Learning New Plants ...

Whilst enjoying the raindrops on my honeysuckle, I noticed these small, white flowers on a shrub near my elbow for the first time. Most of the time it just looks like a twiggy, nondescript and unidentifiable bush to me.

But when I saw these opened flowers, the name Amelanchier came to me. I looked it up in my 'go to' book of native northeastern shrubs, and yes, it appeared to be a serviceberry (also called shadbush), a good food source for wildlife.

Somehow, my brain had subconsciously absorbed the name and gist of this plant whilst paging through the volume. I had not identified it previously. The tools we have in our minds, and our capacity for learning new things, is amazing to me! And, I've just discovered, I'm still not too old to learn!