This time taken over Chedworth Woods

If there’s one thing that you can practically guarantee every single year, it’s that the moment the Giant Poppies decide to burst into flower in the back garden, it will totally **** down with rain and, before you know it, all the petals will get knocked off!!

….Don’t even ask!

I had a little time to spare today, so I placed a folding seat less than two metres away from the bird feeders at the front of the house, threw some camo scrim over my head and shoulders and waited to see what would show up (apart from the police that is)!I did this because I’ve been disappointed with the results of my hurried efforts to photograph the Long-Tailed Tits and the Goldcrest this week. The former are frequent visitors to the feeders while the latter is very a rare guest and…

Taken at home last night (21st November) from an upstairs bedroom window and a completely different sunset to the red and purple effort of the night before!

Huge banks of golds and russets were gradually replacing the multiple shades of green and I found myself wishing more and more that I could do it all at least some justice with my camera!

The distant sound of wildfowl (mostly Teal and Wigeon), the smell of wood smoke drifting across the lake on the breeze and the faint lapping of the water amongst the skeletal reeds all added to the scene as a solitary fisherman on the opposite shore cast his line into the lake for the hundredth time that day. Spring may well be on its way, but, for me, Winter has its moments too.

After sitting with my back to this old gatepost for about fifteen minutes while I ate my lunch, it gradually began to dawn on me that the loud protestations from a pair of nearby Great Tits may well have something to do with me directly, so I decided to move myself and my gear across to the other side of the lane to finish eating over there. Within moments all became clear as the very indignant and slightly worried birds made straight for the post carrying food in their beaks….for their…

I think I’ve mentioned elsewhere on one or other of my websites (there goes the short-term memory again) that Greater Knapweed is another one of those wildflowers that has a strong medicinal lineage, probably dating back thousands of years and that it has certainly been used up until quite recently in the treatment of wounds, bruises, sores, scabs and ruptures. I do remember as a boy however, occasionally helping my Gran to prepare it in potion form as a cure for sore throats….I was…

WinterlightDark well before 1700hrs and the rain’s been fairly persistent for days and days

A fine looking specimen from a family of insects that some people like to call Stink Bugs simply because many of the species included within it have the ability to emit a very pungent odour when disturbed. I was quite lucky to spot this individual because Hawthorn Shield Bugs are not particularly common and are quite well camouflaged.

….are usually good indicators of clean air.

I had just tested the PH levels of the the water in the little river I’d been walking alongside for most of the day, only to discover that it was leaning more towards the acidic, so I wasn’t really all that surprised to stumble across this pair of gorgeous Heath Spotted Orchids growing out of a clump of Sphagnum Moss (typically) on the river bank.It always fascinates me that, like its cousin the Common Spotted Orchid, this plant has such beautiful flowers, but that the leaves look…