Honey for the soul

I love Cambridge, and I love the Botanical Gardens there, so it wasa  real treat to spend the day in the sunshine, meet up a with a good friend, walk, talk and picnic. I have to admit there was a lot of talking but done as we ambled around the Gardens, skipped across the stepping stones on the pond, drew breathe at the colour of some of the flowers and every so often stopped for me to gaze at a dragonfly. It is difficult to pick out the best plants there were so many, but the stunning heads of the aganpanthus were amazing, and  the colours of this yellow and red plant in the hothouse (and it was hot) were striking. The scented garden was lovely until the pungent aroma of the curry plant hit us, but the soft fragrance of the lavender and the sweet scent of the old fashioned roses were lovely. It was a wonderful place to spend the day at stare at God's creation - What is the world if full of care we have not time to stand and stare - and it was like honey for the soul and cool waters on the mind and emotions. A really special day.

I am fascinated by the lifecycles and different stages of the dragonfly. So it was brilliant last week to have a go a pond dipping and this marvellous larvae was the result. It is a darter but I cannot tell if it is a ruddy or common darter. Luckily the books tell me it is almost impossible to tell the difference without a good microscope and a key. But what can I tell about this?

It is a darter of the Sympetrum family. So if it is a ruddy darter mating will have taken place on the wing with the coupled pair performing a dipping flight over the water. The female jettisons her fertilised eggs at the water surface by alternating movements of the abdomen. The male will hover nearby during this period and protect the female by driving off any approaching males.If it were a common darter the story is not so different with the eggs are not laid, but broadcast from the air: the male holds the female in tandem and swings her down and forward over water at a height of around 40cm. At the furthest point of the arc the female releases some of her eggs to fall on the water.

So thats how life started for this little creature and it will probably have overwintered as an egg and then the larvae developed very fast in spring and early summer - so its possibly a year old. But it is not ready to emerge yet. The larva are fearsome hunters. If it is a ruddy darter it will often be found alongside the emerald damselfly which is true of the site where I found it, but I know that both ruddy and common darter live there so that takes me no further.

Well in the end I probably cannot ascertain which of the two it is but that does not matter. What a fantastic lifecycle - it will eventually emerge as a truely beautiful dragonfly and then enjoy a few weeks on the wing when its objective in life will be to start the cycle all again. Lets hope that is the case and looking forward to seeing these little jewels on the wing in the sunshine for the next few weeks.

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What a special day

Had a great hour at DENR Tuesday lunchtime- and it was wonderful to see 42 emerald damselflies. They are just like little jewels. But there were two really special things for me - the first this dragonfly exuviae. I knwo they are not intrinscally beautiful but they are intrinsically fascinating. They are almost exact replica of the dragonfly that emerges to spread its wings and live the final stage of ist last as a glorious insect. I am starting a collection of exuviae, and have this and a goldenring that I was given. The two are very different. This is the smaller of the two and having peered at it I am fairly sure it is a brown hawker. I think it has a broad mask which makes it different from the southern hawker and it is slightly smaller. The lateral spines on S6-9 help to make it this species. It was in the right place- on the stem of a reed mace - marginal vegetation. I just loves these and the story they tell. Really want to find more.

And then this very newly emerged common darter. Over and hour the colour deepened the veins in its wings started to fill out. It became more active and its eyes starting looking all around as only a dragon can. What a joy to see it take its first flight. Wonderful.

Bursting the boundaries

Life is a minestrone - its a rollercoaster, its full but it is never boring. And I have enjoyed keeping this blog as a diary of flora and fauna, but I am bored with doing it that way. So I am going to stretch the boundaries and it will also journal the journey, the wonderful journey of sadness, love, hurt and awe, being amazed, being still, being loved, giving love, being tired, feeling blessed, feeling distraught,being energetic, days of being drained, trying new things, cherishing old and good memories, being willing to fall over, but having the will to keep going, times of security and times of change, saying farewell and saying hello, joy and grief, laughter and quietness. Life is for the living. And thats so good to do and reflect on and jot down. Heres to life, just being and some doing.

The moth trap has been out these last few nights and I have a load of photos to look at and pore over and find out what they are. Got some help with this one so thats why its here today - a Poplar Moth - quite stunning. Dragonflies to follow in next entry once I have done the must dos of this week and can just enjoy their glory. But no time to get bored......and thats how I like it.

Damsel in the garden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A very rare occurence for me - a damsel in my garden pond - an azure who appears to be ovipositing no less. Wow- hope for the future?

Gold and yellow and more

Been really busy but got the moth trap out last night so when I looked out first thing and it was raining thought there may be little to see. But I was wrong! Trap rescued into the garage and there were at least 4 species new to me. The first was this Scalloped Oak. It was resting with its wings flat and is to be seen June- September an a few habitats but including gardens.

A very pretty small moth and I think its is a Gold Triangle. It is found in southern England with its wings spread and in gardens so ticks the boxes.

This one puzzled me for a bit and I am still not certain but having looked at a number of photos I am plumping for it being the Dot Moth. It was almost black with a glossy sheen and is described as "ubiquitous".

And this very attractive moth seems to be a Yellow Tail as when it flew I spotted the yellow and it has the characteristic black spots near the corner of its forewing. The flight time is right and its another that can be seen just about anywhere. There were several others but I am poring over them and the book so will see what I can work out. Moths are definitely challenging but great fun and a different surprise everyday!

A holiday in County Durham meant lots of time outside, walking and watching, and lots of time to sit outside the door of our lovely 400 year old cottage on the banks of the River Tees and enjoy the river and birds. It teemed with life from garden birds such as our resident blue tit and great tit families, visits from the nuthatch and greater spotted woodepecker, the turquiose flash of the kingfisher and the wren all outside our back door. The swallows nested in our eaves and the swifts screamed with joy as they swopped and soared. On our travels we saw over 45 different birds, from the red kite, to the meadow pipit , oystercatchers, skylarks, and a new one for me the ring ouzel. We saw the tiny bank vole, the hardy sheep of the Pennine slopes, squirrel, two humped camels, pigs, and so much more. It was a joy. I have to sort my photos of the butterflies and huge number of wildflowers and see if I can identify them. Dragons were in short supply but I did manage to find some damsels along the way. The beauty of the countryside was overwhelming - Teesdale, Swaledale, the Pennines and Wensleydale. Such beauty and all just a few hours up the road. A real breathe of fresh air - and the fantastic eggs from our resident hens. Does it get any better?