Home from Abroad

27 Wed Jul 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in family, Insects, music, plants, Rural Diary, trees, wild flowers

Tags

agrimony, butterflies, clouds, common darter, common knapweed, Diary, dragonflies, Field Beans, gatekeeper, Great Willowherb, hedge bindweed, lane, Lords and Ladies, Marsh Woundwort, Meadowsweet, ponds, ringlet, ruddy darter, scarlet pimpernel, spear thistle, Suffolk, Sweet Chestnut, thunderstorm, wild flowers, yarrow

We arrived back home last Wednesday after spending eight days in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest). It was probably the hottest day of the year so far and we spent it travelling by train up from Triberg, Germany to Ebbsfleet in Kent (England) where we had left our car. We set off from the hotel at 6.30 am European time and got home just after 7.00 pm British time (one hour behind Europe). The car thermometer said it was 32C (89.5F) when we set off from Kent and it peaked at 34C (93F) near the tunnel at the Dartford Crossing (under the Thames). As we drove home up through Essex and Suffolk we watched large black clouds to the west edging ever nearer and we hoped we’d be able to get home before the storm got to us. We did. It was still 32C as we unpacked the car, opened all the windows and doors in the house and wandered round the garden for a while looking at the long grass and the drooping plants. While I put the kettle on and made a cup of tea Richard telephoned the Chinese restaurant in Halesworth and ordered a take-away meal. He was just about to set off when the storm broke. It was the most violent one I’ve seen for many years with continuous thunder and bolts of lightening coming down vertically and travelling horizontally across the sky. The rain was very heavy indeed. Elinor and I sat on the stairs together as she gets quite frightened during thunderstorms and Richard went off to collect our evening meal. The storm gradually abated and the sky cleared but still Richard hadn’t come back and I began to worry about him. I found his phone which he had left behind so I couldn’t get in touch to find out where he was. I was considering getting in the car and going to look for him when I was relieved to see him driving up to the house. He had had a hair-raising journey and when he had got to Halesworth he found that the Chinese restaurant had a power-cut and couldn’t give us a meal. They had tried to phone him on his mobile to let him know, but of course he had left it at home. The town’s Thoroughfare was flooded with a foot of water and people were out trying to sweep the water away from the shop doors. Water was coming up through the drains and the town river was in full spate. Richard didn’t lose his head and knew he had a mission to accomplish so went to the other Chinese restaurant at the top of the town which hadn’t lost it’s power and ordered our meal from them instead.

When the rain stopped I went outside to enjoy the fresh, cooler air and took some photographs of the strange clouds.

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The following day I resumed my dutiful-daughter job and took Mum out to do her shopping. We had bought double her usual amount of shopping just before we’d gone away and we had made sure she had enough of her medication to last as well. While we were on our holiday she had been taken to church by my brother on the Sunday and he had cooked lunch for her at his house, so she had plenty to tell me.

When I got home again I got on with the washing and started to tidy the garden. Richard and I called in to see our next-door-neighbours who had been kind enough to water the plants in the greenhouse and to put our rubbish bins out for collection while we were away. We are very fortunate to have such thoughtful and generous neighbours.

The next day I continued with house and garden work.

Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis ssp.arvensis) found behind the greenhouse

Marsh Woundwort (Stachys palustris) found growing on the bank of the big pond.

I think this may be a male Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) though it could be a male Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)

A Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) in flower near the big pond

A rather old and tired Ringlet butterfly (Aphantopus hyperantus)

Hedge Bindweed (Calystegia sepium) in flower in the area between our garden and the field at the back of the house.

I believe this may be a female Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)

Our Variegated Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa variegatum) in flower

Sweet Chestnut flowers

I walked down the lane with Elinor to post birthday cards to my niece Natalie (my brother’s daughter) who had her 31st birthday on the 23rd of July and cards to Alice my elder daughter who had her 31st birthday on the 24th of July. Natalie is exactly 23 hours older than Alice.

This is a teneral, or newly emerged dragonfly as you can see by the pale colouring and very shiny wings. I don’t know which dragonfly it is, unfortunately. It is perched on a Great Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) growing in the ditch at the side of the lane.

The new pond at the side of the lane which was dug during the winter.

Richard spoke to the man who lives on the opposite side of the lane to the pond and who was responsible for digging it. Apparently, many years ago there was a pond there which was wide enough and deep enough to enable the horses to be led to drink while still attached to their carts. It was filled in when horses were no longer needed on the farm but it has now been re-instated and I am very pleased. The pond is already full of interesting plants and insects which have found their way there on their own.

Our lane. I am standing next to the pond (on my left) and looking back in the direction from which we had come.

P1000922Perhaps wall of demolished St N church

Looking over the hedge into the garden of Church Farm I noticed this piece of wall covered in ivy. I wonder if it is part of the old church of St Nicholas demolished many hundreds of years ago.

Lots of unripe Lords and Ladies berries (Arum maculatum)

A field full of Field or Broad Beans.

Another pond at the side of the lane. This one has become rather overgrown. It has fish in it and I once saw a couple sitting at the side of the road with rods trying to catch fish.

View across the fields towards All Saints church which can just be seen to the right of centre on the horizon. It is slightly obscured by a thistle flower!

Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Wild flowers at the side of the lane.

Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)

Meadowsweet has a beautiful almond-blossom-like fragrance.

A poor photo of a male Gatekeeper butterfly (Pyronia tithonus)

These were all the things I saw at the side of the lane on a short 20 minute walk to post cards.

Here now is my musical choice – the Petite Symphonie in B flat for nine wind instruments by Charles Gounod, composed in 1888. It lasts about 20 minutes and is of four movements. I love the lyricism of French 19th century music and I like this recording of the piece very much. It is a piece of music I used to play and it brings back such good memories to me when I hear it.

Thanks for visiting!

This and That – Part 1

03 Fri Jun 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in Gardening, music, plants, Rural Diary, trees, weather, wild birds

≈ 70 Comments

Tags

amelanchier, blackbird, blackthorn, bluebell, countryside, cowslip, daffodils, English Elm, English Oak, garden, Goat Willow, green woodpecker, greengage, horse chestnut, Lords and Ladies, Marxh-marigold, pheasant, photography, rainbow, Red Deer, shrubs, Snowy Mespil, Suffolk, trees, white dead-nettle, wild cherry, wild flowers

I have taken a number of photographs over the last few weeks but haven’t had the time to write any posts. Here are a few of the better pictures from April and earlier.

Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

Back in January I was driving home from shopping when I saw this small group of five Red Deer making their way across a field towards the road. I had to slow down and then stop because I could see that they were not only made nervous by my car but their usual path was blocked by a fire someone had lit to get rid of brushwood. They eventually managed to cross the lane a little further along and then carried on their way. I took a photo of them through the car window and this is the result – heavily cropped. I had thought that I had missed them and it was only when I eventually looked carefully at the shot on my computer a few weeks ago I realised that they were there!

The Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) family wandering through the garden at the beginning of April.

This is such an untidy photo with the recycling bin out by the roadside and my former car in the way too. This is another photo taken through glass (the kitchen window this time – you can see a reflection in the bottom left corner of the picture). We haven’t seen the pheasants for a while now so I presume the females are busy on their nests.

We had a storm with heavy rain and then the sun came out. It all looked so bright and fresh, so I stood at the front door and took three photos, to the left, straight ahead and to the right.

A few days later I stood at the end of the drive and took this photo of the ditch that runs along the edge of the garden. We have daffodils growing all along its length. The lane runs parallel with the front of our property. You can also see my new car in this picture.

Pussy Willow / Goat Willow (Salix caprea)

Goat Willow in flower

Cowslips (Primula veris)

A stormy sky. A photo of our house (and the house next door) taken standing next to our big pond and looking across the corner of the field.

The summerhouse

A Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) looking for ants in the lawn

I was quite pleased with this photo as it showed all the different colours of its feathers, even the black and white spotted feathers under the wings. This is a female adult as the moustachial feathers are all black. The male has a crimson centre to the stripe.

A male Blackbird (Turdus merula) was also on the lawn looking for food.

White Dead-nettle (Lamium album)

Wild Cherry blossom (Prunus avium)

The first Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) flower in our garden this spring

There is nothing quite like the scent of Bluebells. They are wild hyacinths but don’t have the cloying scent of the garden variety. There is a sweet freshness that lifts the spirits and is irrevocably linked, to my mind, with birdsong, sunshine after rain and hope.

Greengage blossom (Prunus domestica ssp. italica). I hope we have some fruit this year.

Some of the Cowslips in our garden are orange and red.

Pendunculate / English Oak (Quercus robur). New leaves and flowers (catkins) appear at the same time.

Marsh-marigold (Caltha palustris). I found it impossible to photograph this bright yellow flower well.

More Marsh-marigold

New Horse-chestnut leaves and flower buds (Aesculus hippocastanum)

Beautiful new English Elm leaves (Ulmus procera). We have a number of small Elm trees in our garden. Sadly they will only live for a few years before they succumb to Dutch Elm disease.

Lords and Ladies / Jack-in-the-pulpit / Cuckoo pint (Arum maculatum). This plant has many names. Its arrowhead-shaped leaves are often dark spotted.

Snowy Mespil (Amelanchier canadensis) blossom

Blackthorn blossom (Prunus spinosa). This poor photo is the only image of this year’s blossom I managed to get.

A rainbow behind the trees

All these photos were taken in April and in my garden, except the first one.

I find I haven’t made a music selection for a while so this post’s choice is ‘Let’s Work Together’ by Canned Heat. Excellent lyrics, great tune and the best tempo ever!

Thanks for visiting!

Fox Fritillary Meadow

26 Tue Apr 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in Days out, literature, plants, Rural Diary

≈ 54 Comments

Tags

Fox Fritillary Meadow, Framsden, fritillaries, In the Artist's Garden, meadow, Post Mill, Ronald Blythe, Saxtead Green, Suffolk, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, wild flowers

I belong to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, one of the 47 Wildlife Trusts in the UK and recently, while looking through their list of upcoming events I spotted a guided walk round Fox Fritillary Meadow in Framsden. It was recommended that I book a place, not because of limited space but so I could be contacted if there weren’t enough flowers in bloom to make my visit worthwhile. I was very pleased when Alice phoned me shortly afterwards suggesting she stay with us that weekend.

A few days after making the reservation I was happy to find a mention of the meadow in the book I was currently reading; ‘In the Artist’s Garden’ by Ronald Blythe.

He says of fritillaries … ‘Every April and May, from time immemorial, they show themselves in my orchard to remind me of what I have come to think of as their native land – Framsden, in Suffolk.’

He remembers his youthful visits to the meadow …

It is there, at the long pasture in the dell, which is covered with these speckled, bell-shaped, vaguely sinister blooms – the British species of genus Fritillaria liliaceae. It was an hour’s bike-ride from my house, and a proper pilgrimage for a member of the Wild Flower Society. And Mrs Fox, tall, elderly and generous, standing at the gate to welcome us where snake’s heads grew.

For 50 weeks her long meadow was no more than two acres of dank grass, with a lush drainage ditch severing it; but when the fritillaries came, it turned into the Plains of Enna when Persephone set foot in them. There they were – hundreds, thousands of them, some a papery white, but most a muted purple colour with the reptilian markings that gave them their nickname. Nightingales sang over them. There was a cold wind blowing, as well as these mysterious spring flowers.

It would have been a Saturday afternoon when Mrs Fox was at home. There were so many of them that we never knew where to tread, and when we left she would give us little fritillary bouquets. This was the time when country people believed that the more you picked the more they grew – a policy that rioted when it came to bluebells.

Fritillaries were so called by the Romans after their dice box, or shaker, which was one of the few personal belongings that a soldier carried around. This, and a chequer-board. ‘And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them and upon my vesture did they cast lots’.

I have a rather beautiful book (sent to all members in 2011 to celebrate the Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s 50th anniversary) which includes a photograph of the meadow and a little about its history. In it I am told that the meadow was sprayed in 1957 with a broad-leaved selective herbicide, as the owner hoped to benefit the fritillaries by killing all the other plants. The fritillaries survived because they are members of the narrow-leaved lily family. Cowslips, cuckooflower and ragged-Robin are slowly returning but compared with other meadows where fritillaries are found this meadow is less diverse. The Trust acquired the meadow in 1977 when the farm was sold, as Queenie Fox the owner wanted to be sure the fritillaries would be safeguarded.

The field we crossed on our way to the fritillary meadow.

The morning of Saturday the 23rd April was cold and breezy with many heavy hail showers. The Trust hadn’t contacted me so we assumed the open day was going ahead. By lunchtime the showers were dying out and when we set off on the 45 minute journey the sun was shining – but it was still cold!

The entrance to the meadow.

We found the site easily and joined others eager to see these strange flowers. At first, on entering the meadow through the gate, we didn’t see where the flowers were but a few steps further on and the mass of blooms became obvious to us. We carefully picked our way through the flowers, sometimes crouching down to admire them more fully, but all the while the further we walked the more flowers there were to see. The tributary of the River Deben which Blythe mentions as bisecting the field is still there but sadly, we heard no nightingales.

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When we had had our fill of fritillaries we left for home, stopping off at Saxtead Green to admire the Post Mill there.

Saxtead Post Mill – now owned and run by English Heritage

Richard and the Post Mill

Saxtead Post Mill

Some Lady’s-smock or Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) that was growing on the green by the mill.

Thank’s for visiting!

Another Walk up Hen Cloud

15 Sun Nov 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in plants, Rural Diary, walking, wild birds

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

butterfly, caterpillar, eyebright, harebells, heather, Hen Cloud, painted lady, Peak District, Staffordshire Moorland, walking, wild flowers, yarrow

We didn’t have much time for walking on our last full day in the Peak District as we had packing, tidying and cleaning to do as well as taking our awning down. The ideal walk had to be a short walk and one that was near at hand so we returned to Hen Cloud. It is just a few minutes drive from where we stay and once there, within quarter of an hour we can be away from the road and up high, looking down. We try to do this walk every time we visit the Peaks and when we stay there at the end of May/beginning of June we use it as an evening walk. It is great to be at the top of the hill at 9.00 pm with the sun still shining and the swallows and martins flying round us. Peregrines nest in the rock crevices of the hill and their calls mingling with the sound of the wind blowing across the tops fills me with such joy.

This time the walk was done during the afternoon in the second half of August so no nesting peregrines and not too many swallows and martins either.

IMG_5557View from road at foot of Hen Cloud

This is the view from the place where we parked our car.

This last day of our holiday was warm at last and quite bright too. Before setting off on our walk I noticed these flowers by the side of the road.

Some very pink Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis agg.)

Hen Cloud

The path we choose to walk up isn’t the steepest of the paths to the top, in fact it is a nice steady ascent – just right for two middle-aged, not very fit people.

The Roaches seen from the path up Hen Cloud

Ramshaw Rocks seen from the path up Hen Cloud

We had never been to the Peaks when the Heather (Calluna vulgaris) was in bloom before. The pink-purple flowers with the bright green grass was very beautiful.

This is the path we usually take to the top. You can see Richard is quite a way ahead of me.

Ramshaw Rocks seen from the top of Hen Cloud.

Tittesworth Reservoir

View from Hen Cloud.

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Heather

We saw this rather battered and faded Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui)

I saw this caterpillar making its way across a rock. I can’t identify it.

All too soon, it was time for us to return to the car.

We saw these Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) on the way.

Our last view of Hen Cloud from the road.

The following day we got up very early and drove to Sheffield to collect Elinor from Alice’s house. We only stayed for a couple of minutes and were then on the road back to our camp-site to hitch-up the caravan and then set out for home.

Thanks for visiting!

A Walk in the Peak District.

17 Sat Oct 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in Days out, Insects, plants, Rural Diary, trees, walking

≈ 45 Comments

Tags

butterfly, caves, Manifold Valley, Peak District, plants, sheep, squash stile, Thor's Cave, walking, Wetton, wild flowers

Not only did we have a week’s holiday in the Lake District this summer but we also went to the Peak District for a week. I have already told you about the sad start to this break – the death of my mother-in-law on the day of our arrival. We spent the first full day of our holiday with my brother-in-law but after that there wasn’t anything else to do but wait until we were told by the Coroner that we could arrange the funeral.

We thought we might as well stay in the Peaks and not abandon our holiday. If Chris (my brother-in-law) needed us we would be close at hand. We thought we would find comfort in walking in this beautiful part of the country.

After lunch on Saturday 15th August we drove to the village of Wetton in Staffordshire from where we intended to walk along the Manifold Valley. We drove along a very scenic road en route to Wetton.

IMG_5345The Roaches and Hen Cloud from top road

The Roaches and Hen Cloud (the nearest hill) seen from the road.

Another view of The Roaches. The Rocks look like spikes on the spine of a dinosaur.

We could just see the Welsh hills on the far horizon beyond the flat Cheshire Plain.

We got to Wetton and found the car park near the centre of the village. The buildings and houses in the village are mainly made of stone and the church, which was built in the 14th century has an exterior staircase to the belfrey which contains six bells. The Royal Oak pub, which owns a camping field next to the car park is also the venue for the World Toe Wrestling Championships which began in the 1970’s!

One of the buildings of Wetton.

Another of those squash stiles which let tall and/or thin people through but not livestock or short people with generously proportioned legs etc.

Richard and I crossed this field which sloped steeply down into the deep valley of the River Manifold.

There were many hazards.

A colourful seed-head – probably Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium). We also saw a number of Betony (Stachys officinalis) flowers but none of my photos were any good.

The route down to the river valley

At the bottom of the field we crossed a couple of stiles and entered a wood.

Path through the wood

Lots of invasive Rhododendron seedlings

Steps up through the woods

Yet more steps! Gasp! Puff!

We were going to see Thor’s Cave.

Thor’s Cave

This is a Karst Cave i.e. it was formed from the dissolution of soluble limestone. The entrance is just over 18m up on the hillside and the opening is a symmetrical arch, 7.5m wide and 10m high. I don’t think there is any connection between this cave and the god Thor; the name probably derives from the word ‘tor’ meaning a hill or rocky peak. I was most disappointed to find that I didn’t have the ability to climb up to the entrance from the path. I had to wait outside while Richard explored inside.

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You can see minute-me waving at Richard in one of the photos above. This will give you some idea of the size of the cave.

This is what the entrance to the cave looks like from the path below.

While Richard enjoyed himself in the cave, I kept myself busy looking for things to photograph outside.

Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) growing out of a crevice in the stone.

A tiny Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes).

Jacob’s-ladder (Polemonium caeruleum)

I saw another cave entrance below us.

After Richard emerged from the cave we walked back down to the valley-floor.

Lots of different plants grew in the scree and rocks of the river-bed alongside the path. There were many wild raspberry canes with ripe fruit but again my camera failed to focus on them.

Meadow Crane’s-bill (Geranium pratense) next to the path.

I’m including another photo of these flowers because I like them! You can see that the seed-heads look a little bit like crane’s heads.

The large leaves of Butterbur (Petasites hybridus). Also known as Wild Rhubarb, the heart-shaped leaves can be up to 1m/3 ft across.

This Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) was so strongly and beautifully scented!

Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)

Wild flowers

The path we were walking along was the former Leek and Manifold Light Railway line. There had even been a station at Thor’s Cave!

This also explains all the well-made steps up to the cave.

View of a hill from the path.

Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis)

Red Campion (Silene dioica) and Bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.)

More Meadowsweet.

Ripening Hazel nuts (Corylus avellana)

The pretty flowers of the terribly invasive Indian Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)

Another view of the path.

Lots of Rosebay Willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium)

This is the dry river bed of the Manifold.

In anything other than very wet weather the river disappears into swallowholes and flows through caves and subterranean passages and reappears at Ilam further downstream.

Lady’s-mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris agg.)

Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis)

A wonderfully gnarled and twisted tree.

Cinquefoil. I think this is probably Creeping Cinquefoil but the leaves in the photo aren’t quite what I expect from Creeping Cinquefoil.

Hill and valley. We had left the old rail-track behind us.

Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans) with its drooping flower-heads

A black-faced lamb

Richard walking along the track

Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense)

It was about this stage in our walk that we missed a landmark and went up a hill on the wrong side of a wall.

A stream

Tufted Forget-me-not (Myosotis laxa)

Small Heath butterfly (Coenonympha pamphilus)

I took a photo of this house little realising that we should have gone past it and then climbed the hill.

‘You’re on the wrong side of the wall, you fools!’, said the sheep.

I took a photo of this sheep tunnel (note my shadow) little realising we could have used it to get onto the right side of the wall!

The wall. We little realised we could have climbed over it at this point.

View from the hillside

Another view

Sun setting behind a hill

It was here that it dawned on us we were heading for the wrong valley.

We re-traced our steps right back to the house I had photographed earlier.

Rock Stonecrop (Sedum forsterianum). This specimen was probably a garden escapee as the plant is only native in the SW of England.

I am not sure what this plant is. I think it might be Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) but I am not sure. My guide says that the emergent leaves of Bogbean have the texture and appearance of broad bean leaves which I would say these do. However….

Knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare)

And that was the last photo I took you’ll be pleased to know. Only when we got back to the house and saw that the correct path went up the same, long, steep hill that we had just climbed and then come down again, but on the other side of that wall that we realised exactly what we had done and what we still had to do. I must admit that our hearts sank and we suddenly felt very tired. We did it though; and got back to the car before the sun set. We were tempted to have a meal in the pub but thought how late we would get back to our caravan if we did so. We were very thankful to find the car and then return to the caravan site.

Thanks for visiting!

Apologies for the length of the post.

A Walk in Whinlatter Forest

05 Mon Oct 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in Days out, Insects, plants, Rural Diary, walking

≈ 40 Comments

Tags

bolete, butterfly, cat's-ear, Climbing Corydalis, common ragwort, Forestry Commission, Fox-and-cubs, fungus, heather, lady's-mantle, lichen, moss, pixie-cup lichen, ringlet, walking, Whinlatter Forest, wild flowers

Alice came to visit us on the last day of our holiday in the Lake District. We met her off the train in Penrith at about 10.00 am and took her back to our rented cottage for a cup of tea. After catching up with all her news we took her to Whinlatter Forest which we had visited briefly earlier in the week, as Elinor wanted to show it to her sister.

This is another Forestry Commission forest and is mainly planted with non-native trees.

Not only are there a number of tracks through the woods for walking and mountain biking but they also have segways for hire too. There are trails designed to appeal to small children and zip wires and swinging on ropes for very active people.

We walked.

Whinlatter Forest

Alice is a fast walker so she and Richard went ahead. I am forever on the lookout for interesting plants and insects and take lots of photos and Elinor can’t walk fast or far so we both kept together.

Alice and Richard waiting for Elinor and me.

Elinor liked this forest glade.

A Bolete fungus. I cannot identify this one.

Looking at the underside of the toadstool. The photo shows that Boletes do not have gills but spongy tissue with pores in. This fungus has been eaten by something.

Climbing Corydalis (Ceratocapnos claviculata) Not a very good picture.

Heather (Calluna vulgaris) in bud with a faded Cat’s-ear (Hypochaeris radicata)

Lichen

Fox-and-cubs (Pilosella aurantiaca) with yellow Cat’s-ear

IMG_5250Lichen perhaps Cladonia pyxidata

I believe this lichen is Cladonia pyxidata – Pixie-cup Lichen

You can see how small these little cups are by comparing them with the pine needles next to them.

This butterfly flew next to us for some way along a sunny track. I tried to photograph it countless times and this time thought I had managed it….

The reason I really wanted to get a photograph of it was that I thought it looked like a Ringlet butterfly but they usually have eye-spots on their wings. I have since done some research and I believe it is likely to be a Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) as sometimes they are seen without eye-spots. What is confusing is that all references to Ringlets state that they aren’t found in the north-west of England! I am sending my inadequate photo to ukbutterflies.co.uk to see what they make of it.

Yet more moss!

Lady’s-mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris agg) behind more Fox-and-cubs

Common Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea)

View of the surrounding fells (hills)

This fell is Skiddaw

We returned to the carpark and went into the café and had a drink and a sandwich. We took Alice back to our cottage for a while until it was time for her to catch her train to Sheffield. We spent the rest of the day cleaning the cottage and packing for our journey home the following day.

Thanks for visiting!

Thirlmere Reservoir

29 Tue Sep 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in Days out, Insects, plants, Rural Diary

≈ 38 Comments

Tags

Dobgill Wood, fungus, Helvellyn, insects, moss, plants, slime mould, Thirlmere Reservoir, wild flowers

This post marks the return of posts about our holiday in the Lake District in July.

We spent an afternoon at Thirlmere, a reservoir which was created in 1894 to provide water for the city of Manchester.

Thirlmere Reservoir. You see here the typical stony, grey edge of a reservoir. I think the fell on the left is Helvellyn.

Thirlmere was originally two smaller lakes and in flooding the valley, the two villages of Amboth and Wythburn were submerged. Many people protested about the construction of the reservoir, the philanthropist John Ruskin being one of them, but theirs’ was a lost cause. The citizens of Manchester’s need of fresh water was thought to have been more important than the loss of a couple of villages and a community’s way of life.

Thirlmere

Thirlmere is 3.76 miles long and about half a mile wide. It is surrounded by 2000 acres of coniferous forest, mainly spruce and larch, planted in 1908. More deciduous, native trees are being planted now. There was protest at the planting of the forest because the fells were traditionally tree-less and bare.

Woods at Dobgill on the banks of Thirlmere.

We parked our car in one of the car-parks off the road that skirts the lake and then walked down to the lakeside through a pretty wood. It was so green and mossy in that wood!

This moss was about 8 inches tall.

I think the moss may be Polytrichum commune. I read that it has square capsules with pointed lids. These capsules can be seen if you look carefully at my photo.

This may be Amanita franchetii

I believe this is a slime mould. It’s bright yellow colour caught my eye.

We soon got to the lake shore where there was a lot more to see. There were plants living amongst the stones ….

The leaves of Marsh Pennywort (Hydrocotyle vulgaris). Marsh Pennywort is an atypical umbellifer. The flowers are tiny and pale (either green or pink) in small umbels on reddish stems.

…and plants at the edge of the wood.

Betony (Stachys officinalis)

Wood Sage (Teucrium scorodonia)

This plant tastes and smells like hops and in some areas has been used as a substitute for them.

Wood Sage

Richard and Elinor enjoying the view.

While they sat and relaxed I wandered about looking for plants and other interesting things.

A large mossy hummock or outcrop

This rock was covered with many different types of moss and lichen.

Moss

Mosses – the larger one may be Hypnum cupressiforme

Moss – this one may be Thuidium tamariscinum

Not a good shot but this moss may be Pseudocleropodium purum

Lichen in amongst the moss. Not at all sure which this lichen this is!

Mosses

Moss

Yet more mosses!

Lichen – for a change!

Moss

Thirlmere

Lichen with a reddish-brown fruiting body at the bottom right of the picture

Lichen

View of a fell from Thirlmere

Marsh Speedwell (Veronica scutellata)

Lesser Water-plantain perhaps? (Baldellia ranunculoides)

These spiders look like Lesser Wolf Spider females carrying their egg sacs

Another spider

We then walked back up to the car-park but by a different route.

Possibly a Male Fern (Dryopteris felix-mas)

Fungus on a dead tree

A mossy wall

Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica)

Hedge Woundwort flowers

Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lanatus)

Moss

Spores on fern

Walking through Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum). Bracken gets very tall – this was over 5.5 feet tall.

I don’t know what this beetle is though it does look a little like a Click Beetle (Athous haemorrhoidalis)

The Dobgill

Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes)

We returned to the car-park where we left Elinor to rest but Richard and I continued walking as we wanted to see the Dobgill waterfall. I will include that in a different post.

If anyone sees that I have made any mistakes with my identification I would be really grateful for any corrections. If anyone can identify any of the organisms I have been unable to name, again, I would be very pleased to know.

Thanks for visiting!

September’s End

25 Fri Sep 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in amphibians, family, Insects, music, plants, Rural Diary, trees

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

autumn, berries, buzzard, common lizard, crane fly, family, flowers, Fruit, fruit trees, fungus, garden flowers, greater celandine, wasp nest, wild flowers

Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

We have had some very cool nights already and lots of rain. Autumn has arrived! The nights are drawing in and when I get up just after six o’clock in the morning on Mondays and Fridays I have to wait for well over half an hour before the sun rises.

Chrysanthemum

I have no news to give you about Alice – I haven’t spoken to her for about a fortnight so I assume she is busy and coping alright.

Morning Glory

Dahlia

To our surprise, the day after I mentioned in this blog that it would take weeks for probate to be granted, it was granted! Richard has spent two days in Manchester with his brother sorting out all their mother’s finances. They also went to a place that Joyce was fond of and scattered her ashes. Richard was hoping to spend three days with Chris and wanted to travel up in his new car but unfortunately his windscreen was hit by a stone chipping last week which left a four inch crack and it needs replacing! The insurance company is sending someone to our house to carry out the replacement today (which is when Richard had hoped to return home). He came home yesterday instead (Thursday). He will have to go back to Manchester in a couple of weeks to finish going through all Joyce’s belongings and deciding what to do with them – a very difficult business.

Dog-rose-hips (Rosa canina)

Blackberries (Rubus fruticosus agg.)

Pyracantha berries

Cotoneaster berries

Black Bryony (Tamus communis) growing through Cotoneaster horizontalis

Cotoneaster horizontalis

Elinor has almost completed two weeks at college, is working hard and her tutors are very pleased with her. She is enjoying the course but finds the social side of college life very tricky. She is very insecure and worries all the time that she is saying or doing the wrong thing. She has also been badly affected by her grandmother’s death and funeral. She is afraid of going to sleep in case she doesn’t wake up again and she is frightened of being left alone both now and in the future.

Eating apples ‘Saturne’

Pears ‘Concorde’

Figs ‘Brown Turkey’

Crabapple ‘Evereste’

Crabapple ‘Harry Baker’

Crabapple

I have been busy in the house and with my mother; Richard has had a lot to do in the garden and has also been arranging our finances now that he has retired. We have had no time for a walk recently and in fact have done very few walks together during the whole year. We hope that in the next week or so things will have calmed down and we will be able to find time to go out together.

Chinese Lanterns (Physalis alkekengi)

Japanese Ornamental Cherry ‘Fragrant Cloud’

Acer palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’

Spindle (Euonymous europaeus)

Hazel new catkins (Corylus avellana)

Elder (Sambucus nigra)

Fungus

The photographs in this post were mainly done during one afternoon this week.

This is the entrance to one of the three wasp nests we have in our garden. They took over an old mouse or vole hole.

Crane fly (Tipula paludosa)

Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus)

I saw this plant just inside the stone wall that surrounds St Mary’s church in Bungay.

Greater Celandine

This plant is no relation to the Lesser Celandine we see in the springtime. It is a type of poppy, similar to the Yellow Horned-poppy I found on Dunwich beach a few weeks ago. Its orange-coloured sap has been used in Asia for burning away warts and corns since the beginning of Chinese civilisation. This caustic liquid was also used to remove soreness and cloudiness from the eyes! It uses an oil gland on its seeds to ensure they are taken a distance away. Ants feed on the oil and then carry the seed off.

Juvenile Common Lizard

For the second week running, I discovered something hiding under our wheelie-bin. Obviously, rubbish bins are the go-to shelter for small creatures.

Elinor and I admired these clouds as we neared home the other day.

We turned to our left and saw these!

The following song is dedicated to Elinor.

Thanks for visiting!

Endings and Changes

04 Fri Sep 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in Days out, family, Insects, music, plants, Rural Diary, wild birds

≈ 55 Comments

Tags

family, family life, friends, insects, seashore, wild flowers

This is another diary post. Before I write anymore accounts of days out and holidays I really ought to tell you about a few things that have been happening lately.

Self-seeded Viola

The saddest event of all is that my mother-in-law died on Thursday 13th August. She had been in very poor health for some time and had had to move into a nursing home a few months ago. This made her unhappy but she knew that she was incapable of living on her own any more and was doing her best to come to terms with the changes this entailed. My brother-in-law had visited her during the afternoon of the day she died and hadn’t been home long when he got a call from the nursing home telling him she had collapsed and the ambulance had been called for. He telephoned us and said he had been told that there wasn’t much hope that she would survive and we were to prepare for the worst. He phoned us again a few minutes later to say she had died.

Marsh Mallow (Althaea officinalis)

The strange thing was that we were only an hour or so away from Manchester (where my husband’s family live) when Chris phoned us. Thursday 13th August was the day we travelled to the Peak District with our caravan to spend a week there on holiday and with the hope of visiting Mum-in-law. We had set up the caravan where we usually stay in Leek, Staffordshire and put up the awning on the side of the van already. We had then driven to Sheffield (about an hour’s journey) to take Elinor to stay with Alice for the week. Alice had given us a cup of tea and we had left the girls there together and were driving back to Leek. We had almost got to Buxton when Chris’s call came through.

Alpine Allium with bees

We went to Manchester the next morning. The rain, which had started when we got to Sheffield the night before, was still coming down so the roads were very wet and some were flooded. We went to Chris’s house and spent some time talking to him and his partner Annie and then went out to have some lunch together in a pub. During the afternoon we went to Joyce’s (Mum-in-law’s) nursing home and sorted out all her belongings, taking some away with us but donating all of her clothes and a lot of her equipment and wheel-chair to the nursing home. They were pleased to accept all we could give them as there are many old people in homes who have no relations to get them clothes and other necessaries.

Peacock butterfly (Inachis io) on Water Mint flowers (Mentha aquatica)

The Coroner couldn’t establish a cause of death despite a post mortem and there have been a number of tests done and an inquest has been held. All extremely painful for my husband and his brother. Eventually the date for the funeral was set and it duly took place yesterday 2nd September. There was a large turn-out of family and friends and all went smoothly and we hope Joyce would have approved. Richard had the difficult task of writing the eulogy which he delivered with dignity. The wake was in the upper rooms of a nearby pub and that was a success too.

Female Gatekeeper butterfly (Pyronia tithonus) on Marjoram (Origanum majorana)

Our holiday was a weird one to say the least! Richard’s 62nd birthday was on Sunday 16th August so we went to a church in Leek and said more prayers for Joyce and then went to a café for brunch. There wasn’t much else we could do. We met Alice and Elinor in Bakewell on Tuesday 18th August and told them the sad news.

This was one of Joyce’s favourite pieces of music.

A lot of our time has been spent (as usual) in keeping appointments with doctors, with physiotherapists and at hospital. Not a week goes by, it seems, without one or other of us having to go to see some specialist or another! Elinor went to her yearly appointment with the physiotherapist and was told she needed to do more calf-stretching exercises. I’m not sure that she has done anything about it yet! Richard went to the hospital for yet another MRI brain scan but won’t hear the results until he sees the specialist in a few weeks. He also went to the eye clinic and all seems okay. I took my Mum to her eye clinic again last week and she had to return there on Tuesday for another eye injection. I went to the Rheumatology clinic for a check-up and it seems I am in a medically-induced remission. My blood tests show excellent results and I have lost all the fluid on my finger joints. The nurse suggested I give up one of my drugs for a month to see if it made any difference to the problem I have in my throat. It hasn’t made any difference at all, so I’m back on the drug and my GP at my local surgery has asked the Ear, Nose and Throat clinic to give me an appointment so they can investigate further.

IMG_2410Swallows and Martins on cable (2) (640x427)

Swallows (Hirundo rustica) and House Martins (Delichon urbica) on electric power cable

Alice works part-time in the University library in Sheffield and some months ago went to a number of internal job interviews. She desperately needs a full-time job, preferably one in which she can use her librarianship skills instead of filling shelves and moving crates of books about as she is doing at the moment. She was disappointed to hear that though she had been offered a job one grade higher than the one she was doing, it was still a part-time job and as the hours were fewer she would be earning less money. After a lot of thought she decided to accept the job and after some discussion with her supervisor she has been given a few more hours and is earning slightly more money than in her last position. She moved house at the weekend and she is now sharing with a few other people (one of them a friend of hers) and will be paying less rent. This will be a Good Thing! She has finished the corrections and amendments to her PhD and has handed it back in to have it read through again. When that’s done she will have to get it printed – not just one copy but several – which will be yet another expense for her. We will then hear when she will receive her Doctorate which we all hope to attend if possible. She had her 30th birthday on the 24th July and her friends got together and arranged a Haunted Sheffield Tour for her to go on which she found great fun.

Southern Hawker dragonfly (Aeshna cyanea)

Southern Hawker dragonfly

Elinor wasn’t able to go into college to collect her GCSE results as we were still away in the Peak District so she got the results in the post. She didn’t do as well as she had hoped but she passed three out of the four exams she took. She got a D in Maths so she will have to re-take that exam next year. She got an A in Psychology but only Cs in English and Art. We are pleased that she managed to do as well as this because she missed two whole years of school and at one stage we didn’t think she’d ever be able to get any qualifications at all. The college have found that the grades the students got this year were generally much lower than expected. I don’t know if this is the fault of the college or if the marking was stricter than usual. She went into college last Wednesday for her enrolment and was disappointed to find she can’t take the Graphic Art course she wanted to do because of her failed Maths exam. She will do a years Art and Design course and re-take her Maths and then she will decide what she does next. The Graphic Design tutors say that they will assess her work after six weeks this term with a view to moving her onto the Graphic Design course if she is doing very well.

Young Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

Richard has now retired. His final week at work was last week and he had a good send-off from his colleagues. He will be giving back his fleet car tomorrow and has ordered a new car of his own which will be delivered in just over a week’s time. He hasn’t had time to appreciate the fact of his retirement yet. He still has a number of things to sort out with his brother with regard to his mother. Once that has been done he will relax a little and then begin to feel retired.

I spent a lovely day in Norwich with my dear friend Wendy. We met at school 45 years ago! Her husband was working in this area for a few days so she joined him and took the opportunity to visit former neighbours of theirs and to see me. Fortunately the weather was fine and we were able to find somewhere to sit outside and have coffee and a long chat.

A photo of the Assembly Rooms where we sat outside and had coffee. This photo was taken last December – the garden was much brighter and greener when we were there a few weeks ago!

We then went to have a look at the Roman Catholic Cathedral which is an enormous building and has many fine features. I’ll probably make a post about it sometime soon. We walked from there to the Plantation Garden. We had a lovely lunch together and I then walked back with her to her hotel. In thinking about this special day I am amazed to realise that I cannot remember the last time I spent a day out with her or in fact with any friend. I very, very occasionally meet someone for coffee or lunch or I visit Wendy’s house in company with my family but a whole day away from home with a friend enjoying myself…. no, I can’t recall anything since I was in my early twenties!

IMG_2442Gipsywort and sedge (2) (508x640)

Gipsywort (Lycopus europaeus)

I always look forward to having my piano tuned each year. Kimble Reynolds is a very skillful man who not only tunes pianos but can also build, restore and repair them. He has a piano gallery in Blundeston in Suffolk and has recently invented a way of teaching people how to read music which doesn’t entail having to learn the names of the notes. His invention is called Noterettes. He is a lovely man and I enjoy talking to him and we spend most of his visit laughing together.

Fly ( possibly Tachina fera) on Marjoram

IMG_2444Yarrow and bug or beetle (640x427)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) with unknown bug

IMG_2445Ragwort with Hoverfly Sphaerophoria scripta (640x427)

Common Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) with Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta) and another unknown insect

IMG_2446Ragwort with hoverfly Helophilus (2) (640x483)

Common Ragwort with Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus) also known as the Footballer Hoverfly because of the striped thorax which looks like a football jersey

I cannot identify this Hoverfly

With all the upheaval of Joyce’s death and Richard’s retirement, we haven’t had time for much gardening or walking locally. We managed to visit Dunwich beach for an hour on Saturday. We bought some chips from the fish and chip restaurant in the beach car-park and then walked on the beach. The weather was quite over-cast and there was a very strong wind blowing but it was good to be away from the house for a while.

IMG_5591Snails in Sea Kale leaf (640x480)

Sea Kale leaf (Crambe maritima) with sheltering snails

Sea Kale with seed heads

Dunwich beach

Yellow Horned-poppy (Glaucium flavum)

Yellow Horned-poppy

IMG_5600Evening Primrose plants (480x640)

Common Evening Primroses (Oenothera biennis) Introduced and naturalised, these plants like to live on waste ground on poor soil; they only open on dull days or in the evening. I see them on railway sidings quite often. These particular plants have spread along the base of the crumbling cliff.

Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris) This plant was on the path from the car-park to the beach but at this time of year Mallows are seen everywhere in East Anglia. The round fruits that you can see just right of centre are called ‘cheeses’ and contain many nutlets.

Out of focus photograph of the sunset that evening during a rain shower.

Thanks for visiting!

Derwentwater and Ashness Bridge

18 Tue Aug 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in Days out, plants, Rural Diary, walking

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

Ashness Bridge, Derwentwater, Keswick, Lake District, Skiddaw, St Swithin's Day, wild flowers

For our wedding in 1994 we were given a gift of place mats and coasters by one of Richard’s friends. The mats were decorated with paintings of Lake District attractions – Beatrix Potter’s cottage, The Bridge House at Ambleside and so on. One of the pictures was a really attractive painting of Ashness Bridge, and for some time we had no idea where it could be found. Before we left home we decided that as we were staying near Derwentwater, we ought to include it on one of our trips.

The day was bright and sunny and as it was St Swithin’s Day we hoped it would stay dry. We thought we would take the ferry round Derwentwater from Keswick to Ashness Gate, the stop nearest to Ashness Bridge and then walk up to the bridge.

The views of the surrounding hills look wonderful from the boat

The woodlands here are mainly of oak. These ‘Atlantic Oakwoods’ are an example of temperate rainforest.

I love looking at cloud shadows sliding over the hills

The ferry was crowded with walkers and other tourists like us, so it wasn’t too easy to take photos.

We got off the boat and began the steep walk up the lane to the bridge. I saw a shrew running about at the side of the road and tried to take its picture but it wouldn’t show its face with the long snout.

Shy shrew

I saw a few wildflowers by the roadside.

IMG_5094Self-heal and Lesser Stitchwort (640x480)

Self-heal (purple) (Prunella vulgaris) and Lesser Stitchwort (white) (Stellaria graminea) with Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) also known as Brake Fern

Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum)

IMG_5097View up fell at Ashness (480x640)

Looking up the hill from the path

After quite a long steep climb we left the road and carried on up a pathway and eventually got to the bridge. It is a very popular attraction and again, trying to get a picture of the bridge without lots of people in the way was hard.

Ashness Bridge

This is an old pack-horse bridge which enables the road to cross Barrow Beck, the stream that joins Derwentwater at the foot of the hill.

These old bridges are beautiful as well as being very useful. The skill of the bridge builder is apparent from this photo – each stone being placed so carefully, one next to the other.