Bread

Tags

baking, bread, flour, mill pond, mute swans, Pakenham Water Mill, tea shop

Pecan and maple-syrup loaf made in the breadmaker

For the past couple of years I have been making almost all the bread we eat using a bread-maker.  If I had the time and strength in my hands I wouldn’t use the bread-maker as much as I do but would knead my own dough.  However, needs must and so I use the machine.  Bread-makers don’t make perfect loaves but the bread is so much nicer than most shop-bought loaves; the texture and the taste especially.  We know what goes into the loaves – there are no hidden ingredients – and I try to use the best flour available to me.  For white flour I use Marriage’s Strong Organic and until November I used Pakenham Water Mill Flour for my wholemeal flour.  Since November I have not been able to buy Pakenham’s flour as the farm shop I used had to close down.  The mill itself isn’t open at weekends during the winter and I can’t get there on Thursday mornings when it is open.  I have been using Marriage’s Strong Wholemeal flour instead.  The results are not the same.  The bread is heavier in texture and the loaves don’t rise so well as when I use Pakenham’s flour.  I am looking forward to Easter when the mill re-opens for the summer.

This is Pakenham Water Mill (on the right) and the former miller’s house.

We have visited the mill a couple of times for a tour and these photographs were taken last summer.

They have a little tea shop in the miller’s house and Richard and I partook of scones and tea. Richard had cheese and chutney with his scone and I had clotted cream and jam with mine.

They make all their cakes, bread and scones using their own flour.  The flour is made from locally grown wheat and is milled twice to make it as smooth as silk.

This is the view I had of the little kitchen where two ladies prepared all the meals for the visitors.

The view of the river across the road in front of the mill

The river at the back of the mill. They have a bird-feeder hanging from the ancient plough.

The Mute Swans that live on the mill pond

The mill pond. The pond never dries up as there are a number of springs feeding it all year round.

The miller’s house

Pakenham also has a windmill and it can be seen from the bottom of the watermill’s garden

Elderberries ripening in the garden

Heartsease growing in the grass

House Martin’s nests under the eaves

The boat on the mill pond

A photograph of the mill I took in 2013 during a previous visit.

Please try to click on the link to the watermill if you have the time.  It describes the working of the mill and its history (briefly!) better than I could ever do.

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I hope you have enjoyed your visit to the watermill!

 

Yet More Garden Visitors.

Tags

birds, buzzard, common darter dragonfly, Damselfly, dove, emerald damselfly, flea beetle, garden, garden spider, grey dagger caterpillar, insects, leaf beetle, long-tailed tit, moorhen, snail, spider's webs

This is the last collection of photographs I took last year of the creatures I saw in my garden.  This post starts with photos I took in mid September and continues until the beginning of November.

A Flea Beetle. Not a particularly desirable insect to have in the garden but I was fascinated by its shiny wing cases and the enormous rear legs used for jumping.

A Leaf Beetle – I think this may be Chrysolina varians which lives on St John’s-wort. It was such a pretty iridescent beetle that I found on the clothes hanging on my washing line. With apologies for the horrible hand!

Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

I am pleased that Buzzards are returning to East Anglia.   Until eight or nine years ago I had never seen one here.

Some beautiful dew-covered Garden Spiders’ webs (Araneus diadematus) I saw at the beginning of October

Apologies for the out of focus image. I believe this is an Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) or it might even be a Scarce Emerald Damselfly (Lestes dryas)

I spent ages following this damselfly round and round the pond until at last it settled and then of course, the camera wouldn’t focus on it!

I saw it again the following day perched on willowherb seeds.

This is a better photograph but still not as clear as I would like.

I had never seen one of these damselflies before.  What makes me think it is an Emerald Damselfly is (a) its green body, (b) the way it rested with its wings spread out and (c) the brown wing-spot.  What makes me think it may be a Scarce Emerald Damselfly is the size of the wing-spots which are quite wide.  (The Emerald Damselfly’s wing-spots are narrow).

Grey Dagger moth caterpillar (Acronicta psi)

The prominent soft spike is just behind the caterpillar’s head which makes it look back-to-front. Probably a ruse to fool birds. The moth has dagger shaped markings on its wings. I found the caterpillar in the bottom of the wheelbarrow after I had taken the pyracantha prunings down to the heap at the bottom of the garden.

Common Darter Dragonfly (Sympetrum striolatum)

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) in Spindle tree

And again

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

White doves sitting on the shed roof

Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus)

Spider silhouette

I held the begonia leaf so that I could photograph the markings on the spider’s back

A tiny yellow snail on a dead leaf. I think this is a White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

I hope you have enjoyed looking at some of the things I saw in my garden last year.  Best wishes to you all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Garden Visitors

Tags

crane fly, digger wasp, Dragonfly, Flesh Fly, garden, Grove snail, harvestman, hawthorn shield bug, ichneumen wasp, insects, moth, ruddy darter, Suffolk, The Suspected

Another collection of photos I took last year in my garden.

A Grove Snail (Cepaea nemoralis) also known as Dark-lipped Banded Snail. I saw this one on the leaves of a cherry tree sapling.

This is a digger wasp, probably (Ectemnius continuus) or one of several similar species! This insect nests in rotten wood and stocks its burrow with flies.

The Digger Wasp on the right and another unidentified wasp on the left

Another image of the large ichneumon wasp that visited the fennel flowers regularly

This moth came into the house one evening and landed on my notebook. I think it is called The Suspected (Parastichtis suspecta)

Looking at it from another angle

Flesh Fly (Sarcopharga carnaria)

Harvestman (Leiobunum rotundum)

These creatures are closely related to spiders.  The second pair of legs, which are longer than the others, are used to feel its way about.  Unlike spiders, the harvestman has the head and thorax attached to the abdomen without a dividing waist.  There are about 26 species of harvestmen in Britain and their food ranges from small insects to decaying plant material and even bird droppings. They don’t use webs to trap their food but a few of the species use sticky hairs on their mouthparts to ensnare prey.

Another insect that came indoors was the Hawthorn Shield Bug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale)

This shield bug feeds on the fruits and leaves of the hawthorn and many other trees and shrubs.  It is a ‘stinkbug’ too, because of the stinky fluid it exudes when it is alarmed.

Here it is again.

A Crane Fly – may be Tipula oleracea the Common Cranefly.  This is a male.

Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)

Ruddy darter again.

I believe this may be a female Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)

Hawthorn Shield bug nymph – 5th instar (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale) 

That’s it for now.  I have enough photos for just one more  post.

A Trip to the Seaside

Tags

architecture, beach huts, coast, lighthouse, pier, Punch and Judy, Sailor's Reading Room, seaside, Southwold, Suffolk

Southwold beach

Maybe this wasn’t a good day for a frolic in the sea!

I have had a heavy head cold since last Wednesday and on Sunday Richard thought a trip to the sea was in order.  We had mist first thing in the morning and on the way to church with my mother the sun was trying to break through.  We thought it would be fine when we got out of church but sadly it wasn’t.  The mist had risen slightly but cloud had descended and the rest of the day was very gloomy indeed.  The temperature was about 7 degrees centigrade but when we got to the coast the strong on-shore breeze made us feel very cold and our ears started to ache.

The car-park by the pier

During the winter months, owners of these beach huts get them lifted up from down by the beach to here, in the car-park, where there is less chance they will get battered by storms.  Those that can’t afford to move their huts have to hope that we don’t have too many high tides and gale force winds.  You may wonder why the owners would want to pay to have what looks like a shed moved to the car-park.  You may be surprised to hear that last year one of these huts went on the market for £100,000 and it was thought that it might have sold for more than that.  For this price you get a painted hut with no electricity or running water but in a ‘prime location’.  You also get a 30 year lease from the council but you have to pay non-domestic annual rates and other charges.  Last year the rates were £720.

The view looking inland from the car-park.  Buss Creek.

The boating lake

The seagulls appreciate the calm waters here.  Seaside resorts are a little sad in the winter-time I think.  I like the sadness.

There is only one road in and out of Southwold which is almost an island, bordered by the North Sea to the east, the River Blyth and Southwold harbour to the south-west and Buss Creek to the north.

A Punch and Judy performance on the sea front

A few views of the sea.  I expect you wish you had been with us!

Southwold pier

The pier was built right at the end of the 19th century and was approximately 810 feet long with a T junction at the end to make a landing stage for ‘Belle’, the steamer bringing holiday makers to the town.  The T junction was swept away in a great storm in 1934 and was only replaced in 2001.  The pier was further damaged in 1955 and 1979 and had to be closed to the public in 1998.  Restoration started in 1999 and it is now an award-winning pier with a pavillion, restaurant, bar and amusements.  When we were in Southwold on Sunday we could hear a saxophonist playing from the pier.  We didn’t venture onto it because of the wind-chill.

Southwold lighthouse

The whitewashed tower of the lighthouse can be seen from afar but is very difficult to find when you walk round the town with its narrow winding streets.  It is 101 feet tall and commenced operation in 1890.  It was originally illuminated by paraffin but was converted to electricity in 1938.

A couple of small cannon near the sea front.

Southwold does in fact own six 18 pound cannons which were given to the town by the Royal Armouries as protection for the town and to shipping from pirate raids in the 18th century.  We didn’t get as far as Gun Hill on Sunday.

Southwold cottages

There are many second homes and holiday cottages in the town which most of the year stand empty.  Local people can’t afford to live in these tiny cottages.

A couple of grander houses.

Richard and Elinor walking in Southwold

Richard and Elinor in the shelter and behind it some examples of the interesting architecture to be found in the town.

I am often reminded of ‘Mary Poppins’ by P L Travers looking at the platform above the shelter and think that Admiral Boom would find it ideal for firing his cannon from.  ‘The Ghost and Mrs Muir’ comes to mind when I look at one of those grander houses I showed above.

More Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans) with some new leaves of Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) in front

I joined Richard and Elinor in the shelter for a while and just in front of us on the grass slope that descended to the beach was this large patch of Heliotrope.  It really shouldn’t be there and shows how invasive it is.  Since seeing the Heliotrope last Sunday that I included in my post ‘Weekend’ I have seen this plant everywhere.  It does have a wonderful scent though and in spite of my cold I could smell the vanilla perfume very well.

A chilly little Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba) was walking about near our feet.

The Sailor’s Reading Room

This was built in 1864 in memory of Captain Charles Rayley RN a naval officer who served at the time of the Battle of Trafalgar and who died in 1863.  Its purpose was as a refuge for fishermen and mariners when not out at sea and it was hoped it would keep them out of the pubs and would encourage them in Christian ideals.  The Reading Room still provides daily papers and a place to read them and continues to be a social base for local fishermen, lifeboatmen and coastguards.  It is now a Registered Charity and contains a museum with exhibits showing the town’s seafaring past.

East Green

In 1659 there was a devastating fire in the town and most of the buildings were lost and many people were made homeless and destitute.  In the rebuilding of the town, it was decided to incorporate a number of greens as fire breaks.  This is East Green.

Some of you may remember a film made for TV in 1987 by Michael Palin called ‘East of Ipswich’ which was based on his own memories of seaside holidays in the 50’s.  It was filmed in Southwold.

Best wishes to you all!

In My Garden

Tags

Ash, birds, blackthorn, catkins, Christmas box, crocus, flying mallards, garden plants, goldfinch, hazel, hazel gall, horse chestnut, ice, iris reticulata, lichen, Mahonia, moon, pond, reflections, silver birch, song thrush, Suffolk, trees, winter-flowering honeysuckle, witch-hazel

This is a post featuring a few of the things I have noticed in our garden recently.  A large part of the garden is exposed to the prevailing south-westerly wind and we find plants here are slower to grow and flower than those in other gardens near us.  I have seen large carpets of Winter Aconites in other peoples gardens but there is no sign of them here at all.   The beds around the house and near the hedge are more sheltered and this is where we see the first signs of spring.

Buds on the Ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior)

I like the Ash’s black, conical buds – they look a little like deer hooves.  So far, we haven’t found any sign of ‘Ash die-back’ in our garden yet.  This is caused by the Hymenoscyphus fraxineus fungus.  East Anglia is badly affected and has lost many of its Ash trees already.

Horse-chestnut sticky buds (Aesculus hippocastanum)

Little red buds on the Blackthorn in the hedge (Prunus spinosa)

While I was photographing these I looked up and found a Barn Owl was flying straight towards me.  I don’t know who was more surprised, the owl or me!  I tried to photograph it before it veered away from me but I couldn’t focus in time.

Lichen in the hedge

 Hazel male catkins (Corylus avellana)

 

Hazel female catkins with their tiny red petals

Hazel bud

 

 

Hazel buds.

I wondered what these were on our hazel trees as I had never noticed them before.  None of my books mentioned buds looking like this so I googled for information and discovered a photograph that looked like mine on ramblingsofanaturalist.blogspot.com.  The author says that these are bud galls made by the mite Phytoptus avellanae.  He also talks about unopened brown catkins which have been attacked by either the mite Phyllocoptes coryli or the Cedidomyid midge Contarinia coryli.   I had also seen distorted brown catkins and had wondered about them too but had been unable to get a clear photo of them.

Reflection of sky and cloud in our big pond

Flying ducks

Our Silver Birch tree (Betula pendula) is also growing its catkins.

Thin ice on the pond. Hail has got frozen onto the ice that was already there.

The icy pond

The Witch-hazel (Hamamelis) is flowering in its large pot next to the front door and on mild days fills the porch with scent.

The Christmas Box (Sarcococca) is also scenting the garden.

Another scented shrub – the Winter-flowering Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima)

This shrub Honeysuckle is a real favourite of mine.  Its small flowers are powerfully scented and it flowers from mid-winter until well into spring hardly stopping except in the harshest of weathers.  It is virtually evergreen and the flowers are followed by bright red heart-shaped berries loved by Blackbirds.

The Mahonia (Mahonia x media ‘Charity’) with its Lily-of-the-Valley scent has been flowering since the end of October.

The first of my miniature Iris Reticulata bloomed today

A tiny crocus has appeared in the rough grass under one of the crabapple trees.

I found some more – paler ones this time. I hope the birds don’t rip them up and the mole doesn’t dig them up.

 

 

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)

Finally, here is the setting full moon seen on the morning of 4th February.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend

Tags

Celandines, clouds, daffodils, Dog's Mercury, dogwood, farmland, Jacob sheep, lichen, Lords and Ladies, primroses, snowdrops, St Margaret's church, Suffolk, sunset, walking, Winter Heliotrope

Calves in the cow shed at our friends’ farm.  The blurring is caused by the calves’ steamy breath.

On Saturday, Richard and I went to the church coffee morning held this month at our friends’ farm instead of at the Rector’s house.  Our Rector had his heart surgery last week, and will be off work for some time while he recovers.  We wish him a speedy return to full health.  As usual we listened to all the gossip and news.  I bought some delicious home-made Bakewell bars which we ate later that day and Richard won a tin of sweets in the raffle.

Saturday was cloudy and chilly but there was no frost and the birds were singing lustily.  I heard the chaffinch’s spring song for the first time this year.

Sunday was a much brighter day.  The church service was held at our church in Rumburgh so Richard and I got there early to get things ready.  The church didn’t need much tidying as I had helped another lady to clean it thoroughly on Friday and there had been a wedding on Saturday afternoon after which Richard had tidied up again.

After lunch we went out for a walk.  We decided against driving somewhere and also thought it better not to walk across the fields as everywhere is waterlogged.  We took our usual circuit of a couple of miles, walking along the lanes.  I have photographed this walk so many times now, so I will just show you a few of the new and/or interesting things I saw.

A part of the ditch in our lane has recently been chased out. Regular ditch maintenance is necessary to ensure proper field drainage and to stop flooding on the roads.

This field has been newly ploughed. For years probably, it has been rough grass with heaps of old rusty farm implements alongside the hedge.

Italian Alder tree (Alnus cordata)  There is a row of these trees along the roadside.

Italian Alder catkins

I found that Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) was already starting to flower.

This plant is found in woodland often forming carpets, also under hedges and in other shady places.  It has a fetid smell and is poisonous, being a member of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae).  Male and female flowers are found on separate plants and are small and yellow in spikes.  It is pollinated by midges.

Bright green Dog’s Mercury.

Lords-and-ladies (Arum maculatum)

Another woodland and hedgerow plant.  I was surprised that these leaves were matte green – they are usually glossy.  Another plant that smells of decay when in flower, the berries are poisonous and the roots have a high starch content.  In Elizabethan times the roots were gathered to make starch for stiffening the high pleated linen ruffs that were then in fashion.

The white spots in the photo are midges or Winter Gnats flying in the sunshine.

This dead tree at the end of a hedge and at the entrance to a field is covered in lichen. The bark of the tree has started to fall off taking the lichen with it.

 

 

Our long shadows and that of the hedge behind us can be seen on the field as I took a photo of the beautiful cloud patterns

The clouds.

The Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) twigs were blazing in the low sunlight.

A hollow tree. In spite of its hollow trunk and all the ivy growing up it the tree, an oak I think, is still alive.

Jacob sheep. They will be having their lambs soon.

 

 

 

 

Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans) growing along the roadside verge near someones house. The flowers are vanilla-scented and the plant spreads quite quickly preferring damp and shady places. It is a naturalised garden plant.

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) in the churchyard

Primroses too! (Primula vulgaris)

St Margaret’s church porch has an upstairs room.

 

 

 

 

White lichen on a gravestone

A daffodil bud in the sheltered churchyard.

 

Celandines (Ranunculus ficaria) flowering on the roadside verge.  I was so surprised to see these as they don’t usually appear until March.  They were everywhere I looked, though as the sun was setting they were closing up for the night.  I should have got there an hour earlier.

Sunset.

 

We got home as the sun sank below the horizon.

This week Elinor is taking her mock GCSE exams.  She has already taken Psychology and English.  Maths is on Wednesday and Thursday and Art is all day on Friday.  She is coping very well indeed though she is exhausted already with the strain of it all.

Richard stays away from home only one night this week; Wednesday night is spent in Gloucestershire.  On Friday he goes back to the specialist to find out more about the lesion/tumour on his pituitary gland and what is to be done about it.

I am disappointed at not being able to go to Sheffield  to see Alice perform in ‘Emma’ especially as she is taking the leading role.  I would really have loved to see her and support her but the performances are at the same time as Elinor’s exams and Richard’s hospital visit.  I also don’t have much money to spare for train travel and hotel rooms after Christmas and Elinor’s birthday in January.

My mother is fine.  She went to the eye specialist on the 30th December and had to return the next day for an injection to stop a bleed in her eye.  We went back last week for a check-up and fortunately all is well again.  The next appointment is in mid March.  My brother has filed for divorce and is in the process of selling his house.  He is moving to Suffolk to be near us and Mum and especially his daughter and has got a transfer to work in the open prison in Suffolk and continue his teaching.  My sister is working hard as always as a paramedic practitioner. She got her degree and will be getting her certificate at a ceremony in May.  My mother-in-law is out of hospital and in a nursing home.  This is a temporary arrangement as she hasn’t yet been assessed but we all know that she won’t be able to go back home.  She has a weak heart, breast cancer, problems with her thyroid and has lost all her mobility.  All so sad.  She understands the situation and is making the best of it; such a sensible woman.

 

Peak District Holiday 1st to 9th July. Days 7 to 9.

Tags

Peak District, The Roaches, Tittesworth Water, walking

As we were nearing the end of our holiday and the weather looked as though it would stay fine, Richard and I decided it would be a good idea to do another walk while we had the chance.  We had made a list of the walks we wanted to do before we came on holiday and we had already walked in Back Forest and up Hen Cloud.  Our third choice was a walk we had never tried before – along the top of the Roaches.  Our book of local walks suggested a circular walk starting at Tittesworth Water, walking across farmland up to where we usually park our car for our Hen Cloud walk and then up from there to the Roaches.   After descending from the rocks at the far end we would be able to follow paths and lanes back to where we left our car at the reservoir.  Richard made us some sandwiches, I washed up and packed our rucksacks and we set out about 11 o’clock.

Tittesworth Reservoir

Tittesworth reservoir is a very short drive from our camp.  We had been there before but only for a short visit about seven years ago.  It has a visitor centre and people are welcome to walk all round the water and watch the many different types of wildfowl that live there.  Boating is also a popular activity on the water.

We walked from the car-park to Meerbrook, a village next to the water.

I liked this mossy wall which surrounded someone’s garden.

I didn’t take many photos during the first half of the walk as it became quite hard-going shortly after we left the village.  The paths were very overgrown or we sunk into deep mud.  The local farmer hadn’t kept the ways clear and so it was difficult to follow the directions set out in our guide.

Honesty (Lunaria annua)  A garden escapee that has naturalised all over the country.

Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris)

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

We found a man tying up a gate with binder twine and asked if we could use the gate to get to the path we needed.  He said we could use the gate and then commented on the humidity of the day – nothing else.  We walked on and found the way blocked by an electric fence which we had to crawl under – not easy for those like us who are past the first flush of youth.  Getting up again is much more difficult than getting down on the ground.  Why hadn’t the farmer/farm worker said anything about this to us?  It amused him, no doubt.  We had to pass through a farm yard next.

This old conveyor-belt caught my eye…..

and I liked the barn.

We then lost the path at the corner of a field and had to scrabble about for a while til we found what we hoped was the right way.  We were discussing what our options were when, to our great surprise a man’s head popped over the wall above us and asked if he could help.  It is a very strange thing to think that you are in the middle of nowhere and then find that a man is hanging out his washing in his garden right next to you!  He was very helpful and we were on our way again.  By this time we were very hot and tired as the way had been difficult and uphill all the way.  Richard was getting annoyed and I had a great urge to laugh!

We had just entered the bottom of a steep field when we saw a muck spreader arrive and start its smelly work on the opposite side of the same field.  It was a race against time for us to get to the top of the field before the tractor had worked its way over to our side.  We knew that the driver would not have stopped his work just for us.  Fortunately we just managed it in time but we were so tired!  The main reason for this walk was to climb the Roaches and we hadn’t reached them yet.  We had thought the walk across the fields would have been a pleasant preliminary but we had sadly been mistaken!

We were now at the base of Hen Cloud and decided that we would stop for a short while and have our lunch after which we turned and walked towards the Roaches.  They, with Hen Cloud and Ramshaw Rocks, form a gritstone escarpment which marks the south-western edge of the Peaks.  The Roaches consist of two edges – a Lower and an Upper Tier.

Crested Dog’s-tail (Cynosurus cristatus)

The Roaches are very popular with climbers.

This is Rock Cottage which is built into the rocks of the Lower Tier. It was formerly a gamekeeper’s cottage but is now a climbing hut.

A set of rock steps connect the Lower and Upper Tier. Richard is at the top.

The views through the trees from the top of the steps looking down and then upwards were very fine.

There were climbers everywhere.

These edges provide some of the best gritstone climbing in the country with famous classic routes such as ‘Valkyrie’, ‘The Sloth’ and ‘The Swan’.

These strange rocks have been weathered by the elements.

The pine tree is growing out from a crack in the rocks.

There was something of interest to look at whichever way we turned.  Please click on the images to enlarge them.

Sheep are never far away in the Peaks.

I was surprised to see what I believe is Common Cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium) flowering this late in the season.  It could be Hare’s-tail Cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum).  Either way, their flowering time is usually April to May.

Tittesworth water away below us

A view of another escarpment in the distance

 

Doxey Pool is on the top of the Roaches.  According to legend it is inhabited by a water spirit or mermaid known by some as Jenny Greenteeth.  The pool is said to be bottomless and connected by an underground passage to another Mere or lake which also contains a water spirit.  Doxey Pool is situated many hundreds of feet above any known spring.  We didn’t see anything ‘unexplained’ while we were there!

View from the path

Richard is far ahead as usual

A selection of rocks.

Heather (Calluna vulgaris)

Richard standing at the trig point

The bench mark. Triangulation stations have now largely been superseded by digital mapping and aerial photography but many are kept because of their usefulness to hill walkers and because many people are so fond of them.

Yet more rocks!

Hello! says the sheep.

This is a cattle-grid (for those of you who don’t know). They enable traffic to use roads through farmland but stop the cattle from escaping from their pasture.

We left the Roaches and started to descend down through moorland and meadows.

We met a very friendly lamb.

Rosebay Willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium)

These drinking troughs that use spring water or little rivulets remind me of the picture of the spring bubbling out of the hillside in ‘Mrs Tiggywinkle’ by Beatrix Potter

 

I am not sure what this grass is and any suggestions would be much appreciated.  It may be False Oat-grass (Arrhenatherum elatius)  I apologise for the poor photos.

Some pretty vetch flowers. Probably Bush Vetch (Vicia sepium) 

We walked past a field full of bullock calves. I can’t resist them!

They are so curious and playful ….

and have such lovely faces!

 

I don’t know what this plant is either.  I tried to take photos of its flowers – pink-tinged white umbellifers – but none of them came out.  The stems are purple and hairy and the leaves are quite distinctive.  I thought at first it might be Cow Bane but that and Hemlock are hairless.

A Holly hedge (Ilex aquifolium)

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)

We soon found our way back to the reservoir and then returned to our caravan.  The following day was our last day and we had hoped to spend it sitting, reading and relaxing.  Fate and farmers decided otherwise.  The muck-spreading fever had taken hold and the field next to us was being fertilized.  We couldn’t stay where we were so we returned to Tittesworth Water and walked around there and had some lunch.  We amused ourselves for a while by watching some boys being taught how to row.  There were about six boys to a boat and the group that we enjoyed watching most consisted of a couple of lads who did all the work and the rest just made a lot of noise.  The two who actually did the rowing were on the same side of the boat so they went round in circles.  In the end they had to be towed ashore.

The next day we got ready to leave but before returning home we drove to the station to collect Elinor who had been staying with Alice.  They both seemed to have had a good time together but both were very tired and needed sleep.  Our journey home was fortunately uneventful.

 

 

Garden Visitors

Tags

Brown Hawker dragonfly, butterfly, cuckoo bee, dragonflies, Field vole, Flesh Fly, flies, garden, ichneumon wasp, Large Yellow Underwing moth, micro moths, moths, Small Tortoiseshell butterfly, small white butterfly, Southern Hawker dragonfly, Tachina fera fly, wildlife

I will continue to post last year’s photos while this winter weather continues.  I am away from home for a good part of the day; certainly the part of the day with the best light for taking pictures.  We haven’t been out anywhere recently either, so nothing much to show or tell you.

Rear end of a vole. I think this may be a Field Vole (Microtus agrestis) rather than a Bank Vole (Clethrionomys glareolus).

Front end of a vole.

This vole was hiding behind the wheel of the hose-pipe cart.  In fact, the shots were taken just a couple of weeks ago but I was unable to add them to the other posts I’ve published this year.  Field Voles are aggressive and noisy rodents and like to live in damp and tussocky grass.  Exactly!  Our garden is full of that at the moment.

Bees on Chive flowers

I let most of my herbs flower as I prefer to see the insects and flowers to having perfect tasting herbs.

I believe this is a Cuckoo Bee (Psithyrus vestalis) on Chives.

A micro moth I found in grass. I haven’t yet discovered what it is called.

Another micro moth seen on a wall. I apologise for the shot being out of focus.

A Brown Hawker dragonfly. This is the only photo I managed to get of it and it blends in so well with the dead leaf it was perching on. This is our only Hawker with amber wings and has prominent yellow stripes on its thorax. These can just be seen above the wings. I believe this is a female.

Tachina fera on Marjoram.  The larvae of these flies are parasites of saw flies and other caterpillars.

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais urticae) on Marjoram

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly on Marjoram.

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly on Marjoram.

 

This is an Ichneumon wasp (possibly Amblyteles armatorius but I have my doubts about this ID). It is on Bronze Fennel.

Ichneumon Wasp and Flesh-fly (Sarcophaga carnaria) on Bronze Fennel.

Unknown moth.  Angle Shades moths (Phlogophora meticulosa) fold their wings like this but I am not sure that they are this dark in colour.

A rather chewed Small White butterfly (Pieris rapae).

Large Yellow Underwing moth (Noctua pronuba)

Southern Hawker dragonfly (Aeshna cyanea) – female.

Best wishes to you all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Visitors to my Garden

Tags

bumble bee, Damselfly, Dragonfly, frog, pond skater, Rabbit, squirrel, Suffolk, summer

This is a post title I have used before and a very useful one it is too!

I have been going through the photographs I took last year in my garden and have found a few that I didn’t post for one reason or another.  Some of them are ok and some of them are definitely not but I will include a few of the latter as a record to myself of what I saw.  I won’t bore you with all the shots at once but will split them up into digestible portions.

A young Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) photographed one evening in June

I veer about in my attitude towards rabbits.  When I see rabbit kittens and young rabbits like this one I am full of love towards them.  How sweet they are!  I once looked out of an upstairs window early one morning and saw a couple of adult rabbits with a tiny rabbit kitten.  The adults were watching the baby and eating grass now and then while the kitten was exploring and skittering about, having fun.  It then ran up to the adults and rolled on its back just in front of them.  One of the adults nuzzled its head against the baby.  It all looked so peaceful.

I don’t feel quite the same about rabbits when I find large holes dug in the flower bed or bark chewed off my favourite trees and shrubs.  I am grateful for the control exerted on our rabbit population by stoats.

While hanging washing out on the line one summer a young rabbit ran past me.  I could tell from the way it ran that it was distressed and wasn’t sure where to go.  It headed for one of our vegetable plots.  I then saw the cause of the rabbit’s fear;  a stoat appeared round the corner of the house and well, skipped past me and made straight for the vegetable patch.  I couldn’t bear to watch any more so I went back indoors.  We haven’t seen any stoats in the garden for a couple of years – but we haven’t had too many rabbits either!

A sun-bathing, dozing rabbit seen one morning in late June

This is (I think) a Red-tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus lapidarius) on a Welsh Onion flower.

A Common Frog (Rana temporaria)

This frog would not turn round so I could only photograph its back.  Common Frogs can be found in shades of yellow, orange, red, green, brown and even blue and usually have dark spots and markings on them.  They also have a dark patch behind the eye.

A Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)  This one is very thin!

Grey Squirrels were introduced into this country in the mid-19th century but didn’t become established here until the beginning of the 20th century after many releases.

 

 

 

Ruddy Darter dragonfly; male ( Sympetrum sanguineum )

Banded Demoiselle damselfly; male

 

 

This is a little out of focus but you can still see the dark iridescent band on this male’s wing

These beautiful damselflies are quite large and flutter their wings more as a butterfly does

 

Pond Skater ( Gerris lacustris )

They use their short front legs to capture prey that has fallen onto the surface of the water.

That’s it for now.