more green from the valley

everywhere seems to be a very luscious green at the moment. This is taken at one of our favourite places to take a dip before the serious business of the long walk begins. A tree has fallen into the river adding to the sense of lush vegetation on the river; sometimes with the birds singing in the canopy it feels almost like a tropical jungle.

goldenrod

goldenrod (an american import) and willowherb (rosebay) seed heads, described as tall and aggressive (!), is this fair I ask myself. Sun has shone for 9 consecutive days, this is a record.

and a swim in the Lynher

the light shining through the trees along the banks often creates these beautiful dappled scenes

on the moor

it has been a lovely warm clear blue-skyed day today and there is no where better to enjoy the day than up on the moors. The standing stones are the Hurlers.

It is that time of year again, the martins are getting ready to go, the lanes are as overgrown as they get before the hedgerows are shorn, and the sloes are abundant.

scorpionfly - drunk and disorderly

this odd looking creation is a female scorpion fly (Panorpa communis), lacking the scorpion like tail of the male, but looking like a horse from the Andromeda galaxy. Its habits are fascinating (see link). This one was clearly inebriated and was unable to stay upright on the leaf. I suspect it had been at fermented fruit juice. They are primitive insects and may have given rise to all other flying insects.