On this lazy, hazy, hot, humid July afternoon not a leaf or blade of grass stirs. The lace doilies that decorate the ditch lines on the road side and the fallow fields stand erect waiting for the air to stir. Some of us admire these doily flowers calling them Queen Anne’s Lace while others curse and scratch calling them chigger weed.   

Daucus carota, introduced to America from Eurasia, is reviled by farmers and gardeners for its stubborn taproot, however, research does show that it has medicinal value. The long, dull white root is of the same species as our orange carrot and is edible, but beware because there is a hemlock variety look a like growing in the wild.

The common name supposedly refers to Queen Anne of England who was known for her tatting, a technique for handcrafting lace from a series of knots and loops.

Legend has it that the Queen called for a tatting contest among her handmaidens.

She also entered the contest and, of course, won. It is not clear whether the namesake was Queen Anne (1574-1619) the first of the Stuarts, or Queen Anne (1665-1714) the last of the Stuarts.

This lace-like flower is also known as birds nest because of the shape of the dried flower that dislodges and tumbles with the winds across the landscape.

Europeans know it as the carrot weed because of its taproot that tastes somewhat like our garden vegetable.

My husband recalls his dislike of the weed because the long, tough flower stems would wrap around the combine reels in the wheat fields on the hottest day in July.

Then he had to stand in the wheat and weeds to pull and to cut until the reels where clean all the while the chiggers were just having fun.

If you find yourself in a field of grass and Queen Anne’s Lace, enjoy the beauty but when you go in, change clothes and take a quick shower to prevent or to lessen the allergic reaction to the saliva of the chigger larvae.

Community Communiqué

The Glenn Memorial Senior Adult Ministry will host their senior meal Friday, evening at 6 p.m. Bring a covered dish or two and a friend to enjoy an evening of good food, fellowship, and musical inspiration from Mr. and Mrs. Willis Foster and Mr. and Mrs. Michael Yoder.

Cowboy Church will be held at Prospect United Methodist Church this Saturday. There will be a trail ride at 2 p.m. with the chuck wagon at 6 p.m. Please bring a dish to share as well as a two liter soda. Music and a message will follow. You do not have to participate in the trail ride to enjoy the food and fellowship.

There will be a Sesquicentennial Poker Run to benefit Pamplin Volunteer Fire Department and EMS on August 1 with rain date on August 8. Registration will start at 9 a.m. with first group out at 10 a.m.

Come join them for a beautiful country ride and explore 150 years of the history of Appomattox on the ride and support a great cause.  The Pamplin Fire Department will have available a barbecue lunch. There will be door prizes and a 50/50 drawing. Stops will be at historical sites.

For more information call (434) 609-6939.

Donations can be mailed to PO box 1099, Pamplin, VA 23958, C/O Ride for Funds. In addition the fire department is raffling off a three-foot biker garden gnome for $1 per ticket.

Drawing will be the day of the poker run. Contact any member of the Pamplin fire department to buy chances.

Registration with the Pamplin Youth Association (PYA) for the fall cheer and flags team program for ages five and up will be August 1 at noon at Elon Baptist Church. Registration is $25. For more information, contact Carolyn Dolan at coachcarolyn2@yahoo.com or the church.

If you feel the call to volunteer and save a life, EMT classes will be held at the Appomattox Rescue Squad building, starting August 24 on Monday and Thursday nights. For more information or to register, contact (434) 352-5332.

Laurie, Kevin, and Jacob Justus spent Saturday night with Hilda Allen before traveling on to Fredericksburg.

Paul, Lisa, and Desiree Hoffman spent four days in Virginia Beach camping at First Landing State Park, and then they spent three days in Williamsburg touring the historic triangle and visiting Busch Gardens.

Julian and Edwina Covington visited with Jeannie Barr and Sam Brown Sunday morning.

Please keep the following people in your thoughts and prayers: Fred Floyd, Dorothy Womack, Julian Covington, Johnny Bollinger, Betty Meadows, Betty Jean Bolt, Gary Fiscus, and Vicki White.

Sympathy is extended to the family and friends of James Douglass Baker; Cleveland Jordon; and John B. “Jay” Walker, Jr.

“It is a field of the wild carrot taking the field by force; the grass does not raise above it. Here is no question of whiteness, white as can be, with a purple mole at the center of each flower. Each flower is a hand’s span of her whiteness.” – William Carlos Williams

If you or your local organization has news or announcements to share with the community, please call Edwina Covington (574-6576) or email her at ecovington@centurylink.net with the subject line Elam-area news.