Tiny Wildflower Patch Responds to Rain

Recent showers have finally turned my lawn green again, and yesterday afternoon a brave little dandelion and a scattering of tiny yellow blossoms delighted my eye as I walked down the driveway to pick up the afternoon mail.

Initially I thought of them as clover, because of the appearance of the leaves, but a knowledgeable friend has pointed out my mistake to me and identified these as yellow wood sorrel. A good description of the plant, with its scientific name, Oxalis stricta, is given here.

The dandelion plant, under a holly tree, was conspicuous with these two bright flower heads, even though they were only about half an inch in diameter -- much smaller than usual, on account of the prolonged summer drought.