Sunday 27 June 2010

Macro Monday - Forget-me-not


 "The blue and bright-eyed floweret of the brook,
Hope's gentle gem! The sweet forget-me-not." 


I just love this flower. So small and so simple and so easily overlooked. You have to slow down to appreciate their beauty. You have to stop to see their diminutive blooms. The skyblue flowers with their sunny yellow centres always put a smile on my face.


Back in the English Middle Ages, it was thought that this flower could cure the sting of an angry scorpoin, due to the fact that their buds form the shape of a scorpion's sting. You have to wonder what they were thinking, especially given the fact that there are no scorpions in England!?! There are lots of stories about how the flower got its name, such as the medieval knight and his lady, walking along the bank of a river. He saw the flowers in the water and went to pick them for his sweetheart, Unfortunately, as he was picking the flowers, he fell in. Before the weight of his armour pulled him down to the depths of his watery grave, he managed to huck the flowers to his lover, crying out "Forget me not!" Now, I know that I am a little cynical and not especially romantic, but really, who on earth wears their armour when out on a romantic stroll with their sweetheart!?! Not going to get much action, are you? "Hold on, honey, I just have to remove my breastplate."

Since I have now lowered the tone of this blog considerably, you might as well go and check out these - the Forget-Me-Not panties, which have a built in GPS so that you can keep track of your wife, girlfriend or daughter or at least always know where her knickers are! There is also a sensor incorporated into the crotch area so that you can tell if her temperature or heart rate is rising. You might get a bit of a shock when the knickers are in the wash, or if she is sitting on the washer during the spin cycle! You can buy a week's supply for $1200 - except for the fact that they are all sold out. Bugger.

OK, let's get back to the real subject of this post. You really have got to love macro photography. I was not even aware of this little guy, sorry, girl, lurking on the buds of my forget-me-not until I started to edit my photos. If you look closely, you can make out some even smaller aphids right below her abdomen.


Just in case anyone is wondering just how macro my photos are, here are the flowers with a Canadian nickel. And no Carolina, I am not sending you this or any other money just so that you can see how big the coin is.


Sadly, I am guilty of forgetting my forget-me-nots, which are now dry, shrivelled and very definitely dead. Ooops.


For more Macro Monday, go here.

25 comments:

Jama said...

The flowers are so pretty! and I love that particular shade of blue.

Carletta said...

Very nicely done! The use of the coin for reference was a wonderful idea.
The GPS panties - now that's too funny. :)

Sistertex said...

Very nicely done. Flowers beautiful, love the comparison so that I can tell the size. Wonderful as always!

AL said...

Forget-me-nots has a different version of story here in my part of the world. Mom said they were called that way because they never stop from blooming. Nice blue flower and it's my favorite.

B i r g i t t a said...

Lovely shots! I enjoyed them all and I love the little bug :)

http://foto.rudenius.se/post/2010/06/28/Macro-Monday.aspx

Hootin Anni said...

One of my favorite flowers....blue forget me nots.

Excellent photo share.

My macro ORANGE HIBISCUS

EG CameraGirl said...

How funny! I posted forget-me-nots today too. :)

Carolina said...

Oh LOL
Thanks for mentioning me. I think.

Great post. I do love the story of the knight and his sweetheart and him falling into the river. I think it is very decent of you and the knight that he only wanted to remove his breastplate. And what to think of her chastity belt ;-)

Oh, and if anyone else wants to send me money so I can compare the size of whatever to it, please... feel free to do so ;-)

Cortes said...

Great photos again, lovely colors. I will have to get some of these flowers for my garden. Not the little bug though.

chasity said...

these are such tiny and beautiful flowers. they don't do well in my hot humid climate but i have grown them once and adored them.
not many flowers are that wonderful shade of blue.

Birgitta said...

Wonderful macro shots! Love them all!

Kala said...

I love forget-me-nots! Well done!

Kim, USA said...

Beautiful super macro, I am so impress. Happy Monday!


Purple blossom

jay said...

I love forget-me-nots too - we have some in our garden! Nearly over, now though, sadly.

Love the GPS knickers! Hahahahaha!

Andree said...

I'm glad I found you. I love your blog. I love your photos. I'll be back! Do you have info on your lens for your macros?

Don't Bug Me! said...

Jama: It is a lovely colour, isn't it?

Carletta: I am not sure I would be amused by the panties if my husband had bought them for me! :o)

Sistertex: Thank you, as always.

Al: Mine stopped blooming - when I stopped watering them :o(

Birgitta: The little aphid is quite cute, isn't she.

Anni: The white and pink ones just aren't as nice, are they?

EG Wow: Great minds think alike.....

Carolina: Let me know if you get any money - I might give it a go if it works.

Cortes: I have some seeds if you want.

Chasity: They certainly need to be watered often! As I have found out to my cost and their loss.

Birgitta: Thank you!

Kala: Me too.

MK: Happy Monday to you too, and thank you.

Jay: Would you wear a pair!?! Or is that too personal a question to be asking?

Andree: And I am happy to have you visit. I have a Nikon D80 and most of my macro shots are taken using a Nikon 105mm f2.8 macro lens. The really close ones, as in this post, are taken with this lens, but with the addition of an inverted 50mm lens on the end.

sharmila said...

loved the way u wrote it ... does those nicker really do exists ... that so funny !!

Beautiful macro pics ... came to ur blog from Kala's

Cortes said...

Yes please, I will gladly accept some seeds. In exchange, I have some poppy seeds for you.

Wendy said...

Beautiful! I especially like the photo with the aphid!

Kate said...

Lovely pics. I have seen three or four different creatures when having a later look at my images. It's like getting a lovely little unexpected present. Once I got a whole, exquisite cobweb.

Baino said...

I never thought of picking them butg remember them in my Grandma's cottage garden. The macros as usual are amazing, look out for the ladybirds with all those aphids! Fast food for pretty bugs.

English Mum said...

Absolutely stunning (yes, yes, sorry I'm late - I've been arranging malt loaf deliveries *cough*) xx

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Johnny Nutcase said...

excellent, I love Forget-me-nots and these photos do them justice, great stuff!

Don't Bug Me! said...

Sharmilla: The knickers really do exist!

Cortes: I shall get some for you, assuming the plant is still alive.

Wendy: Thank you!

Katherine: It is, isn't it? Quite unexpected and it makes you realise how much you miss if you don't really look.

Baino: Oooh yes, I would love a good photo of a ladybird.

EM: As long as you have a good reason, that is OK. And malt loaf is a very good reason.

Anonymous: You are welcome!

Johnny Nutcase: Thanks - a compliment from such a good photography is high praise indeed.