this week's guest dog, Meg

now, how did that happen?

Downhouse

despite the cold weather the crocuses at Downhouse are making a fine display this year mixed in with snowdrops, and daffodils yet to flower.

no spots on my D600 (yet)

rooks and starlings swarm over a field where muck has been spread, giving the impression of a very spotty CCD.

a day at St Ives

We went to an exhibition of William Scott at the Tate modern, St Ives (see link) and quite unexpectedly enjoyed the brilliant photographs of Peter Fraser, of which these are not examples, but very much in tribute to him.

des res

one bedroom, much sought after location, near popular restaurant, safe for children, must see now, viewing by appointment only.

I need somewhere bigger than that

Inny valley

the Inny valley in late winter, showing the gentle slopes down to the river. The sun is out and the sheep are grazing.

purple nuns

even earlier than usual purple toothwort makes its annual appearance in the woods by the Inny

and an ambi-otic collie (Meg) making a guest appearance

a little poppet

A meadow pipit in the grassy terrain they like, showing the slender beak and pale eye markings typical of this common but restless bird.

mist in the valley

Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,
I've got a wonderful feeling,
Everything's going my way

which one?

We have a mistle thrush in the garden which likes to sing from the top of the tallest tree. They are described as greyish looking birds which makes me wonder if this is a song thrush with its warmer brown colouring. How do you tell?

Con brio

Spot, full of the joy of living

Old Mill

This used to be a quiet wooded valley full of larch! Anyone who knows this area would be hard pushed to recognise the dam below Old Mill from this picture.

here we go again

the opening chords of this year's natural symphony

no show

and someone who didn't bother to turn up for bird count weekend, a male bull finch looking very smart.

my turn now

 

Just in time for RSPB bird count weekend, the woodpecker returned. Otherwise only the usual suspects turned up apart from a solitary mistle thrush.

frost beard

The best example yet of this strange phenomenon. 

And the eerie light on a snowy Kit Hill this morning.

snow falls

and so it snowed a few inches, enough to bring everything to a slippery halt. The quick thaw allowed some colour to creep through the white.

white feathers

a male chaffinch with unusually white tail feathers, suitable for a snowy day. The male chaffinches are at their smartest now as the competition for mates begin. This one although very colourful was quite timid and easily chased away by other males

frost tricks

the magical frost sticks are back (see previous pages and this link). This was a surprising find because it has not been that cold and there was no frost on the ground at all. The ice crystals must be the product of an unusual combination of air temperature and saturated vapour pressure in the still air of the sheltered river valleys. The picture below shows butterbur beginning to flower, this is very early indeed based on past years at this spot where it normally comes intop flower towards the end of February. The  ground has been scoured clean by the floods over the Christmas period. It may be that that butterbur likes a good soaking. At this point where the Inny runs into the Tamar the flood waters can reach 3 or 4 meters above normal, and very large trunks etc can be found well above river level. The volume of water involved in these floods is massive.

oh deer

in the woods today

the empire declines

when the Romans left Britain in the fifth century amongst the first things to deteriorate were the magnificent roads they had built and maintained.  It looks like we are repeating history post empire. People before infrastructure?

first strirrings

The mistle thrush loves to sing from the top of the tallest tree in the area. It is one of the first to stake out a territory and breed. They are not very tuneful but what they lack in tunefulness they make up for with amazing energy and range.