Good Dog, Bad Dog's Mercury

Yesterday Mishka got the scent of a mouse and started digging. She unearthed a perfect, extremely cosy, nest which was lined with her fur. Fortunately the mice were long gone.

I've indulged her and urged her to continue digging as it's good stimulation. We have a shaded, wooded area in the garden with lots of rotting wood. It's the perfect habitat for dog's mercury, an ancient woodland indicator, which can be seen in my image. This poisonous plant got its name because it looks a bit like mercury, which is another name for the edible good-king Henry, Chenopodium bonus-henricus. I think I have been served this in Greece in place of spinach. In plant names dog means bad, or not as good.