A Mixture and Memories

The weather here for most of the past week has been dire! The days have been short, dark and miserable. Like much of the country we have had heavy, driving rain and very high winds. Because of this and because I still have a backlog of un-posted photographs this post will mainly feature more photos from the Summer and early Autumn. Incidentally, I have at last worked out how to resize photographs so that when they are clicked on they can be viewed in a more manageable way. Hopefully now I won't use up my quota in Picassa so quickly either!

There was an amusing incident in the garden, just a few days ago, when I went to top up the bird feeders ready for the following morning. It was early evening and getting dark and as I have a small mesh tray, tucked at shoulder height, deep within the woody stems of an old Clematis I took a torch to enable me to see inside the vegetation. As the beam shone on the little tray I saw a tiny mouse sat in it happily feeding on the remains of the seed I had put there the day before! It seemed completely oblivious to the torchlight and to me, it really was quite a magical moment and I would have loved to have got a photograph of it. When I first placed the tray there it was in the hope that Dunnocks and Wrens might find it but I had caught a brief glimpse of a mouse scurrying away from it earlier in the year. I knew the seed was still being eaten regularly but had not realised a little mouse had decided it was its dish! I think it was a Wood Mouse, hopefully I may get a photo eventually.

During a very brief break in the bad weather a few days ago we managed to check out our small local reservoir which is where I took the photograph (above) of Hawthorn berries. I was hoping some interesting birds might have been swept in with the storms, unfortunately there was nothing of particular note. This Magpie was perched on a post on the approach to the reservoir,

Magpie

there were the inevitable Black-headed Gulls

Black-headed Gull

and six Cormorants flying over were quite an impressive sight.

Cormorants

'Then, from the wood, across the silvery blue,
A dark bird flew,
Silent, with sable wings.
Close in his wake another came,
Fragments of midnight floating through
The sunset flame.'

(Henry Van Dyke)

Earlier in the Autumn we visited a small local lake. We go quite often as it is only about fifteen minutes away by car. The Mallard Duck in the series of photos below treated us to quite a prolonged and amusing preening display.

'Now ! You look like you need a preening lesson!'

'This is what you do!'

'I hope you're paying attention!'

'This feels good!'

'Don't miss the bits at the back!'

'It stretches the neck a bit!'

'Ooh lovely!'

'Nearly done!'

' I think I'll audition for the new ballet, Duck Lake!'

'Back to pristine loveliness!'

This Mute Swan was hoping we might have brought some bread but I'm afraid it was disappointed!

Mute Swan

'When goodly, like a ship in her full trim,
A swan, so white that you may unto him
Compare all whitenesse, but himselfe to none.'

(John Donne)

The following butterfly photos were taken in the Summer, the first two in the garden of a National Trust property which we were visiting, in fact the same place where I saw the Nuthatch which I showed on the previous post.

Meadow Brown Butterfly

Gatekeeper Butterfly

Speckled Wood Butterfly

The appearance of the Speckled Wood changes from north to south. Individuals in the north are dark brown with white spots and those in more southerly areas are dark brown with orange spots. This has resulted in a number of subspecies.

It is unique among British butterflies being able to overwinter in two stages, as both larva and pupa. It is also unusual because the adults feed on honeydew which is a sticky sugary substance secreted by aphids.

Also unlike other butterflies, it favours dappled shade and is often seen when the weather is overcast. The male will patrol its territory looking for females to mate with and seeing off other males.

Red Admiral Butterfly

My deep love of Nature was first instilled in me by my Mother who used to regularly take my brother and I on walks in the countryside where she would point out everything we passed, she knew the name of every wild flower and tree we saw, I just wish I had retained all of the knowledge she imparted! I was never a child who enjoyed playgrounds, funfairs, amusement parks etc. I was happiest in fields and country lanes just enjoying the splendour of Nature. I remember I used to set up a Nature table in the garden where I would display any precious finds from our walks. I would also try to draw them.

The first Violet of the year would give me a huge thrill as would finding Catkins and Pussy Willow and my favourite wild flower of all, the Primrose. Then there were Bluebells, Cowslips and of course all the lovely Summer flowers too. At the other end of the year of course there would be Acorns, Chestnuts, Beech Nuts and Conkers which I especially loved finding, not particularly to put on a string and play the childhood game with, (my brother enjoyed that) but just to collect and admire their glossy brown colour and their tactile nature. I still can't pass them on the ground without bringing one or two home!

Conker
(the fruit of the Horse Chestnut Tree)

Something else I always looked forward to seeing was the Spindleberry

Spindleberry
(Euonymus Europaeus)

'See the rosy-berried Spindle
All to sunset colours turning,
Till the thicket seems to kindle,
Just as though the trees were burning.
While my berries split and show
Orange-coloured seeds aglow.'

(Cicely Mary Barker)

and the

Snowberry
(Symphoricarpos albus)

Unlike the Spindleberry the Snowberry is not a native of this country but is a North American plant introduced here in 1817. It is an important Winter food source for Quail, Pheasant and Grouse and is also a food plant of the Death's Head Hawk Moth Caterpillar.

Another fond memory from my childhood was gathering Elderflowers and Elderberries for my grandmother's wine making exploits. Sometimes there would be a loud bang from her larder when 'something went wrong' and a bottle exploded! I never recall her or anyone else drinking it and indeed understood her to be teetotal so I'm not quite sure how that equated! I can't remember if she ever made Sloe Gin but it is supposed to be very good.

Sloes
(The fruit of the Blackthorn: Prunus spinosa)

'And now is Autumn here, and lo,
The Blackthorn bears the purple sloe!
But ah, how much
Too sharp these plums,
Until the touch
Of Winter comes!

(Cicely Mary Barker)'

Well, I will finish with two more photos of a Heron taken on one of our visits to Draycote Water.

Grey Heron

I do hope all my blogland friends in the UK are staying safe in the atrocious weather we are experiencing and my thoughts are particularly with the people of Cockermouth and elsewhere in Cumbria who are suffering so badly at the moment...