three cornered garlic

a small patch of this uncommon but invasive stranger. It is native to the mediterranean but is found in the South West, and on the coasts of California and Oregon (I hadn't realised Oregon was on the coast). So here it is in lower Downgate. The unmistakeable smell of garlic pervades the air around it.

our neighbours

our next door neighbours providing some colour contrast on yet another dismal public holiday.

bad hair day 2

meanwhile, there are others who would dispute with Spot his claim of unchallenged supremacy of the blasted heath and moor.

Spot rules the world

very much a spontaneous rock climber Spot surveys his kingdom.

paintings by nature ...

It was a dark and louring morning on Bodmin moor; far in the distance Dartmoor was bathed in sun. It was like looking through a letterbox. As it turned out, the weather improved and the afternoon was warm and sunny which is a pity for all those who were put off from visiting us by such damp and miserable weather forecasts

bad hair day 1 (usnea barbata)

an ancient hawthorn completely enveloped by lichen. Is it 'liken' or 'litchen' or both? It certainly consumed one expensive Nikon lens cap. Hawthorns seem to be prone to these dramatic efflorescences (well, no flowers but what else can one call it ...hirsuitism), which are species of usnea and are common on isolated trees on Dartmoor and Bodmin moor.