tipula maxima

This is the largest of British crane flies. It is supposed to be common but I have never seen one before, and it is very big. It looks amazingly complex and reminds me of an apache helicopter.

water figwort

the flower of water figwort. Water figwort is a tall, handsome figwort found in wet marshy places. It has much more vivid flowers than common figwort, and very square, angular stems.

valerian

valerian is appearing everywhere. It has a strange burnt rubber smell and attracts a wide range of flies and other insects. I think this is a horse fly of some sort

woundwort

a strange little homunculus caught appearing in some hedge woundwort. It reminds me of the fairy photographs that entranced Arthur Conan Doyle.

tamar valley

the upper part of the Tamar estuary, St Dominic to the right

field rose

wild roses growing in the hedgerows. They have no scent unlike the dog rose (Spot wants to know who is responsible for giving the rose a bad name). The distinctive feature of the field rose is the tall columnar styles in the middle of the flower.