very very late

I think there are four very late martins in this nest under the apex of one of the eaves of our house, two of whom can be seen just poking their heads over the edge of the nest.

goldenrod

It is not Autumn yet but the countryside is beginning to show signs of the end of summer. Puffballs are appearing, and goldenrod is flowering in fields of scabious. And our martins have still not fledged ...they are cutting it very fine if they are going to build up enough fat reserves to fly to Africa.

drawn in the valley

a couple of images from the studio of a local artist, Mel Guy (see link for more), which magically capture in pewter the rhythm and laminar flow of the Tamar, plus one photographic image of the water which illustrates the visual synergy of metal and water to be found in her work.



Her studio was open as part of an event arranged by Drawn to the Valley, a group of local artists, and part of the ever flourishing artistic scene in the SouthWest. Martin Clark is another member of this group, who lives in Stoke Climsland and paints many local scenes. Aren't we lucky.

the admiral has landed

after a long journey through space the red admiral has landed at tranquility base (notice strong curvature of horizon on this small rocky planet). And this was only after fighting off several wasps to feed on a fallen apple. This was clearly one of those "don't mess with me" types of butterfly.


and much to our surprise the martins are raising another brood. They won't have much time to fatten up before they return to Africa.

autumn is coming

the berries of guelder rose are a brilliant and eye catching red, which is why only a few are left on the bush

on a bed of angelica

a 14 spot ladybird (very small, less than 5mm long and therefore not one of the dreaded variations of the harlequin ladybird) foraging in the seed head of angelica, the flowers of which are very popular with a range of flying bugs (see below)