rock rose

for example (see below) I have never seen a rock rose growing wild locally, but this one is growing in the bank of the little stream between Old Mill and Luckett.

Old Mill by the stream

I met Freddy Fisher, our local post man, in the woods today with his springer spaniels. He told me a lot about the land between Old Mill and Luckett; after the first world war the land was used to provide gardens and allotments for unemployed local men. This explains why there are so many unusual plants in this area. Freddy is a mine of information which should be taken down and recorded for posterity.

alkanet

this is the inaptly named green alkanet, one of my favourite blue flowers at this time of year

brimstones bluebells and campion

all of a sudden there are lots of brimstone butterflies in the woods, the top photo is on bluebells, not our lovely native variety but the big fleshy Spanish variety, and the bottom photo is on campion for contrast. They are very quick in flight and rarely seem to settle with wings spread.

ducks in a row

I am not sure what type of water fowl these were. There are mallards in the middle ground and sheep safely grazing. Poor lamb to be consumed so by one so consumed by life.

Tamar images

the same scene as last week but with the benefit of bright Spring sunlight.

flocking sight

I thought at first that this was a large gathering of buzzards, but it was probably gulls of some sort catching a thermal as the wind got up in the afternoon.

more grey wagtail

a chance close encounter with the grey wagtail on a little stream running into the Lynher.

orange tip feeding

an orange tip butterfly feeding on May (April?) flowers. For the first time I noticed the dainty brown tips to the orange.

bitter vetch

a view reinforced by the appearance of bitter vetch in the hedgerows.

more than one

there were lots of swallows around today at Beals Mill, so I think we can officially announce that summer is in.

thrush party

these look like song thrushes but they may be a family party of mistle thrushes. Song thrushes look brown, and mistle thrushes look greyer.

pink wood anenomes

this photo shows just how pink the white wood anenome can be.

more tales of the river bank

although this scene looks tranquil the water is foul; it is full of nitrites, nitrates and slurry and anything else the modern agribusiness can flush down the river. The detergents make the water foam up, and it is full of algae. When you look around the only crop anyone cares about is cash, and soon the world will be covered in cash and everything else will be dead. This isn't husbandry, it's murder.

Pheasants eyes

Harriet admiring the dog violets in a field of pheasants eyes.

yellow, well, all right, grey wagtail

this pretty little wagtail was down by the river Tamar early this morning. I also saw two dippers flashing past in their very intense way but much too quickly to catch on film. Another day maybe.

countryside colours

stitchwort (white) campion (red) dog violet (violet) and celandine (yellow) add some colour to this black and white photo.

the speckled wood

this is the female speckled wood, warming up in the sun

and the first is not summer

two swallows, the first of the year, flying through Kit Hill Quarry

still ducks

this tranquil image comes from Kit Hill quarry this morning. Unusually, it was almost perfectly still

butterflies

peacocks are always appear quite early in Spring but we also saw the first speckled wood butterfly of the year today

speedwell

compared with the much simpler design of the speedwell, (two l's). I am still trying to take the perfect photo of this lovely little weed.

camellias

while not strictly speaking a wild flower I could not resist blogging the seemingly perfect symmetry of this red camellia in our garden. And I thought it had only one l.

dog violets

The last few days have been warm and dry and the dog violets are now out in profusion

heron ascending

we found ourselves very close to this heron this morning on the Tamar and had time to take this picture as it flew up to perch in the trees. There is often a heron here which suggests they have well defined territories.

rhodo jungle

one of the hundreds of subspecies of rhododendron in the woods opposite Endsleigh.

Tamar hairy seal

a very rare image of the Tamar hairy seal ploughing upstream (note radio collar for GPS)

purple toothwort returns

seemingly rare, but definitely spreading, the elusive purple toothwort, appearing on time deep in the woods.

chiff chaff

this could be any one of a number of warbler types (what Bill Oddie describes as willow chiffs) but its call is very distinctive.

pink purslane

continuing the pink theme, pink purslane is back along the Inny. My impression is that this is quite early this year.

Venterdon sunsets

another stunning sunset over our village, the weather is set fair for a very fine Easter break. The mower is working, the grass is growing, I know where I will be.

not at Duchy College

not all pond life is at Duchy College studying how to drop litter.

joy

meanwhile Spot takes a grass bath and is happy.

the Sun rains down

the Sun, thrown thoughtfully out of a passing vehicle, carpeting the lanes.

I dreamt of dying last night; not about dying, but doing the thing itself, only to wake (reincarnate?) in this parallel universe in a state of relief but confusion.

What we see here is the death of England, casual, contemptuous, careless and full of loathing. I am optimistic for humanity as a whole because we can and do solve problems, but I fear for the local branch and its mindless, barbaric self.

wood anemones on the road to Latchley

these beautiful flowers are flourishing now and carpeting the older woodlands.

misfortune

a fledgling sparrow (not a mistle thrush as I first thought). Soon after this photo was taken it was rescued from the jaws of a hungry jackdaw. The young are much bigger than their frantic parents. Parents nowhere to be seen, usually they will defend their young very aggressively. Now what do we do?

flight to safety

meanwhile hen is flying away as fast as she can

nut hatch

an unusual sight in the open, and a much fatter distant cousin mooning about looking for hens.

where herons may safely fly

one of these sheep appears to have taken fright at this large flying object.

Stoke Climsland

Spot felt that the blog was becoming too biological and asked for some of his favourite views to be included. All that is missing from this Spring view is the trail of litter up the hill. Some people locally express the view that litter bins do not belong in the country side, unfortunately litter louts do. And then someone wants to reduce rubbish collections to once a fortnight. How about employing someone to pick it all up?

Goodnight Spot.

a sad story from Cornwall

Jackson (aka Toby) was the runt of our litter. Rejected at first by his mum, he was hand fed. He was Harriet's best litter mate.


(below is a photo of him at 7 weeks)










He might have gone to St Cleer and lived happily ever after but he went to Looe. Sadly his owners must sell up and leave their home and they cannot keep him, leaving Leslie in tears. He is a very happy, lively but gentle soul and dearly needs a new owner who will love and cherish him. Can you help? If so contact Spot.

yellowhammer

continuing the generally yellow theme, I saw this male yellowhammer on our morning walk today. They are very easy to see at this time of year.

buzzard

three buzzards in the wood today, showing off and generally fooling around. The female seems to choose a high tree and wait for the males to disport themselves. No clouds though.

catkins

and completing today's yellow theme, pussy willow emerging.

sprung 2

Two inheritors of the village pond after the great duck theft of 2005 posing for posterity. Notice the mischievous glint in their eyes. Eggs are coming.

carpet of broken stones

opposite leaved golden saxifrage in profusion