saxonaxe
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Warm and sunny after overnight rain, although quite windy, but too nice a day to be indoors. So, haversack, Poncho, biccies and tea flask and a walk along the lake to the beach which is under a mile away from home. Via the woods..of course..
Rhododendrons in flower in the wood at the moment, a nice splash of colour in the greenwood.
Healthy looking bracket fungi
Even healthier looking brood on the lake, seen as I stepped out of the wood.
To the North of the arched bridge are the Reed beds and then relatively clear water below the bridge down to a Dam and the Southern or lower lake which is partly Tidal at it's Southern end.
This is the Dam, the Lower Lake is to the right and the sea is beyond.
At the moment various types of Water Weeds are coming to the surface in the warm weather and in places the surface looks quite pink in colour.
Crossing the Dam is a path to the beach. The Hawthorn (May) is in flower and the path here is heavily scented.
Butterbur. A strange plant. Male plants are common in the South of the Uk while female plants tend to grow in Yorkshire,Lancashire and other Counties North of Oxford. Mysteriously a single female flower will grow on the same stem as a male plant which allows fertilisation to take place and the Southern plants to survive. The flower spikes appear before the leaves which can grow to 80-90 cm across and yep, you've guessed it, were once used by country folk to wrap fresh churned Butter.
Ok, relax...Wild Flower nerd mode off now......
Sometimes I wonder how I survive this stressful life. I had to sit here in the sun, drink tea and suffer for ages..
Big seas thundering ashore in the distance contrasting with the bird song in the Gorse bushes behind me.
On the way home I came across this Caterpillar. It was writhing about in a violent manner on the path and on closer inspection I could see a tiny wound towards it's tail end. I believe that it had been the target of a member of the Ichneumon species of Wasp or Fly ( There are thousands of each in the species). Their tactic is for the female to inject eggs into a "Host" body, usually a Caterpillar which then become meals on wheels for the eggs when they pupate. Living off the internals of their host until it snuffs it, they burst out and fly away...
To finish on a lighter note, the Foxgloves are flowering along the walls near home, as are the Burnet Roses..
Rhododendrons in flower in the wood at the moment, a nice splash of colour in the greenwood.
Healthy looking bracket fungi
Even healthier looking brood on the lake, seen as I stepped out of the wood.
To the North of the arched bridge are the Reed beds and then relatively clear water below the bridge down to a Dam and the Southern or lower lake which is partly Tidal at it's Southern end.
This is the Dam, the Lower Lake is to the right and the sea is beyond.
At the moment various types of Water Weeds are coming to the surface in the warm weather and in places the surface looks quite pink in colour.
Crossing the Dam is a path to the beach. The Hawthorn (May) is in flower and the path here is heavily scented.
Butterbur. A strange plant. Male plants are common in the South of the Uk while female plants tend to grow in Yorkshire,Lancashire and other Counties North of Oxford. Mysteriously a single female flower will grow on the same stem as a male plant which allows fertilisation to take place and the Southern plants to survive. The flower spikes appear before the leaves which can grow to 80-90 cm across and yep, you've guessed it, were once used by country folk to wrap fresh churned Butter.
Ok, relax...Wild Flower nerd mode off now......
Sometimes I wonder how I survive this stressful life. I had to sit here in the sun, drink tea and suffer for ages..
Big seas thundering ashore in the distance contrasting with the bird song in the Gorse bushes behind me.
On the way home I came across this Caterpillar. It was writhing about in a violent manner on the path and on closer inspection I could see a tiny wound towards it's tail end. I believe that it had been the target of a member of the Ichneumon species of Wasp or Fly ( There are thousands of each in the species). Their tactic is for the female to inject eggs into a "Host" body, usually a Caterpillar which then become meals on wheels for the eggs when they pupate. Living off the internals of their host until it snuffs it, they burst out and fly away...
To finish on a lighter note, the Foxgloves are flowering along the walls near home, as are the Burnet Roses..
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