Ivy Broomrape

A curiosity, spotted at the side of the road as I walked Meg this morning.   pretty in it's way,  sometimes mistaken for an orchid.     It's a parasitic plant, feeding on the roots of Ivy.  

Some work was needed to clear the bed in the spare room ahead of Ruth's visit this week.   That done, I settled down to make up some photo cards as the stock in the Talyllyn shop has got low.   This fitted in nicely with watching the second alpine stage of the Tour de France, truly awful weather conditions for them today.   Food, work and watching the dogs play seemed to fill the rest of the day.   So good that Meg plays nicely with the tiny puppy :-)

Edit:  Downloaded from my phone after midnight this picture from 4July was assigned to 5th July ..... something I noticed much too late to correct it.