reflections

If you are wondering why there haven't been any pictures for a few days it is because it hasn't stopped raining. We can't even get out of the Terranosaur without getting soaked. As a result there has been nothing to photograph, except a dessicated little bat found by Jane Parry Davies in the glass of water she keeps by her bed. It is not clear to any of us how the bat got into the water, but it certainly doesn't look like it drowned. It may be a wandering pipistrelle from the belfry across the street, or it fell in from a beam. It's not even an old bat. They have the most amazing little hind feet, with five sharp little toes. Since when have we had a monsoon in June? It reminds me of the summers we used to have in Plymouth in the 1950's (until 1959 when drought struck and we all had to share a bath (3 boys one after the other; of such experiences are our formative days made). I don't recall any drowned bats though.

slender St John's wort

one of the many species of St John's wort, again to be found in Penny's piece. The ecology of this little patch of rough grass is very different from everything else around.

marbled white, Luckett

One of the first marbled whites of the year, in Penny's piece near Luckett.

greater spotted woodpecker

an occasional visitor to our garden, this time with a mate (not shown but busy burrowing into the next apple tree trunk).

out of the nest

and into the firing line, a juvenile blackbird looking rather stunned and lost.

butterfly meadow, Cornwall

lesser butterfly orchid on left, greater butterfly orchid on right (see earlier pages and below for differences). The meadows are now full of cat's ear and rattle.



the middle picture is lesser butterfly orchid, and the bottom picture is the greater butterfly orchid.