommends you do this with your hands to really get the flavours going.

Stir in 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and about 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add more salt, pepper, vinegar or oil if necessary.

Tear the basil leaves over the salad, give it another good stir, and it’s ready to serve.

This week in the garden...

The borders are full of Alkanet, Forget-me-Nots and Aquilegias. The fence is swathed in Clematis montana. The grass is lush. And my seed babies are looking strong and healthy. All is well.

The only thing I've had to do this week is watering the pots, which I love doing - it's very relaxing. But it's the calm before the storm, so to speak. I'm gearing up for next week's big transition where the spring flowers get taken out of the borders and the summer planting goes in. This coming week I'll be super-busy digging, weeding, planting, doing pots for the patio, cutting the grass, trimming the hedge.... and a bit more weeding.... 

Clematis montana last week 

One week later 

Your questions answered... why do my muscles shake in some poses?

Good question! My muscles were really shaking today in a long-held Plank Pose and I find it often happens in Boat Pose too. The muscles are working hard and getting fatigued and this will change as you get stronger. Remember to breathe and don't hold the pose so long that you compromise your alignment and therefore risk injuring yourself.

Here's a more detailed, technical answer to this question from US yoga master Richard Rosen via Yoga Journal, where he is a regular contributor:

"Your muscles are made up of many fibers. When you use a muscle, not all the fibers contract at the same time. Some rest while the others work, and then they trade places. When you really challenge your muscles, the changeovers can get a little ragged.

You could think of it as one runner passing the baton to another in a relay race. When you quiver, someone fumbled the baton.

Beginning yogis often shake quite a lot. As your muscles get stronger from regular practice, the fibers learn to trade off between firing and resting with smoother coordination. Your quivering will probably subside (though there will always be teachers who turn you into yoga jelly, no matter how strong you get).

For the time being, to calm things down, try to hug the quivering (contracting) muscle against its underlying bone and press the bone into the muscle being stretched.

Quivering is not necessarily bad, but it may be a sign you’re overworking. Several years ago, when slugger Mark McGwire was mired in a terrible slump, a sportscaster asked Mac’s hitting coach what the problem was. The coach opined that McGwire was trying too hard, and needed to “try easier.”

Tune into your brain, your eyes, the root of your tongue, and, most of all, your breath: If any of these areas feel hard or constricted, take the coach’s advice: Try easier."

This week's musical offering... Sound of Invisible Water by Deuter. I played this in Savasana in my classes a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful piano music to relax to.

And finally, this week's video... a poem to inspire all women to be who they are and fulfill their dreams: