In the Garden

The garden is looking good at the moment and I really enjoy photographing it.

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Evening light

A favourite spot.

Rhododendron

Rhododendron

Rhododendron

Rhododendron

Rambler

Rambler

Rambler

A Walk Along the Ancholme

As Lockdown restrictions are being eased slightly we made the decision to meet Thomas at Doncaster services.  He had been to Doncaster to buy a new car and we met up afterwards at the services, taking our own flasks, sandwiches and chairs and keeping the recommended 2m distance from each other.  Rather than just drive to the services and back, however we decided to have a walk along the Ancholme on the way.  I hoped for butterflies and we wanted to have a look at the new bike trail along the river.

The original plan was to park at Horkstow Bridge, walk down the river to Saxby Bridge and back on the other side.  However, when we arrived at Horkstow, there was a large group of 20 somethings in 3 or 4 cars swimming and BBQing and playing music very loudly.  This is not the first case I have heard of people crowding to normally quiet spots.  Recently so many people besieged Limber for the Brockelsby Estate walk and the parking mayhem and damage caused in the woods has resulted in its closure.  This behaviour is inexcusable.  I also heard yesterday that a similar situation was Hubbard's Hills in Louth.  Deciding not to stay we drove back to Saxby All Saints and the bridge there and walked towards Bonby Carr Lane.  The butterflies I had hoped for didn't materialise, although I did find some beautiful dog roses - one of my favourite flowers.  I wonder if the dry weather is the cause of the lack of butterflies.  We have had no significant rain for over three months.  From floods we moved straight into pandemic lockdown and drought.  When will this world learn that we cannot keep desecrating the planet.

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Looking towards South Ferribly Sluice

Saxby Bridge

A Day on the Bikes and a Picnic.

A Local Day out on the Bikes with a Picnic.

An excellent day out on the bikes today with a couple of good sections of off-roading.  The weather was perfect: low twenties but muted sun which meant for perfect conditions.  Our route took us to Brigsley, ou along Waithe Lane and then an off-road section to Grainsby Park where we had out picnic enjoying watching our first house martins of the year and a pair of blue tits busily feeding chicks in a nest in a hole in the church stone work.  We continued on through the park and the second off road section across to Ashby cum Fenby before joining the main road back into Grimsby and retracing our outward route.  An excellent 17 miles.

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A Good Night's Mothing.

A Good Night's Mothing

I had a good night's mothing last night.  The temperature remained above 10C all night and it was a new moon so, basically, no moon which is good.  I was up at 5.00 this morning emptying the trap and annoyingly had two or three escapees before I could get them potted.  During the day I managed to ID those with which I was unfamiliar and then photographed them tonight, also suffering a couple of escapees.  Below are images of new moths for me plus the heart and dart which I photographed against a different background than previously.

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Heart and Dart

Poplar Grey

Poplar Grey

Poplar Grey

Rustic Shoulder Knot

Treble Lines

Messing with Insects at Messingham

A Brilliant Day's Insect Hunting at Messingham Sand Quarry.

I was up at 4.30 this morning to get an early start to Messingham.  Partly because I wanted to catch the damselflies when they were fairly inactive and also to avoid the possibility of it being crowded.  As it was when I arrived at 6.15 mine was the third car in the car park.  I was really good to be back at Messingham again; my first visit since 2015.  It was already warm and birds were singing loudly everywhere, especially reed warblers singing from deep in the reed beds.  Annoyingly none showed themselves.  Willow warblers and chiffchaff were also vocal and I heard my first cuckoo of the year.

Damsels were fairly inactive at first and I took my first photograph at 6.30.  As the day warmed up, though they became very busy and there were thousands of them whirring around like living jewels.  They were nearly all blue-tailed or azure and I saw no common blues, at least not to identify.  There were a few large reds though and some variably coloured females: rufescens with a pink thorax and infuscans with a green thorax rather than the normal green/blue.  The big dragons didn't appear until the day really got warmed up and I managed to photograph some pristine four spotted chasers.  Two hairies were seen but these were up in the trees and impaoosible to photograph.  I was pleased to obtain photos of male and female common blue, the only two I saw, and a single speckled wood but otherwise butterflies apart from orange tip were thin on the ground.

By mid-day I had walked 5 miles and was ready for a break so headed home for some post processing and a nap.  A brilliant morning though.

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Azure female

Azure male

Azure mating pair

Blue-tailed female, rufescans

Blue-tailed

Blue-tailed

Blue-tailed

Blue-tailed

Blue-tailed mating pair

Blue-tailed mating pair

Common Blue

Common Blue

Common Blue

Four spotted Chaser

Four spotted Chaser

Four spotted Chaser

Four spotted Chaser

Large red damselfly

Scorpion Fly

Scorpion Fly

Scorpion Fly

Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood

Long Jawed orb weaver

Mute Swan

Mute Swan