Tags
'Something in the Way She Moves', alderfly, azure damselfly, cactus flowers, communal mining bee, Early Purple Orchid, echinopsis oxygona, Four-spotted Chaser, greenfinch, highlights, Jacob sheep, lambs, oedemera nobilis, pond water-crowfoot, red campion, Robin, Southwold, Suffolk, The Beatles, the moon, The Saints Benefice in north Suffolk, the sea, thrift
The weather in May was changeable; cold, wet and windy for a few days then a couple of days of warmth and sunshine then back to cool and damp. The beginning of June wasn’t much different.
These first photos were taken towards the end of May in our garden or within a short walk of home.
Pond Water-crowfoot (Ranunculus peltatus) has two sorts of leaves; the submerged leaves are thread-like but the floating leaves have rounded lobes. I found this plant in the pond at the front of the house. It is a relative of the buttercup and appeared here for the first time this year.
Alderfly (Sialis lutaria) In this country we have just three species of alderfly and they are virtually indistinguishable from each other. One (this one I believe) favours still or slow-moving water and the other two prefer running water.
Adult alderflies are weak-flying insects and never move far away from water. The two or three weeks they spend as an adult are almost entirely taken up with looking for a mate. Most don’t bother feeding but some may nibble a little pollen or algae if they are in need of sustenance.
I think this Mining bee is a Communal mining bee (Andrena scotica). The females share a tunnel entrance but have separate nests underground. They prefer slightly open ground and so are often found near paths. I discovered this one while I was weeding and I think I had probably disturbed her nest. She was making a lot of noise; I am sure she was very cross!
I was being helped in my task by a friendly Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
ooOOoo
Richard had noticed some orchids on the grass verge of a lane near us so we set off to walk to where they were growing. I took a couple of photos on the way.
Lots of Red Campion (Silene dioica)
A Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris). I had to zoom as far as my camera was capable to enable me to get this rather grainy shot.
Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula)
Early Purple Orchid
Early Purple Orchid
We walked past a field full of Jacob sheep on the way back home
They are more like goats than sheep and the lambs are very endearing and inquisitive.
ooOOoo
At the very end of May we visited one of our local seaside resorts, Southwold, on a very cool and windy day.
Oh we do like to be beside the seaside!
The sea was rough…
…but this couple were happy to be there watching the waves together. Note how well wrapped up they were!
I like this weather vane on top of the Southwold Sailor’s Reading Room
These flowers caught my eye
Thrift (Armeria maritima)
ooOOoo
Within a day or so of our trip to Southwold the sun came out again and I was able to find insects to photograph.
Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
Male and female Azure damselflies
Male Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly (Libellula quadrimaculata)
My field guide says these dragonflies are rather dull but I don’t find them so.
Male Oedemera nobilis. A beetle that feeds on pollen; only the males have the swollen hind-legs.
ooOOoo
Just a few photos I took towards the middle of June.
Beautifully scented cactus flowers – Echinopsis oxygona
The moon
And finally a slideshow of a field of Common Poppies (Papaver rhoeas) I saw from the road at Ilketshall St. John this summer. I wished I could get closer to it! I think you may also appreciate this link. It is a wonderful description of where I live and also has praise in it for our Rector who will be retiring next August.
My music today is from the Beatles. Many of you will know why I have chosen this today (though I am a couple of days late as usual!). I was a student living in Liverpool at the time and heard the news of John’s death as I made my toast for breakfast on the 9th of December. Thirty-six years ago! I was surprised later to hear he had been shot on the 8th of December but I had forgotten the time difference. Listen to the superbly melodic bass playing!
Thanks for visiting!
A Suffolk Lane 
Beautiful photos and memories of spring and summer, Clare!
Yes, I also remember when John was murdered. I was a real shock to all. Hard to believe 36 years has passed! Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake and Palmer just passed away on December 7th after a long battle with cancer. Two of the band are gone now, Keith Emerson passed away this past spring.
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Thank-you Lavinia! My husband and I have been mourning Greg Lake’s passing too. We thought that Carl Palmer might be feeling a little bereft now. Greg Lake’s ‘I Believe in Father Christmas’ is always played a lot at this time of year – what a very young man he looks in the video!
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National Public Radio over here in the States did a short tribute to Greg on “All Songs Considered”, with a statement by Carl Palmer at the end.
http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2016/12/08/504845666/remembering-greg-lake-the-lucky-man
Greg was gifted with an other-worldly ability to write, sing and play guitar. He left the world all too soon at only 69 years old. By all accounts I have read of him, he was, most importantly, also a very, very good person.
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Thank-you very much for the link Lavinia. Peter Sinfield the lyricist and former King Crimson member with whom he worked was interviewed on our local TV channel on the day he died. He was full of praise for him too.
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My word! I had no idea.
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There have been so many deaths of famous people this year.
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A lovely selection of pictures to illustrate the progress of your year.
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Thank-you very much!
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Beautiful memories! ❤
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Thank-you!
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Great to think about the year again through your great photos Clare! Xo Johanna
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Thank-you Johanna! xo Clare
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Splendid set of reminders, I loved the orchid and that wonderful image of the moon.
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Thank-you very much Susan.
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Love all your photos as usual. Hearing about John Lennon’s death seems to be a moment we can all remember. I was living in Sheffield, washing up in our newly-fitted out kitchen, listening to the radio, two toddlers at my heels. It was one of those drop-the-plates-in-the-sink moments.
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Thank-you Margaret. I was shocked that someone would want to kill a singer/song-writer.
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Wow! You did a fantastic job capturing the seasons. Clare. The photographs are amazing. And that moon…great shot! I’m always surprised by how petite your Robins are in comparison to ours. I loved your sea side photos too! Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your weekend! ❤
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Thank-you Jill! Sorry I’m so late in responding to your kind comment. I have not been on-line for a few days. Our robins are about half the size of yours I have just discovered!
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I think that shot of the little robin by the Johnny jump ups is one of the most pleasing that I’ve seen all year.
I’m guessing that you’ll see more crowfoot in your pond next year. Aquatics seem to have a quick way of colonizing spots they like!
The cactus flowers are beautiful and so are the orchids. It must be so nice to just find orchids growing beside the road.
You have some very beautiful photos here!
I’ll never forget the night the Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan show for the first time. I’ve been listening to them ever since and it was nice to hear this one again.
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Thank-you so much Allen for your very kind comment. We are very fortunate to be able to find orchids here – in fact I have seen more orchids this year than ever before. I apologise for the lateness in replying to your comment.
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No problem Clare. You’re lucky to have so many orchids!
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So many lovely flowers, and how wonderful to see so many wild orchids!
I remember the day that John Lennon was killed, I got up after working 2nd shift, turned on the radio and heard the news.
I really like your review of the year in photos, I’m looking forward to the next installment.
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Thank-you very much Jerry. We are fortunate in having so many orchids growing in this part of the country. I was too young to remember when JFK was shot so John Lennon’s death was the first shocking and unexpected death of a celebrity I had heard of.
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Wild orchids, and a real English robin! What a treat! I read the interesting piece about the Saints. So your rector is responsible for all these? He can’t do Sunday service at all of them! I feel I must be not getting something here. Are they all still in use?
Where I go to church, the word “parish” refers to the whole group of people who belong and attend Mass there. But I think it must have a somewhat different meaning in your country and from years ago. I’m thinking of “Sense and Sensibility”, where Elinor tells Edward that Colonel Brandon is going to give him a parish. It’s more of a geographical thing, I think? This is such an appealing setup which European towns have, this way of a village being built around a church and shops, etc. It all seems so cozy (which probably seems overly Anglophile-ish and sentimental). 😀 Although I did get the fact that your area is more remote than other places. I’ll have to get a book from the library about Suffolk! A good idea! 🙂
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Thank-you Lisa. I would also describe a parish in the same way as you but it also is the geographical area around that church too. These days in the Church of England there are not enough vicars to go round all the churches and the money the C of E gets isn’t enough to pay for a vicar for each church any more. In rural areas especially, a priest will have to look after more than one church and our vicar looks after 12. The 12 churches together make up a benefice and Richard Thornburgh is the Rector of ‘The Saints’ benefice. Because the population isn’t large, the amount of souls he cares for probably isn’t much greater than a town parish but the amount of travelling he does is phenomenal! (The Roman Catholic priest also has more than one church to look after and also has to travel). Also each church has its own traditions and special ways of doing things which makes any kind of integration and organisation very difficult indeed. Richard T has managed to get us to worship together and think of ourselves a little more as a benefice rather than 12 separate churches which is a fantastic feat! We don’t have a service in each church every week; we have a rota and we travel to whichever church has a service that day. Every Sunday there is a Morning Prayer service at 9.30 am in one church, a Eucharist/Holy Communion service at 11.00 am at another church and an Evening Prayer service at yet another church. All the churches in the benefice get a Sunday service of one sort or another about once a month. The Daily Office is said in the morning and the evening from Monday to Friday in the benefice but in a different church each time (I’m probably not making myself very clear here!). We also have a mid-week Communion service on Thursdays but that is always at Ilketshall St Margaret which is where the Rector lives. The link I gave talked about the Saints churches; in our benefice we have all those churches except St Andrew which belongs to a separate benefice. The church my husband is church warden at is Rumburgh church which belongs to the Saints benefice but isn’t in a village called after a saint. Here is another link to our benefice website which is run by the Rector.
http://www.suffolksaints.info/saindex.htm
These days parishes aren’t owned by the lord of the manor anymore so the priests are appointed by the local bishop. The parishioners are allowed to interview a prospective priest and can select and reject too.
I’m sorry this is such a long answer!
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Oh, don’t apologize, Clare! I’m just surprised you can make the time to reply when you must be very busy! And I understood you very well – it’s all quite interesting, and I have a deep respect for your rector – God bless him! What a task he has, and sounds like he’s gone above and beyond. As for Catholic priests, there’s a shortage here, too. Anyway, I’ll include a note in your Christmas card, and stop here. 🙂
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I have had a rather trying day today especially with my mother who is stubborn and awkward and I love her dearly! It was nice to sit down after the evening meal and read all the lovely comments people have made on my blog. My daughter has been borrowing my laptop for the past few days while hers was being repaired and I have a backlog of e-mails and posts to read. I don’t have a smartphone! I enjoy talking about church matters as I don’t get the chance very often! We will miss our rector when he goes especially as we don’t know when or if he will be replaced.
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This made me smile ” The area is wide, remote, scattered and traditionally lawless” Lawless or not, your photos show how lovely your home and neighbourhood are.
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Yes, the lawless thing was funny to me, too.
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I also find it amusing. I think it used to be very much more isolated than it is now and it became a tradition to think of the area as dangerous just because not many people lived here and fewer people visited.
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Thank-you Ann. People who live near but not in the Saints still refer to it as bow-and-arrow country and everyone says how easy it is to get lost here. I don’t think it is lawless anymore (at least not any more so than anywhere else!) but can see how easy it is to feel quite vulnerable on our long stretches of isolated and wind-swept lanes and fields. It can be very bleak in wintertime but I like bleak.
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“In the bleak mid-winter” must be sung with great understanding, in the Saints…… 🙂 🙂
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🙂
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Very nice gallery of pictures Clare! 🙂
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Thank-you very much HJ!
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Great set of photos for your year in review – what an amazing moon shot!!
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Thank-you!
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I love your calendar of photos Claire, my favourite is the robin.
Vistaprint will put your favourite photos in a calendar for next year, my brother got one for Mum last year.
Hope you have a lovely week
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Thank-you Charlotte. The calendar idea is a very good one – I will definitely keep that in mind during the next few days and try to do something about it!
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Thank-you! I will visit your blog very soon 🙂
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I like your photos, Clare. Fresh and interesting at this time of year. I am glad you had a Robin to help you in your chores! good help is hard to find.
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Thank-you so much Cynthia! Good help is indeed hard to find especially when the job is dull!
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Great year in review, will look at the first half when i get a moment from catching up with all the other blogs. It is great to see your photos, think to those what seems like long gone days now and trying to remember what I was doing. The snow is somehow fitting over your photos too.
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Thank-you Ste J. I can imagine you must be exhausted and am honoured you have taken the time to comment. I rather liked the snow in summer effect too.
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It took me six hours to cover all the blogs but I made it and then promptly had a nap. I was proud of myself for achieving both!
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🙂 🙂
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Great photos Clare, you’ve introduced me to some interesting little creatures.
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Thank-you Andrea!
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You really do take some wonderful shots. I know I’ve said that before, but there you go. Yes, I remember waking up in my bedsit in Cricklewood hearing the news about Lennon’s murder. Couldn’t believe it. Thanks to an older brother, I grew up with the Beatles. Lennon was very special – flawed, but special.
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I agree – he was flawed and talked a load of rubbish a lot of the time but he was special 🙂
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Possibly a genius too. Actually, I just popped by to wish you a Merry Christmas – thanks for all your great posts!
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Thank-you very much Mike! I have realy enjoyed all your posts too. Apologies for not responding sooner – we have a fault on our phone-line so we’ve had hardly any internet over Christmas. I am taking advantage of everyone in the house (and probably in the village too) being asleep and sending messages etc.
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Nice to look back at spring as I sit here in the dark nights. 🙂
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Thank-you Simon. It was a pleasure for me to look at all my old spring photos too!
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🙂
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Such lovely memories shown trhough your great photographs, dear Clare… as always, I love your galleries and reading your anecdotes and descriptions… thanks so much for sharing and for your support this year 😀 Sending best wishes and love. Happy Holidays! ⭐
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Thank-you dear Aquileana! I must thank-you for your unfailing kindness and support too. Love and best wishes, Clare ox
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So many beautiful photos, Clare. And that cactus flower–WOW. Wanted come by and wish you a very Merry Christmas and happy, healthy New Year. xo
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Thank-you my dear Elizabeth and the same to you xx
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36 years – surely not!! Imagine was the first ever single I bought – only seems like yesterday :). Wishing you and your family a wonderful festive season and every happiness in 2017 xxx
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Thank-you Liz 🙂 and the same to you. Sorry to be so late in responding but we have had a fault on our phone-line this Christmas so no internet unless I stay up very late and wait for the whole village to go to bed!
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Oh dear what a pain, or perhaps the perfect opportunity to have a bit of quiet offline time for a while? 🙂 In any event, hope you have had a lovely couple of days. X
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Thank-you Liz 🙂 It’s been a lovely Christmas as I hope yours has been too xx
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A Happy Christmas, Clare! xo
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Thank-you Lisa and the same to you! An e-mail is on it’s way to you – I’m just waiting for the fault on the phone-line to be repaired which will then give us strong enough internet to send e-mails!
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Good new year 2017.
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Thank-you!
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🙂
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Thank you very much for taking the time to comment. I am finding it harder and harder to find the time to do anything these days!
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