White-Laced Crucifer - Mystery Flower

I wonder what it is.  This we need to find out!

First, the name itself...does it help describe the flower?From Wikipedia: A crucifer is, in some Christian churches (particularly the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, andLutherans), a person appointed to carry the church's processional cross, a cross or crucifix with a long staff, during processions at the beginning and end of the service. However, while it is used in several different denominations, the term is most common within Anglican churches.

The term "crucifer" comes from the Latin crux (cross) and ferre (to bear, carry). It thus literally means "cross-bearer".

  Nice ad, isn't it?

Get them while you can...seed packet postal stamps are still available!

I never saw these stamps when they came out last April...but they are still available online from the USPS store. $9.20 I think they are.
Check out this article at the USPS site...VINTAGE SEED ART: AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. IRWIN RICHMAN
"Dr. Irwin Richman wrote the book—literally—on the art of vintage seed packets and catalogs. Seed Art: The Package Made Me Buy It offers an intriguing glimpse at the history of the art that so entices buyers to dream of ideal gardens. Dr. Richman begins his book with a telling anecdote: “The story is told of a young woman who answered a newspaper advertisement for a commercial artist placed by a prominent seed company. During her interview she was asked about her major qualification for the job. ‘Well,’ she answered, ‘I used to illustrate children’s fairy tales.’ We hope the applicant got the job; she was obviously qualified.”"

Any reminder of spring and the promise of flowers to come is welcome tonight. A minor nor'easter is expected to roar on through in the dark and be gone before late morning. I am sitting here feeling the living room get colder and colder as the temperature drops outside and the wind picks up.   We have 4 more windows to replace in this house.  All four are in the living room!  Big old windows from 1945, one is replaced, 3 are covered with that shrink plastic and the one by my chair is just its plain old leaky Moretited self.  If I covered it I wouldn't clearly see the birds at the feeder!  The other good window is full of feeders as well...the squirrel proof feeder is there as the big rhodie lets the squirrels launch themselves onto any normal feeder.

I found a new picture archive tonight you can poke around in.  The good old USDA assembled it.

PS Next morning-   The storm was 1/2 of what was predicted. But the birds are very active this morning on the birdseed.  I have my camera here now to snap a pic and there isn't a bird near the windows!!! Before, every perch was taken. Last night when I was writing I took a picture of the porch.  That is the bird seed can.  When raccoon population peaks in our area I have to put weights on the top to keep out midnight snackers.  Rabies wiped them out a few years ago  so I rarely see one now.  The pink light is from a candy cane holiday display plugged into where the porch light should be. (Eeek!  My border spade is still out there!!)

Links: Sharing the Wealth of Seed Related Archives

I have to share this all in a lump, as what I post is often such a mishmosh of what I am thinking there isn't really a specific citation, or I forget to do them.

This morning I came across the Smithsonian's fine page compiled by Marca L. Woodhams,
Librarian, Horticulture Branch, 
Smithsonian Institution Libraries,
 December 1999
I haven't started to mine it yet.

The Internet Archive is a bottomless pit of cool stuff.  

You can bathe in seed catalogs there once you find the
Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection.
All the great catalogs that Google Books has no "Read" privileges
for are here in their voluptuous entirety!!!!

Don't forget the fun and fast searches that can fill a few minutes and give you a chance of stumbling on something extraordinary.  Go to eBay and search for Vintage Seed Packets, or search in Google Images for the same.  You always have the chance of spotting something special or new!  Tally Ho!!!!!

Google Books can be a bit of a slog but worth it if you are feeling terrier-like. Don't forget to set the date parameter under the drop down Search Tools menu. I once had an Airedale who was a charming washout in most traits doggy being nearsighted and rather dim, but if she got the idea there were rats around she would hunt until exhausted.  Remember, if Google Books lists it as No Preview it might be elsewhere in full.

Happy New Year 2014!