we're still here

A pair of blackbirds have decided to nest in the wisteria by the front door. This allows me to get very close without disturbing the female who is sitting (somewhat stoically) on her eggs despite the constant comings and goings, barking and general shenanigans around her. With any luck we should be able to watch events develop.

columbine

wild aquilegia, or columbine in the Tamar valley. Garden varieties tend to have smaller nectar horns and paler colours. The flowers really are this vivid lilac blue. Columbine comes from the latin for dove because the nectar horns are supposed to look like five doves together.

black bryony

this rather magnificent climber is black bryony, the only native member of the yam family. It climbs by curling invariably in a clockwise direction (how does nature do this?). It is much more prominent in the autumn when it is covered in bright berries of varying hues (see bottom photo), but I have never seen it in flower before. I think the reason is that the little 6 petalled green-ish flowers are very inconspicuous.

out at last

Although winter and spring have been exceptionally mild and frost-free some plants have been quite slow to appear.  At long last the orchids have returned to Greenscoombe meadows, despite all the damage done to the surface earlier in the year. The top photo is of the lesser butterfly orchid, which is slender and fragrant, and below is a heath spotted orchid and a southern marsh orchid. These two species hybridise very easily and as a result of this the heath spotted orchids in the meadows are very variable in appearance.

Rowden lane

Rowden lane is marked by the red dashes, and runs from the crossroads at the top of Pound Lane (the entrance is next to the field where it is proposed to site the chicken factory) in a north easterly direction to the road that runs between Pempwell and Goosewell. The brown spot on the path marks approximately where the picture of bluebells was taken.The map indicates that the original route continues across the road towards Trecombe, and is funnel shaped which is probably related to its suggested use as a cattle drove.Only the path between the roads is now a bridal path.

bridle paths

Although the bluebells are past their best in the woods, they continue to flourish in shadier areas like this stretch of Rowden lane, an old cattle droving pathway now used as a bridle path. Buttercups and campion mix in with the bluebells to create some magic.

out with the clouts

The hawthorn is out!

and nothing goes to waste around here, exotic fallen Camelia flower tea

bit of a mouthful

It's in the genes, Spot following in his mother's footsteps (see link).

morning prayers

rabbit at prayers this morning, and this afternoon a visitation by a small flock of goldfinches. Goldfinches form flocks in the winter but are meant to be fiercely competitive  in the breeding season, so it is surprising to see so many at the same time now.

green eyes

orange tip butterfly thoughtfully displaying both sides of its wings. Also on the wing today were peacocks, tortoiseshells, green veined whites, brimstones and damsel flies.

Hi Ho Hi Ho Holiday

It's the best day of the year. The bluebell woods are in full bloom. Two Hungarian vizslas from Rezare are ambling over for a chat. The butterflies and damsel flies are out. The sun is shining. What more could one want.

bit of a stretch

Even by our standards this was a bit of a crowd. The squirrel (who looks very brown for a grey) is the new kid on the block, and the two jackdaws were most displeased and tried to drive him away, whilst the rook and the pigeon looked on.

things we find in the attic

It is little surprise that we seem to have a lot of wasps about in the late summer. There were at least three of these beautifully constructed wasp's nests in our attic. No bats thank goodness. And the martins returned today although after a brief reconnaissance of the old nest site they didn't stay.

cuckoo pint

Lords and Ladies (aka cuckoo pint and other scurrilous names ) in flower. Almost all have the tip of the spadix eaten away. Wiki states that many small rodents appear to find the spadix particularly attractive and it is common to find examples of the plant with much of the spadix eaten away. The spadix has a distinctive, unpleasant smell, and manages to generate a lot of heat (up to 15 degrees C above ambient temperature) and it may be this that attracts mice etc.

narcissus spoticus

Spot, some pheasant's eyes and some dog violets

interior landscapes (moss Spot)

It looks like an oriental landscape of woods and rocky escarpments, in fact it is the small landscape of a moss covered wall

keeping up with the longs

the first, rather tattered looking speckled wood of the year. These butterflies over winter as caterpillars or chrysalides, so this must be a newly hatched butterfly. It has certainly seen some rough times already.

witches broom

witches broom is a common sight locally, and is the result of a fascinating and ill understood process whereby bacteria harness and corrupt the growth pattern of plant cells, see link. This occurs at a deep metabolic level and may help us to understand the way genes control growth and development... of such simple things are advances made.

chiffchaff

Small but very noisy, chiffchaffs are easy to detect on bare branches where they make their incessant and tuneless call, chiff chaff chiff chaff .

we're back

The swallows are back. I saw two last Friday (11/4). Usually these early birds fly on, but this year they are already investigating the nest they built last year in our neighbour's porch, and flying around the house (hence photo). I think this is the earliest that I have recorded them returning since 2005. There are some beautiful views now just before the leaves open and the canopy closes in.

on Weir Quay

It was a lovely sunny morning, and the cherry tree in front of Cleave farm was in full blossom. Usually at this time of year we get gales as the trees come into bloom just in time to be blown away.

on Weir Quay

We paid a visit to Weir Quay this morning. There were surprisingly few wading birds about apart from this grey heron, and a couple of shelducks waddling about. The black flight feathers on the grey heron are very noticeable. The male shelduck (the one on the left) has a little red knob at the top of his beak, otherwise the male and female are very similar.

yellow does it

This spectacular display of daffodils, forsythia and celandines is on the road (A388) into Launceston; it gets better and better each year. And a grey wagtail!

the importance of being yellow

A brilliant display of celandines on Broadgate lane, and a brilliant display of yellowness by a male brimstone.

spring flowers

The daffodil season is at its height now. These impressive double daffodils are growing wild at Old Mill but may well be a long established garden escapee. Greater periwinkle (vinca major) is adding vivid blue to the banks and hedgerows. It is a native species but seems to like growing near gardens as here in Tokenbury.

 

Finally, the exotic flower of rosemary, growing in a pot (!), only to demonstrate how elaborate small flowers can be.

Downderry

we went on one of our occasional walks to Seaton and Downderry this morning. The bird at the top was calling rather plaintively. It looks like a large pied wagtail, and I think it is most likely a white wagtail, a non resident bird and a very close relative of our native pied wagtail, on its way to its breeding grounds. A pair of oyster catchers also flew past.

 The cliffs at Downderry appear to have survived the great storms of the winter without too much damage.

rarity value

It has been a beautiful day. All the early butterflies (brimstone, red admiral and tortoiseshell) were out, the sap is rising, the birds are singing, the buzzards are trying each other out soaring above us; all is well. Purple toothwort used to be an absolute rarity but as can be seen from this photograph it is spreading quickly and now provides a purple haze across the forest floor reminiscent of the blaze of bluebells that will follow in May.

you looking for trouble

Feisty lamb (one of last years unless they are growing even faster) harassing timid dogs. And below the native wild daffodil is beginning to make an appearance.

Signs of Spring 2

The fields are full of them!