Of Artichokes and Queen Anne's Lace

Since the birds on Mt. Athos, except for barn swallows, were hard to photograph, I turned to taking pictures of wildflowers, which could not flit away and hide themselves in dense foliage.  I became particularly obsessed with wild (?) artichokes and Queen Anne's lace for radically different reasons.

These artichokes, which are members of the thistle family, are much taller than I expected, sometimes taller than me, and immediately made me think of triffids, killer plants from one of my favorite sf novels.  They were quite common around Xenophontos.  This is what they looked like on May 26.

By June 14, they were in full bloom and attracting a variety of insects, including beautiful yellow butterflies.

They also attracted bees and huge hornets like the one here.  I confess to having second thoughts about getting close enough to take this picture.

I have always had a fondness for Queen Anne's lace because of childhood memories of playing in an empty lot in Newport, Rhode Island where it grew in profusion.  It flourishes on Mt. Athos.

I had not remembered that there were dark blossoms at the center of the white expanse of the flowers, but it was certainly true all over the peninsula.

A great variety of insects graze on Mt. Athos's Queen Anne's lace and you see some of the more striking ones here.