Saturday 8 December

Cold & Dry 

Burgh Wood View

 Billy

View from Primrose Hill

 Burgh Wood

 Meg looking for the muddiest way across

 I found this Wasp Queen on a ledge behind an old sponge, she is hibernating for the winter.

I was stunned by the way she had folded her wings, antennae and legs into herself, I took a few photos and she was beginning to wake in the warm deceiving sunshine so I put her back as I found her, I checked on her later and she was tucked up again.

She will hopefully make it through the winter to start a new hive. She has everything she needs for that purpose, now some people will say it's only a wasp but my answer is make me one! 

Take Care

Sunday 11 September

Damp again.

 Devil's-bit Scabious - Succisa pratensis

 Earth Star

 Honeysuckle  - Lonicera periclymenum

 Honeysuckle  - Lonicera periclymenum

 Wasp on Wild Angelica

Wild Angelica in seed - Angelica sylvestris

Arnold & Meg waiting for me.

Take Care.

Friday 28 January

Just freezing outside, but warm enough inside to wake this very dopey wasp queen, she was on the conservatory curtains.

After the photo session I put her in the greenhouse to come round and find a spot for the night.

Take care

Saturday 12 September

We had our usual detour around the Barrow Field.

They are still digging and making mounds.

Beech Mast
Notice this Cormorant on the Big Lodge very busy catching plenty of fish.
Deer Prints - we had seen the deer near Sunny Brow Bridge - a youngster and probably its mother, they crossed the river and went toward the rucks.

Fly Agaric

Knotgrass

Seven Spot Ladybird on Beech.

Prickly Sow Thistle

Found at the base of Beech - I think it may be Shaggy Scalycap.

Redshank

Wild Turnip among the Redshank

This is the spider on my trellis it had caught a wasp.

Soon had it wrapped for later.

Back to business waiting for the next victim.

Wednesday 9 September

Warmer & dryer today.

Beech Mast are opening, got a few in my pocket for rambling snacks.

This Elder was turning the most wonderful colours.
Found these in a Beech tree cavity.

The tree had been set on fire earlier in the year.

The colour of the leaf was eye catching - I do not know if the Hairy Gall was causing the problem.

Heron - seems to a favourite spot for him.

Speckled Wood - looks a little worn.

We seem to have a lot of wasps this year, I watch them at home and they have cleared the whole of my Nasturtiums - not a caterpillar to be seen, they carried them off. Natures own pest control, not that I think the caterpillars were a pest on my plants - although I use to think it when they stripped my cauliflowers & cabbages on my veggie plot.

Plenty of big spiders about.

A redundant stile - it's in better condition than some modern ones.

I love these root steps, not used now but I am sure they were years ago before the new steps were put in, Children still enjoy the climb, it leads to a stile and also the path to Dry Bones.

The weir it's still not been repaired - the recent rainfall has caused the water to flood over the weir.

Monday 3 August

We had a good walk and saw all sorts of things - I took 92 photos mainly records shots but I think these are of interest to some.

Currant Gall on Oak - there are a lot of galls about this year - even the acorns seem to be suffering.

I photographed a couple of these last week, since then I have had them ID as Fungus Gnats, now I am seeing them everywhere. This lot was feasting on wild angelica pollen.

I thought this was a gall on the Goat Willow - but it was rust.

It starts off as these pustules and turns to the rust we recognise.

The Heron was on the fields across the weir.

An unusual looking Hoverfly - it had black & white bands.

This is a lacewing larvae looking for aphids - they are usually a darker colour so I am wondering if this is fresh youngster.
It look the part with those pincers and a flicking tail, I left it to find it's breakfast. Certainly glad they are not Crocodile size.Macrodiplosis dryobia is the Latin name for this gall - a white larva is tucked up under the folded leaf edge.

Marble Galls on Oak.

Another Button Gall on Oak - this was hairy and purple/red.

This is another Spiders nest - smaller this time, I believe it could be a wolf spider.

I pulled the nest over so I could photograph the inside of the nest.

You can see the Spider with her blue egg sac.

Wasp

Wasp

Whose watching who?

Wood Sage

Wood Sage