Seed

Blown in by the storm I guess.

For a crocus to set seed, pollen from the anthers must find it's way to the tips of the style which typically branches into three but is sometimes, as here, further divided.  It then takes up to 24 hours for the fertilisation to travel down the flower tube to the ovary which remains underground until late in the growing season.   The pollen is too heavy to be wind blown, usually transferred by insects, many flies around the flowers today.  However there is no sign of pollen transfer here, just that stray seed caught, perhaps held, by the sticky stigmatic surface at the tips of the style branches.   When the flower falls, the seed will be planted!

A day of assorted commitments that kept me from the greenhouse and those last few bulbs .... and the many packets of seed awaiting planting.  Rachel's car MOT was put back a day by illness at the garage which meant that my services were required this morning.  No riding at the stables due to the high winds and heavy rain but an hour or so of horse care was good therapy for Jamie.  Some phone calls for Ruth over lunch, with her 'connected' via Messenger.   Early afternoon I found another use for the gifted cooking apples and made a big batch of spiced red cabbage and apple.  This baked slowly in the oven alongside a pork casserole.   A walk and a run for Meg at Rhydyronen, the fresh air sharpening my appetite for the meal that smelt so good on our return.  Singing was fun as usual, we welcomed a new member who had heard us singing shanties, so we did sing a couple of those and are also well on the way to mastering California Dreaming.  A much needed antidote to life's tribulations.

Thanks again for all the comments, hearts and stars on my 11 year Blip yesterday.   I actually posted my first blip on 7 October 2011, as today it was Crocus tournefortii.  Would have been clever to have featured it yesterday ;-)