Been away…

11Dec07

I’ve been away for the past couple of weekends… visiting people in London and Scotland.  Two lovely weekends, but now back to reality, for a couple of weeks until Christmas at least.

Snap #1

This was taken inside the British Museum on a wet and windy day, when almost everyone in London was in there.

Snap #2

This snap was taken at East Haven, on the east coast of Scotland.  There are lots of beaches round where we stayed, but it really wasn’t beach weather while we were away.

We flew back from Aberdeen yesterday.  In the ultimate irony, it was such glorious weather yesterday, and from the plane we could see practically all the way from Aberdeen to Edinburgh.  It was pretty amazing, and took my mind off the moment when the cup of mocha I was drinking developed a hole in the bottom and leaked all over me.

Back to nature when the ice melts…

Filed under: Photography, Scotland, Seaside, Travel   |  Leave a Comment

The ladybird tree

29Nov07

Yesterday’s moth has moved – (s)he is still hanging round on the moth wall though…  Today I spotted a tree which was crawling with ladybirds.  I got a few snaps, but the sweet little creatures were all running around and they all seem to be shot at slightly weird angles.

I’m off to London for the weekend.  I wonder if there will be any exotic wildlife there – apart from the people that is!

Filed under: Beetles, Insects, Nature, Photography   |  Leave a Comment

More action from the moth wall

28Nov07

The title is slightly misleading – more inaction from the moth wall is more appropriate. This little lovey has been hanging around in the same spot all week. I wonder if (s)he has passed over to the other side. Not the most exciting beastie in the world to look at, but it does have a lovely green shimmer to it. I’m afraid I haven’t the faintest clue what it is.

I’m about to start upping my knowledge of wee beasties. I’ve just received a book on entomology, which is hopefully going to be a good read. I bought another on the songs of insects (mainly American cicadas, katydids and grasshoppers) which comes with an audio CD of their music. Listening to it last night we realised that we were officially ‘old’, being unable to make out any of the high frequency songs.  It did have a rather soothing effect though, and him indoors was fast asleep by the end!

Filed under: Insects, Moths, Nature, Photography   |  Leave a Comment

Afternoon on the estuary

19Nov07

It was one of those days today where I was miles from my camera and there was a fabulous snap missed. There have been some dramatic skies today, lots of interesting and dark clouds, and for a while there were a couple of rainbows, one of which was very bright.  It certainly managed to distract me from work for 5 minutes or so.

The moth wall was occupied by a spider and a lacewing today.  Today is the day I have decided to always carry my camera with me!

Featured happy snap of the day is a shot taken on Saturday afternoon, looking out across the Exe Estuary from the Goat Walk in Topsham.  The tide was out and all the waders were in feeding in the mud.  We also popped into the hide at Bowling Green Marsh RSPB reserve, where a smug-looking cat was enjoying some attention from the bird watchers (and probably eyeing up the birds too!).  We’d left our binoculars at home, but did manage to identify some shovelers and avocets (amongst other things) out on the water.

Filed under: Birds, Devon, General, Nature, Photography   |  Leave a Comment

Plume moth

16Nov07

It was a freezing cold morning, and I came across this little fella on in the popular spot on the moth wall. It’s a plume moth, but I couldn’t tell you its scientific name.

I was hoping to get some wintry morning shots, but the light wasn’t right and my hands were turning blue.  I’m sure they forecast a bright sunny day today, so the camera went with me to work, but it turned out to be rather grey and drizzly.  At least the moth wall didn’t let me down.

Filed under: Moths, Photography   |  Leave a Comment

The colours of autumn

15Nov07

Today I was under the branches of an old oak tree.  But a couple of weeks ago we were out at Mamhead and I took this snap looking out down the hill, towards the estuary in the distance.  I was struck by the subtle autumn colours.  The trees have given us a wonderful display this year.  I’m now waiting eagerly for the spring, and the new life that it brings…

Filed under: Devon, Photography, Trees   |  2 Comments

What big eyes you have

29Oct07

One from the archives today. Well, it feels like a long time ago since we were in Japan, although in truth it has only been a month or so since we returned. This is one of the many, many dragonflies that we saw on our visit, posing for the camera at Nikko.

Today’s eye highlight was nothing more than a big snail, sliming its way up the moth wall.

Filed under: Insects, Japan, Photography   |  3 Comments

I can’t think of a witty title

28Oct07

It’s a fungus. Spotted on our outing last weekend, and looking fairly pristine from this angle. I think it might be a shaggy parasol, but I’m not very good at identifying this kind of thing.

I’m inside listening to some music today, as it’s a pretty dreich day outside and we haven’t ventured too far. I was watching some collared doves having a bath in a puddle (oops, I mean a dub), and a squirrel running backwards and forwards across the grass. My body clock is wondering what time it is, now that the clocks have gone back for the winter.

I wish it was spring again, with flowers popping up, and butterflies and beasties soaking up the sunshine. Oh well, at least we’ll be able to see the avocets again soon. This week I cycled past a field of lapwings and spotted a little egret on the river – there are lots of things to see on the usual trip to work when you aren’t in your car!

Filed under: Birds, Fungi, wishes   |  1 Comment

Did you see the sea that I saw?

23Oct07

This is the sea that I saw.  Did you see this sea too?  This happy snap was taken on a walk on Sunday, along the South West coastal path into Dartmouth.  It was a lovely day for a walk – bright, not too cold, and dry under foot.  For a scary moment I thought we were going to be trampled by a couple of cows who came running through the field, but they were more interested in moo-ing at a bull.  I might have overcome my fear of moths, butterflies and dragonflies, but I’m still on wobbly legs when I have to walk through a field of cows… What are they thinking?  Are they thinking?

Filed under: Devon, Seaside, Walks   |  Leave a Comment

Woof woof – I mean “bark”!

18Oct07

Spotted this tree while I was out at Escot a week or so ago. I’m not sure what it is, as I didn’t pay any attention to the sign attached to it, but I love the colour and texture of the bark.

I have become a stranger to my camera since I got back from holidays. I’ve also become a bit of a stranger to this blog. Hopefully the return of crisp, bright mornings might inspire me to action. In the meantime, here are some wishes.

“I wish I had my camera this morning when I cycled to work and went over the bridge across the river – it was very atmospheric with the mist lying low over the water.”

“I wish I had my camera when I spot a snail or a crane fly resting on the ever-popular wall at work.”

“I wish I had my camera on Monday when I was locking up my bike and a beautiful beetle was walking past.”

“I wish I had my camera when I saw the big red slugs walking across the path at work… before they got squashed by some work-issue footwear (why oh why must they dawdle on the footpath?).”

Filed under: Trees, wishes   |  1 Comment