winkers

I went out and rolled in fox droppings today; everyone I know well thought the aroma was very nice and pungent (what do foxes eat?), but I was taken away, shampoo'd, hosed down and generally humiliated; I ask you what is wrong with these people? Now I smell disgusting. The boss tried to make it up to me by telling me that in the old days periwinkles were hung around the neck of those about to be executed and I should consider myself lucky that he hadn't thought to stop and pick some instead of just photographing them. Why periwinkle?

in for a soak

Ash buds just coming into flower (before the leaves appear). They say ash before oak you're in for a soak, oak before ash you're in for a splash.
Well, here's to a warm summer with rain at night.

watch this space

help help, I am definitely getting braver. As you can see Harriet is admiring me for swimming out into the middle of this raging torrent to rescue mum. This is the Tamar just above Latchley. Dead river snake beached in foreground.

marsh marigolds

today's little gem, a very vivid fleshy member of the buttercup family, used by farmers to protect their cattle from witches and fairies, and also called kingcup. These are big specimens. Leaves are heart shaped and grow from the base.

marsh marigolds

this morning I found a patch of beautiful marsh down by the Tamar; here I am smelling (of) marsh marigolds. Towards the top left is a patch of wood anenomes. Very pretty.

woods

oh what a tangled wood we see when first we practice to perceive (with apologies)... purple toothwort. If you enlarge this photo you will see little patches of purple on the stump in the foreground and in the bottom left corner.