It was Bank Holiday Monday here yesterday. Now, in the dog owning world, a rather peculiar thing happens on public holidays. People seem to need to do something, and some of them can’t face driving to the coast, or getting a picnic together, or dusting off the cycles. I have a theory that this is the conversation that takes place in many homes -

‘What shall we do today?’

‘I dunno. Do we have to do anything? Can’t we just watch telly?’

‘Nah, it’s a Bank Holiday! We have to do something!‘

‘Oh. OK. Well, it’s a bit late to drive to *fill in your own choice of seaside resort here*. I know – let’s take the dog for a walk! Give him a treat!’

I have no proof that this is true, but it’s a fact of life that when a Bank Holiday is sunny, you will meet dogs out there that you never see any other time of the year, except, perhaps, Christmas. So rather than take our usual walk over the fields and risk meeting a ton of undisciplined ‘mad with freedom’ off-lead dogs and their people, we chose to drive into town for a walk in the local municipal park where everyone would hopefully be safely leashed.

The park, predictably, was packed to the gunwhales, but it was a beautiful day and we had a really lovely walk. As usual, I was keeping an eye open for interesting bits of nature, and I came across this little plant, which appeared to be a weed, since it was growing amongst the grass under the trees and shrubs. I have no idea what it is. It’s not something I’ve ever seen before, and sometime soon, I’m going to look it up. In the meantime, Other Half provided me with a suggestion.

Gazing down at it in a somewhat bemused fashion, he said ‘No, I don’t know what that is, either, but it’s probably called something like ‘Horace’s Breeches’.

He has a point. There are many plants, both wild and cultivated, with such names. Off the top of my head, ‘Gardener’s Garters’, Lady’s Bedstraw’, ‘Soldiers’ Buttons’, and ‘Shepherd’s Purse’ come to mind. And those names are so picturesque and evocative, that I’m reluctant to discover that my little weed is called anything remotely mundane. To me it will always be ‘Horace’s Breeches’ – but feel free to add your own suggestions!