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Parts of the Northeast have now officially been declared in drought. While the northern part of Maine is still fine, parts of the south have been declared in severe drought. On Saturday, we were fortunate enough have a thunderstorm pass through. It did not last long, but it did drop a lot of water in a heavy down pour, leaving cooler air.
Yesterday, was less humid than it has been, and it was a stellar day. Spot and I headed down to Knickercane Island near Boothbay. The parking lot was as full as it can get. So, I was surprised to find no one on the island… everyone was out on their boats.
Spot decided to go wading down the old boat ramp.
Around this time of year the sea lavender is in full bloom.
This year, it has just started to flower.
Sea lavender grows in the tidal zone. Once it is fairly fully flowered, the stems are cut, and dried. People make wreaths of it, which, if you come to Maine in the fall will be everywhere!
Unlike French or English lavender there is no smell, as it is actually a Limonium carolinianum. A small sprig does not have much color, but when bunched, there is a purple haze to it.
If you do gather your own, please remember to gather judiciously. According to the Encyclopedia of Life:
“Overharvesting can have negative impacts on local populations due to the species’ maturation taking up to 9 years and fecundity is low. Based on a stochastic model of observed fecundities, if all flowers are harvested from the adult population, then population would be reduced by 25% within 6-8 years and recovery could take, on average, 34 years and as much as 103 years (Baltzer et al., 2002: 849). Maximum sustainable harvest is 16% of the adult population (Baltzer et al., 2002: 850).”
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The plan for the week is to get as many of the upholstery weight Clarence House Fabrics on line as possible. So, check the Clarence House Woven category for the new listings.