Amber
It’s rained for most of the day, which sabotaged my butterfly plans, but which I’ve decided to overlook because the ground has been perilously dry and really needs it. I almost think I can hear the garden slurping. So instead … Continued
What’s your poison?
If you’re a Cinnabar moth caterpillar it’s the pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in your food plant ragwort, which render you both bitter-tasting and toxic – a fact which you advertise via your vivid stripy jacket, warning potential predators to give you … Continued
Gatekeeper
It’s been a hectic week and I had intended to give myself a quiet day today, maybe catching up on some unprocessed photo files, but it didn’t turn out that way. I did what my back is now telling me … Continued
Preserving
A few days ago I had a sudden yen to make a chicken tagine. Now, normally when I get the urge to do cooking, I simply go and do something more interesting until it recedes; but on this occasion the … Continued
Thistles for breakfast
I went out this morning to the thistly verge, and as I’d hoped it was busy with leafcutter bees – as well as numerous other bees, hoverflies and butterflies. I did manage photos of several different species of bee, but … Continued
Essex, and friend
It was another blistering day, but I wanted a bug shot; so I slathered myself with sunscreen and set off for Tilly’s field, which is the nearest wild flower meadow to the house. But when I got to the gate … Continued
Fartnarklery
Birds are quite annoying, aren’t they? Waterfowl, I mean: swans, geese, and so on. This is a blend of three long exposures, and while I was expecting to have to deal with the odd ghost fowl on the water, it … Continued
Demoiselle tai chi
I hit the insect jackpot at lunch time today – unexpectedly, because a first look around the garden hadn’t revealed anything much other than honey bees and flies of various kinds, and I’d just decided that I was going to … Continued
