a few things we have seen locally 1

Spot doesn't usually spend much time in his garden, but this year the peonies have relished the unusual warmth and this is his all time favourite.

And even more exciting is this insignificant looking little flower. It is the first time our english walnut has flowered since it was planted on Good Friday, 1999. Reliable sources report that walnuts do not mature for 10 years or so. They self pollinate, so maybe we will be eating our own walnuts at the end of the year...just like France.

a few things we haven't seen locally 4

and this is my favourite picture, a humming bird moth (aka macroglossum stellatarum, and one can see why ) drinking nectar from red valerian. These moths do sometimes make it across the channel, sometimes in large numbers but I have never seen one locally. Time to start planting some red valerian.

a few things we haven't seen locally 3

and a bee hawk moth on a clary (wild or meadow) of some sort

The flower appears to have closed around a visiting hover fly in the bottom picture, I guess to improve pollination.

a few things we haven't seen locally 2

and a bee orchid (ophrys apifera)

a few things we haven't seen locally 1

we are back from our holidays in the Charente region of France. As always the French country side was bursting with rare and wonderful sights. This is a lizard orchid, (himantoglossum hircinum), so named because the flowers are said (fancifully some would say) to resemble a small lizard with a long tail (the very long lower spur of their four lobed lower lip) although the close up of the flower does bear a passing resemblance to an escaping skink. And they smell like old goats, which is not dissimilar to Spot himself on a good day.

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holidays

Spot is going on his hols for a bit, we'll be blogging again when he gets back. Have fun.