take me to your leader

there may not be many butterflies around but there are a lot of dragonflies zipping up and down. I think this is a southern hawker although it isn't exactly the same (see link to British Dragonfly society)

the hair of the cat

This unusual looking caterpillar is probably a larva of some sort of sawfly (see link to previous Spotblog page). Apparently the word caterpillar is derived from an old french word chatpelose, or hairy cat. I find it hard to believe that anyone thought that caterpillars looked like cats; maybe the French had very small cats.

meadowlands

the meadows are so impoverished around here we have had to plant our own.

closed for the olympics

unless anything very interesting happens we're off to see the corgis and watch the greatest show on earth!

tree creeper

We didn't see much new today during a long hot walk through the meadows by the Inny but we did get a glimpse of a tree creeper with its mouth full of insects.

a small skipper

There are several species of skipper butterflies but only two, the small and the large, are found locally. This is the small skipper, and the photo shows the characteristic orange colour of the under tips of the antennae. These are very lively butterflies which dart about (hence name) and which favour meadows of uncut grass. It is feeding on bird's foot trefoil although they prefer to feed on knapweed (as below) and thistles.

as green as it gets

after all the rain, and a little warm sun the countryside is a rich rich green, a temperate jungle with roads.

upside down birds

a nuthatch, another occasional visitor to the bird feeders, demonstrating the art of feeding upside down.

quelle demoiselle

a female beautiful demoiselle, with characteristic metallic green body, bronze coloured tip to abdomen and white patch near tip of wings. The British Dragonfly society is worth a visit (see link) for more information about these insects.

a snake in the grass cuttings

I can't tell you how much pleasure it gives me to discover a grass snake in our garden and to be able to photograph it basking in the sun (the first sun for two weeks I am told). It is lying on a compost heap where apparently they often lay their eggs. It is a sign that our garden is supporting the sort of wildlife diversity that we have long hoped for. The bulge towards the tail is either an unfortunate amphibian, or perhaps some eggs. Long but not venomous, and sometimes called ringed because of the yellow collar around its neck.

Close inspection of the photos shows two, possibly three orange/red blobs on the back of the snake's head. These are snake mites (see link). What a strange rich world we live in.

we are back, to a very wet soggy and miserable scene. At least we have had two weeks of warm sun on our backs. Spot is very pleased to be back on line but the only things to photo are bedraggled plants and puddles. Is this our punishment for starting the industrial revolution?

butterfly heaven

white admiral (top) and purple emperor (bottom) on same day within 10 minutes of each other. I love France!

off we go

They are off to France and Spain for a couple of weeks so we are off the leash with Auntie Ruth!!

small pearl bordered fritillary

we went in search of the marsh fritillary today at Wimalford farm which lies in the long narrow valley of the Fowey river that runs down from Bodmin moor south of Jamaica Inn. The area is very marshy and covered in low scrub, cotton grass and heath spotted orchids. It was dull and overcast and we didn't find any marsh fritillaries but we managed to spot two small pearl bordered fritillaries, one of which was torpid enough to allow some close up photos.

after the show

elegy on a steam engine

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The plume of steam winds slowly o'er the lea,
As the engine homeward plods its weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

two herds and a tractor

It was Duchy College open days this week end. I am not sure what the equine students were doing but they enjoyed it, including Daisy and the boy in a tutu.

giving way

a traffic jam on a sunny evening (large dog behind pony is Sox, not visible is shetland pony on leading rein, and Jess, spaniel of Goosewell, below, who was all dressed up in hot pursuit of Harriet, who also is feeling quite hot)

pennywort

wall pennywort (also called navelwort, aka umbilicus rupestris) growing on hedge boundary wall with some foxgloves, Duchy College in the background, and the first tortoiseshells of this year's new batch.

heath fritillary

at long last, a photo of a butterfly (a very tattered heath fritillary) on a butterfly orchid, it is a meadow icon. I am not sure why butterfly orchids are so named but I have never seen a butterfly on one before. There are a lot in the meadows this year. The butterflies were very docile after 48 hours of wind and rain which allowed some unusually close close ups. I have always liked the effect created by sunlight shining through the wings.

Red robert

Herb robert on the edge of the bridge at Beals Mill. It shows the rich red for which the plant was named (see previous page on blog). The lichens are probably as ancient as the bridge which looks medieval.

across the fields of ragged robin

it continues to rain, and the Inny meadows are wet and dreary although there was some bedraggled ragged robin.

tamar valley news

I only show again this unusual picture of our beloved river Tamar looking unusually blue to provide an opportunity to advertise a BBC programme on the valley which manages to capture some of the essence of the beautiful place we live in (minus the mispronunciation of the place names) and which lies at the heart of this blog. The village of Gunnislake mentioned in the programme lies across the ridge at the top, and Cotehele is the building below the woods to the left of the picture. I am not sure if visitors from outside UK will be able to access the film but if you can it is well worth watching.

link to BBC programme

frog aid

a frog in the hand is worth .... ? For some reason we have had an invasion of frogs indoors, so we gently escort them out.

meadow magic

The sun brought out the butterflies today, they must be getting desperate! The range and balance of wild flowers in Greenscombe (I am never quite sure whether this is spelt with one 'o' or two) meadows are always slightly different year to year. This year there are lots of ox eye daisies, and dozens of butterfly orchids (great and small). There are dozens of heath fritillaries, so it seems that they are now well established in this tiny spot.

The characteristic feature of the heath fritillary is a black spot in section S2 of the underneath of the fore-wing. This is not visible in the bottom photograph (typical!) but at least it shows a good view of the patterns underneath the wings.

Royal Cornwall Show 2012 3

we always like to check out the opposition (no lurchers allowed, pedigree chums only)

and one of the highlights are all the old steam and traction engines, alongside massive new tractors, a snip at £150,000.

Royal Cornwall Show 2012 2

Prime beef big boy exhausted after taking first prize, and sheep walking. Even by our grim standards the weather has been foul, and the sheep marquee was wrecked by the wind. Not that that stopped anyone from having a great day out.

Royal Cornwall Show 2012 1

prize winning pigs taking a quick nap, and some pig fanciers in a nearby stall (taken with permission!)

wagtails

our grounds are so full of birds now they even want to coming shopping with us to make sure we get the right kind of quality birdseed. This is a very juvenile pied wagtail hitching a ride.

two juveniles

house sparrow and bullfinch juveniles putting up with more wet weather.

the call to jubilate

the beacon on Kit Hill casting a fiery light into the heavens