Another May Mixture... in Memory of Linda

With great sadness, this post is dedicated to the memory of a dear blogging friend, Linda/Rain Gardener of Gardening by Trial and Error. I and many others whose lives she touched will miss her very much...

'Such love of life cannot so quickly fade

Or vanish like a vapor in the wind.
For it was of a lasting pleasure made.'

(Nicholas Gordon)

~~~

Linda was always struck by how very different our Robin is compared with the American Robin. She thought ours was 'adorable'.

Robin

'There's a friendly tone in thy minstrelsy,
And a merry heart beats 'neath thy crimson vest;
There's a pleasant light in thy glistening eye.

And of all our songsters we love thee best'

(E. and A.M. Forrester)

~~~

Well, what a strange Spring we have had this year! The ground here has been as dry as it would be in the middle of a very hot Summer. The last week or two although relentlessly dry hasn't been particularly pleasant with high winds and barely any sunshine making photography difficult. I intended to post this sequence of photos earlier in the Spring but didn't quite get around to it so as things are fairly quiet bird wise at the moment I thought I would put them on now.

Shall we dance?

Yes, let's

Shall we be serious and do the weed dance?

Oh no, it's much too soon for that!

Please?

Tomorrow... maybe?

As I have said in the past, I am fascinated by the way in which Nature uses camouflage and this following photo is a definite case in point!

Orange Tip Butterfly

Despite the very dry weather I have seen some lovely wild flowers on recent walks.

Clockwise from top left:
Red Campions, Dog Rose, Silverweed,
Ox-eye Daisies, Ox-eye Daisy.

As I mentioned before, things are pretty quiet on the bird front at the moment but I managed to get a quick photo of this Blue Tit which had just captured a juicy caterpillar to feed to its young. You'll need to look closely to spot the caterpillar!

Blue Tit

'A flutter of wings and a flash of blue,
And there my brave little friend are you!'

(G.F. Bradby)

Every year, until I see it again, I forget just how small the following butterfly is. Of course I should remember, after all the clue is in the name :)

Small Copper Butterfly (above and below)



'The butterflies, by eager hopes undone,
Glad as a child, come out to greet the sun.'

(John Clare)

I always think how very delicate Lacewings are, it amazes me that they manage to survive the elements.

Lacewing (Chrysopa perla)

I think this caterpillar must be a Garden Tiger but I thought they were bigger than this one and it wasn't found anywhere near a garden although I know that is probably irrelevant. Does anyone know if there is anything similar but smaller and more slender?

Caterpillar of the Garden Tiger Moth?

'The caterpillar there without
Has never known a mother's care;
Alone to seek its daily fare,
On grass and leaves it crawls about.'

(Unknown)

The following photo is another from earlier in the Spring, taken at Draycote Water but not posted before. There was a bit of an altercation going on!

Cormorants

Finally, I will leave you with this pretty little Common Blue Butterfly which was determined it wasn't going to open its wings for me.

Common Blue Butterfly

Well that's all for now... enjoy the beauty of Nature, wherever you are.