One of the earlier spring ephemerals in Mr. Gingold’s neighborhood is Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). The image I am sharing today was made on April 9, 2010 when we had a very early spring. I am not expecting to see these in a week…probably not even two weeks. Although much of our snow has melted, there is still enough in places that I think the flowers will be a little late this year. I’ll look though, just in case. 🙂
Will you be my friend. (disclaimer…I never saw Mr. Rogers ((not once)), although I did see Mr. Robinson.) 🙂
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
I always enjoy seeing those little flowers. They have such a unique shape. Good luck finding them.
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They’ll show up here as soon as I find them. Thanks.
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I’m sure I’ve probably seen postings about Dutchmen’s-breeches-the-flower, but my first thought was of the sky. “Dutchmen’s breeches,” patches of blue in the sky, are a proverbial sign that rain will hold off. I found this tidbit interesting:
“The New York Times published an article on June 6, 1897 entitled, “Names Of The Clouds.” What’s particularly interesting is that the expression Dutchman’s breeches is referred to as an old saw.
‘The strato-cumulus clouds were formerly designated with the words combined in the inverse order, and the name, with its abbreviation s-cu, is bestowed upon large globular masses or rolls of dark cloud frequently covering the whole sky. They are especially noticable in Winter, and occasionally give the sky a wavy appearance. It is not a very thick layer of cloud, and occasionally blue patches of sky are visible through the intervening spaces. The old saw is that when there is enough blue sky to make a pair of Dutchman’s breeches, the following day will surely be a pleasant one.’
As a side note, the expression “old saw” refers to a proverb and that expression (old saw) dates back to some time in the 1400s. So if a journalist in the 1890s referred to the expression Dutchman’s breeches as an old saw, it means it goes back farther than the 1890s. The expression is found in the book “Reading The Weather” written by T. Morris Longstreth and published in 1915. He dedicated the book to his grandmother, Mary Gibson Haldeman. The author credits his grandmother for passing along the proverbs which puts the expression at least to the early 1800s.
In Idiomation’s research, however, it was learned that the expression dates back to the Anglo-Dutch naval wars of the 17th century…”
Apart from all that, the colors in your photo are luscious. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a pure, emerald green in a photo of a flower. It combines beautifully with the white and gold. You surely do have some beauties up there.
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That kind of saw comes down to us from Old English sagu, a relative of the Old Norse saga that we’ve borrowed. The noun saw is also related to our native verb say.
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Tossing another idiom onto the fire, this post is now a two-fer….or did I just make it a three-fer?
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If it makes you high, perhaps it’s a reefer.
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Wow, this blog just exhibited a flash of brilliance like never before. 🙂 Etymologies are fascinating and we do find quite often that their roots are deep in history. I should be more curious about them and enjoy when you share your knowledge and research. In this case it is idiomolgy being shared, but the same idea…where did these come from. Thanks!
The greens are quite lovely, or more lovely maybe, in spring and get a little “harder” as summer wears on. At this time of the year they are quite fresh and lush.
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Gorgeous close-up of the britches. Winter sure has kept its grip on the land where you live. I can not imagine having snow on the ground. It most get awfully tiresome to endure winter for months on end.
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Thanks, Yvonne. I think that grip may have finally broken. It rained most of the night and stayed in the 50s. We may get below freezing a few more times, but the outlook is a bit rosier…in a rain event sort of way. 🙂
A lot of people suffer from Season Affective Disorder which makes them SAD. I imagine that this year was a bad one for those folks. We didn’t get depressed, but it was beginning to be more than we wanted to deal with. I’ll be happy when I toss my last split into the wood stove for the season.
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I suffer from SAD and detest Winter. I just want to stay in bed when it’s overcast. Probably should get a light bank/system but figured it would be too much trouble- but maybe not.
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Once again you’ve done a fine job with a small (and therefore difficult) subject.
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A willingness to get down and dirty…there’s another one…and making good use of the 180 helps a lot with the smaller flowers. Thanks, Steve.
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Very nice. D
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Thanks, David.
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Beautiful capture. Thank you.
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Thanks, Bunty.
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They could be Gerard’s. Whoever they belong to, they are mighty fine.
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These are one of my favorites, Andrew. I really enjoy the shape and coloration. They are not breeze friendly though, but not many flowers are.
Gerard stopped by once a while back and I visited him, but that was about it.
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What a strange beauty!
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They are quite an interesting flower, Bente. We have another similar flower in the same genus Dicentra canadensis also known as Squirrel Corn. Thanks.
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Wonderful, Steve. I really like how you let the beauty and intricacy of the flower speak for itself.
incidentally, I never met Mr. Robinson but once when my daughter was quite small Mr. Rogers came to town (Peoria) to tape a show. Actually it was the postman. Anyway, Katie recognized him and before we knew what was happening she’d run right up to him. He didn’t turn a hair, simply picked her up and held her on his lap while he finished taping. I’d sure love to find that episode! 🙂
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Wouldn’t that be great to have a copy of Katie with Mr. Rogers? I hope you find it.
Mr. Robinson was Eddie Murphy’s parody of Mr. Rogers on Saturday Night Live and was a tiny bit rougher around the edges.
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Oh, I was wondering. I’ll bet it was funny, if rough.
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There are a few on this page…I picked what I thought would be the least objectionable. 🙂
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/mr-robinson/n9141
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