Day 29 for #30dayswildcreativity: Winds (or Wings) of Change

The expanse between the garden and the wood is a turbulent ocean of leaves. The wind ruffles each branch in relentless pulses as it buffets the Silver Birch, Hawthorn and Horse Chestnut trees. No wonder the resident Blackbird’s sentinel perch at the top of the fir is currently untenanted. The 'crow’s nest' is Crow-less. Even the Magpies have made a dash for cover. Up above the highest branches, a tarpaulin of grey cloud blocks out the sun one might expect to see on this late June afternoon. Down below, flurries of Silver Birch seeds float in raindrops on the picnic table. The chairs we used for balmy alfresco meals only a few days ago have been carried indoors. 

A kit of Wood Pigeons has just flown past my window. I can hear the coo of the Collared Doves, but cannot see them. I wonder where the recently fledged Blue tits have hunkered down. The rambling rose bush is shedding peach-pink petals at an alarming rate. Its stems criss-cross in and out of the trellis and are still intact, but on a day like today I cannot help wondering whether the rose grower who gave the species the appellation of ‘High Hopes’ was feeling just a shade optimistic. The only plant that seems untouched by the strength of the gusts is, of course, the lofty and indestructible Mile-a-Minute.

Suddenly the sun appears for a few fleeting minutes. Velvet-brown wings skitter past my arm and come to rest, wide open, on a shiny leaf of what I think is Woodbine. I see they are framed by a delicate line of white scales. It may be the force of the storm that is ruffling my lockdown hair, but it is the unexpected joy of seeing what is only our second-ever Ringlet here in the garden that causes my heart to flutter.     

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This post was written as a response to Dr Miriam Darlington's #30dayswildcreativity 'Winds of Change' meme on her Facebook page. 

Day 25, #30 Days Wild: Ringlet butterfly

We saw our first Ringlet in the garden today, the first Ringlet we have ever seen here (though David noticed one on his walk around the block yesterday). I have just added it to my insect total for the garden: it is number 98 on my list. I am nearing 100, but it is taking a bit longer than I had expected.

Today's butterfly was very skittish, and I failed to photograph it before it fluttered over the fence; but when we set eyes on it, neither David nor I were in any doubt over its ID. The photos I have posted are from previous sightings in Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire and Scotland. 

I would like to think today's Ringlet was attracted by our long unmown grass. We have now seen a current total of 16 butterfly species in our suburban Suffolk garden this year: I know because I have been listing them on the Butterfly Conservation Garden Butterfly Survey. This year's Big Butterfly Count will run from 17 July to 9 August 2020 and I look forward to taking part.

Northern Holiday, 2017 (3): Aberlady Bay Nature Reserve

We returned a number of times to this beautiful corner, often in the evening when the call of the Curlew over the water and mudflats was utterly unforgettable. The photo below shows the approach to the reserve, and while there were no trolls in sight, it did make me think of the Three Billy Goats Gruff and their rickety-rackety bridge!

I particularly liked the bird-print sign on the green slat in the photo below.

And here we are: no prizes for guessing who was the tortoise...

It was lovely to see a few orchids beside the path...

... and one or two butterflies, like this Ringlet.

The photo below shows the bends in the bridge, but fails to give a good indication of its length.

There were some beautiful wildflowers, including Viper's Bugloss.

We had been given a tip-off by other visitors that there were tiny froglets about. We looked and looked along the damp paths, and were just about to give up when the large frog in the photos at the end of this post did a sudden leap in front of me, making me do a proverbial 'jump' out of my skin. After that lively introduction to the amphibian underworld of Aberlady, we got our eye in and found plenty of minute black and/or olive coloured froglets. There were so many, in fact, that we had to tread with the utmost care.

Aberlady became the first 'local nature reserve' back in 1952. It is beautiful by day and by night, with its ever-changing cloudscape, as you can see.