Queen Anne's Lace

Queen Anne, Queen Anne, has washed her lace
(She chose a summer's day)
And hung it in a grassy place
To whiten, if it may.
Queen Anne, Queen Anne, has left it there,
And slept the dewy night;
Then waked, to find the sunshine fair,
And all the meadows white.
Queen Anne, Queen Anne, is dead and gone
(She died a summer's day),
But left her lace to whiten in
Each weed-entangled way!

By Mary Leslie Newton

Queen Anne's Lace, the white flower (some might say weed, I choose wildflower) pictured above is rampant around here now. It carpets fields, roadsides, ditches, and embankments.

The one above lives in our daffodil field. I particularly loved the contrast with the purplish/reddish flower beneath it. Did you know that Queen Anne's Lace is also known as the carrot flower or wild carrot? Me either until today. I love the internet.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

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p.s. Blog Fest is Thursday. I say this as a reminder only to myself, because my house currently looks like Hooraw's nest* and procrastination is no longer an option.

*What is a hooraw's nest, you may ask? Excellent question. Allow me to procrastinate further by telling you that my grandmother always told me my hair looked like Hooraw's nest, and she was not being complimentary. Turns out, it's spelled and explained as follows:

A "hurrah's nest" is indeed a terrible mess or scene of commotion and confusion, and the phrase dates back to at least the early 19th century. The "hurrah" involved is the same "hurrah" we shout when the home team wins, a cheer of exultation that dates back to around 1686. "Hurrah" has close relatives in several European languages and was probably (like the earlier "huzza") developed from the throaty shouts of soldiers charging into battle.
In 19th century America, "hurrah" came into use as slang noun for "an uproar, a commotion," and anything wild and lawless was described as "hurrah."

With "hurrah" meaning "disordered," it made sense for something very, very tangled or disorderly to be described as a "hurrah's nest," as if the "hurrah" were a creature with bad housekeeping habits. There is some evidence that "hurrah's nest" was first used by sailors to describe a tangle of lines aboard ship.

Definition stolen from word-detective.com.