Tags
azure damselfly, common toad, four-spotted chaser dragonfly, grass snake skin, green-veined white butterfly, holly blue butterfly, ivy, ivy mining bee, jay feather, lunar yellow underwing, Mallard, mint moth, painted lady butterfly, pheasant feathers, red admiral butterfly, rosemary beetle, Small Tortoiseshell butterfly, speckled wood butterfly, starling, Suffolk
I have a small number of wildlife photographs taken during late spring and through the summer. This post will feature them.
These amber and black-coloured dragonflies fly during late spring and early summer and fortunately for me and my camera, they take regular rests on plants round the edge of the pond from where they watch for prey and/or mates. Males are very territorial and aggressive.
I spent some time trying to decide whether this was an Azure or a Variable Damselfly. The photo isn’t clear enough for me to be sure. I decided to post the photo on the Damsel and Dragonfly Facebook site and see what the experts thought. The first person thought it was an Azure and the second thought it was a Variable! Fortunately a third person plumped for the Azure so that is what it will have to be.
The males are much brighter than the females.
When I took this photo at the beginning of summer I was upset to see how little water was in the pond. At that time of year there ought to have been at least two or three more feet of water there. I was not to know how bad it would get by the end of the summer when most of the pond had become dry.
I have been finding these attractive beetles on my rosemary, lavender and sage plants for the past couple of years. They are a non-native invasive species of beetle related to the Colorado Beetle. They do a fair amount of damage to plants if left unchecked and can kill young plants. Because of our recent mild winters they are active throughout the year. Here is a link to the RHS website which describes the beetle.
I apologize for the poor photo of this pretty butterfly. This was the closest I got to one all summer! They are difficult to see in the dappled light of a woodland ride where they like to live. They feed mainly on honeydew in the treetops.
I saw a number of these white butterflies this year. I read that the green-veined white prefers to lay its eggs on wild members of the cabbage family ( watercress, garlic mustard etc.) rather than on plants in our vegetable gardens. This one appears to be laying eggs on my aubretia, which is also a member of the cabbage family!
The Painted Lady butterfly( Vanessa cardui) has had a very good year here and almost the whole country has seen numbers of them. They cannot survive our winters so new butterflies arrive each spring by immigration from southern Europe. The caterpillars feed mainly on thistles and sometimes mallows.
Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta ) are increasingly able to survive our winters by hibernation. The majority arrive here in the spring from Europe and then subsequent generations fly and breed until the first frosts. The caterpillars feed on stinging nettles.
The one and only small tortoiseshell I was able to photograph. I haven’t seen many this year. The butterflies hibernate as adults in hollow trees and buildings and the caterpillars feed on stinging nettles. As good a reason as any to keep a few nettles in the corner of the garden.
I saw quite a few holly blues this year which probably means they will be scarce again next year. The caterpillars are often attacked by two species of parasitic wasp that sometimes wipe out whole colonies of holly blue. The male and female butterflies’ underside of their wings looks alike so I can’t say which this is. It refused to open its wings all the time I was watching it and then flew off at speed the moment my attention wavered!
I would recommend Escallonia as a favourite with bees and butterflies. I also saw a Green Hairstreak butterfly on it this summer but I didn’t have my camera to hand.
At least, I believe this might be a Mint Moth. It appears to have two golden spots on its forewings which is what one looks for.
You may think it strange that I have chosen to include a photo of a dead moth. I expect it is. This poor thing managed to get itself trapped in the house while we were away on holiday and I found it in the garden room. These moths are quite uncommon and I am pleased that they are present in our garden.
I parked my car up against this hedge in Bungay a couple of weeks ago and stopped to admire all the wonderful flowers all over it. I then realized it was covered in bees.
These bees dash about all over the place and never stay for more than a few seconds on any one flower. I was very fortunate to get the photos I did. I couldn’t stay long as I had shopping to do and the owner of the red car (see the first photo) returned to her vehicle and was eyeing me suspiciously.
I looked up from my lunch one day in June and saw this young toad marching across the grass in front of the kitchen window. My phone doesn’t take good photos and I couldn’t crop the shot without it becoming pixelated. You can see the toad has long legs with which it covers quite a lot of ground at some speed. Toads don’t jump and hop very often.
See how parched the grass was at the beginning of the summer! Things didn’t improve much until quite recently. We have had large quantities of rain in the last few weeks and the grass is growing again!
We often see grass snakes in our garden but this year this is the closest I got to one. They are Britain’s longest snake at one metre in length, occasionally longer. They are variable in colour and pattern being either green, olive-green, brown or grey. They have a yellow to orange-red collar just behind their head and have regular black markings along their sides (or not, as the case may be!) They are very good swimmers.
Both these photographs of starlings (Sturnus vulgaris ) were taken by Elinor when she was on a trip to the North Norfolk coast this autumn. I love these garrulous birds and enjoy listening to their twittering and whistling. These birds in the photos are resplendent in their speckled winter plumage and have black bills. The feathers become less speckled and more iridescent green and purple through the winter and the bills turn a beautiful lemon-yellow in spring. They are excellent mimics and will copy other bird’s songs and calls and any other noises they find interesting. In the early seventies we had one in the road where I grew up that did a good impersonation of a Trimphone. Is impersonation the right word? Again, there was a starling that lived next to the primary school that Elinor attended when we lived in Somerset that had a call that sounded just like little girls screaming in the playground.
I think this feather is so beautiful! Richard found it in the garden.
From these slightly blurred photos it is difficult to see the iridescence of the feathers, the maroon, amber and dark brown shades that make these pheasant ( Phasianus colchicus) feathers so lovely. I found them all together in a heap in the garden. I assume that this pheasant had been fighting and had had these scraped from his breast. Pheasants don’t like fighting at all and will get out of it if they can. If disturbed in the middle of their posturing both combatants will sidle away hoping, I’m sure, they won’t be followed.
Lavinia Ross said:
Good to see you again, Clare! I enjoyed your summer photos. They are beautiful!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Lavinia. I enjoyed selecting the photos and revisiting the summertime. I hope you and Rick are well.
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Lavinia Ross said:
All is well, but the time flies so quickly, with so much to do! 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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Retirement Reflections said:
These are such wonderful photos, Clare. I feel that I have been directly transported into Spring…and have learned a great deal in the process. Thanks for sharing this!
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Clare Pooley said:
You are very kind; thank you very much, Donna. It was an enjoyable experience going through my photos. It is surprising how quickly one forgets how shimmering the sunshine is in the early summertime.
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markspitzerdesigns said:
The Small Tortoiseshell butterfly was gorgeous – never seen one before
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Mark. It is a beautiful butterfly; I was disappointed not to see more this year.
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germac4 said:
I enjoyed looking at all the wild life in your area. A bit depressing to see how low the water was in your pond, and I’m glad you have had some rain. Your post is a timely reminder that we should pay more attention to all the smaller creatures … who are also doing nature’s work. The pretty feathers in your last photos are lovely.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Gerrie. We have had low rainfall for a couple of years now and despite the recent rain the pond hasn’t filled very much yet. I think that looking after the tiny creatures is the key to many of our problems. I cannot resist feathers!
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Peter Klopp said:
Lovely photos of a wonderful garden!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so very much, Peter!
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margaret21 said:
Lovely photos and memories. And I’m guessing that the pond is now more than full again.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Margaret. The pond will need a very rainy winter and spring to fill it up to where it should be, I’m afraid. It’s an extremely large pond!
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margaret21 said:
I’m quite surprised. Similarly distressed expanses of water here are all but overflowing.
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Clare Pooley said:
It is probably because the water table had got very low after 18 months of low rainfall.
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margaret21 said:
We’ve got rain and to spare here at the moment.
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Clare Pooley said:
I hope you are safe and dry.
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margaret21 said:
Safe? Yes. Dry? No. Our choir sang at Fountains Abbey last night, in the cellarium, which has a roof but no glazed windows. Normally hundreds come to these concerts because they are so atmospheric, with lovely acoustics. Funnily enough, we only had about 30 intrepid souls to listen to us. But it was a great experience anyway.
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Clare Pooley said:
My goodness! What weather to be out singing!
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margaret21 said:
But then again … it makes us happy.
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DoF@theinfill said:
Lovely! Ah for the seasons that have passed
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Clare Pooley said:
Oh, yes! Thank you very much!
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susanpoozan said:
A great set of photographs, I enjoyed the first one the most.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Susan. I think that was my favourite, too.
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derrickjknight said:
A fascinating collection. You had far more butterflies than we did this year – and at least you saw a speckled wood which is more than can be said for us 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Derrick. I am surprised you didn’t see more butterflies in your wonderfully flowery garden. 🙂
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derrickjknight said:
Very unusual
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Jane Sturgeon said:
These are beautiful photographs. Thank you. Much ❤ and hugs flowing to you all, always. ❤ xXx ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, my dear Jane! Love and hugs ❤ xXx ❤
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Laurie Graves said:
Wonderful post! How I enjoyed seeing all the fluttering, creeping, and (shiver!) slithering life in your area.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Laurie. The slithering ones give Richard the heebie-jeebies too!
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Laurie Graves said:
I wish they didn’t. As someone who loves nature, it is a torment to be afraid of snakes.
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Clare Pooley said:
I do understand that fear, Laurie. I had a friend at school who had a fear of snakes and was also terrified of worms and anything wriggly. The other girls at school mocked her which made it so much more difficult. I think it is one of those ancient natural instincts we have which are meant to protect us.
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Laurie Graves said:
Oh, thanks so much for your kind words.
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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reggie unthank said:
What a beautiful reminder of summer. How long ago it now seems. Reggie.
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Clare Pooley said:
Doesn’t it just! Thank you very much, Reggie.
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Richard Sutton said:
Clare, this is such a well researched and illustrated post. I envy you the wildlife in your wonderful wild garden. Your pond seems to be a haven for creatures. I hope it’s full of water now. It’s a delight to read this.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Richard. The pond is filling very slowly despite all the rain we’ve had. There is still a bit of ‘beach’ but most of the bottom of the pond has water in it now. We would like a very wet winter and spring to get the six foot or so depth we need in the shallowest part. It is a very large pond!
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Paula Bardell-Hedley said:
Superb photos, Clare! 😃
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Paula.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
You got some excellent shots of all the insects; much better than I can do with my new camera. I think my favorite is the green veined white butterfly. It’s very pretty.
I love the feathers too, especially the jay feather, which I’ve never seen.
I’m glad to hear that you’re finally getting some rain!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Allen. I always dread having to replace a camera. They never seem to be as good as the one that has just expired. My favourite small camera was my old Canon Sureshot. It did wonderful micro shots.
We are definitely getting rain and everything has greened up and is looking good. We are due our first frost in a couple of days so it won’t be green for long!
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I don’t like having to get a new camera either but they don’t seem to last anymore. Too much to go wrong I suppose.
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Clare Pooley said:
I’m sure you’re right.
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roughwighting said:
I’m sinking into your photos (and already mourning a bit for summer). You brought it back here to me. The dragonflies – oh my. I love them, and we had an acre full of them everywhere here this summer. My new children’s book MOLLY FINDS HER PURR has a (different colored) dragonfly on every page. The illustrator is in love with them. Two weeks ago when I received my first copy of the book, I was outside showing it to a friend and …. guess what? A ruby red dragonfly settled on my arm. Oh My.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much for your lovely comment! I adore dragonflies and would spend all summer chasing round after, them if I could! Your children’s book sounds wonderful and how exciting to have a dragonfly settle on your arm!
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roughwighting said:
There is something immensely peaceful about a dragonfly. I’ve had one land on my arm/shoulder/leg at other times, too, and she seems to just be … content.
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Clare Pooley said:
❤
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tootlepedal said:
Ivy is supposed to be the prime late source of pollen for bees so I am not surprised you saw so many on your plant.
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Clare Pooley said:
I do apologise for not replying to your comment here, Tom. I see I ‘liked’ it but that’s as far as I got. I have been looking out for ivy bees for many years and this was the first time I’d seen them.
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tootlepedal said:
I didn’t see any this year but I have seen them before.
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H.J. for avian101 said:
You have a lot of wildlife in your garden! Thanks for the information, Clare. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, HJ! 🙂
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Annika Perry said:
Clare, you have a true gift for photography and these are glorious images of the insects. So many times I’ve tried to capture dragonflies on camera but failed … yours are wonderful, intimate and so detailed. I’m savouring these and all the butterflies. A lovely reminder of s summer when Pink Ladies and mnay others graced our gardens.
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Clare Pooley said:
Oh, Annika! Thank you so much for your lovely comment! Summer seems a long time ago this evening with winds buffeting the house!
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Val said:
Lovely photos, Clare. Some years here we have loads of butterflies, some years not. Last summer wasn’t especially good for them but we did the get a few. I have been wondering if there are other plants we could attract them with, even though our garden is already pretty full of ones they love. Last year we had one type of moth (the migratory Silver-Y: https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/silver-y) in abundance and it was attracted to a patch of Valerian that had been allowed to go wild in our front driveway. What we usually have a lot of here and had very few this year, is dragonflies and damsels, so it was especially nice to see yours.
Sorry your pond suffered from the lack of rain. Maybe we should pipe some over from Wales… when it rains here, it tends to flood (though thankfully not our house!)
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Val! We get the silver y moth occasionally and we usually get many dragonflies but I think the drought reduced their numbers this year. The pond is starting to fill up nicely now.
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Val said:
Hopefully not flooding, like ours just now (it’ll go down quickly, thankfully.)
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KerryCan said:
I’m so glad you found the time to put these photos together in a post, with so much information! The photos are really good and it’s interesting to see what is native to your region–so many butterflies!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Kerry. I didn’t manage to get out as often as I’d have liked this year but I am still fairly pleased with the amount of creatures I saw.
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Julie said:
Hi Clare, your post really made me smile, there is such complete joy in your photographs and words, I had to tell you. Best wishes to you and yours. Julie x
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Clare Pooley said:
How lovely to hear from you, Julie! Thank you very much. I hope you and your family are well xx
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maryannniemczura said:
Love meandering through the garden with you. Great photos, even the frog. I too try to capture what I consider to be Nature’s offerings on any given day. Always surprised when I take a short stroll through our property. Tiny leaping frogs attempting to get out of my way are so amusing. Have a nature-filled weekend! Thank you for the post.
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Clare Pooley said:
I love froglets, too! Thank you so much for your kind comments, Mary Ann. Have a wonderful weekend!
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maryannniemczura said:
Clare, thank you for the lovely comment. Let’s hear it for the froglets in the gardens. Have a great weekend! ^__^
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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maryannniemczura said:
“”__””
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Lisa G. said:
Poor, dead moth! But we can get a good look at him this way. Great close-ups of the dragonflies too, Clare!
I appreciate the info on the starlings – I had wondered about the bill color. I thought it was yellow, but then not always…….. Thank you! Now here is something you might not know http://nyis.info/invasive_species/european-starling/ how starlings were introduced to the U.S.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Lisa especially for the interesting link. The dangers of introducing non-native creatures and plants are manifold! Interestingly, they are in decline in Britain and I hardly ever see them where we live.
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(Kitty) Cat Strawberry - Meow! said:
These are such lovely and beautiful photos Clare thank you for sharing them ❤ 🙂 That first photo of the dragonfly is particularly mesmerising for me seeing those wings, the closest I've ever gotten to a dragonfly was on a trip in Warwick castle when one nearly fly into my head while I was walking outside the moat are,lol.
We had a lot of starlings where I used to live and a few but not many here. They do make such strange noises, they whistle followed by a lot of clicking noises that go on for quite a while and are different every day, which makes it sound like they are ready to announce a news report every morning! 😀
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Kat! I love your description of starlings! 🙂 I don’t see as many starlings as I used to. They are declining here in this country for all sorts of reasons. I also love looking at dragonflies wings; they are really beautiful.
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Elizabeth Melton Parsons said:
I really enjoyed this post, Clare. Loved the butterfly on the purple flowers. Just beautiful!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so very much, Elizabeth! I was really pleased to see that butterfly when I had my camera with me, despite the fact it was laying eggs all over my garden flowers!
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Thom Hickey said:
Life in abundance!
Regards Thom
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Thom!
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kevin cooper said:
Fabulous pics! 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Kevin!
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Andrea Stephenson said:
Beautiful photos Clare, you’ve captured lots of those tiny summer creatures!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Andrea. I can’t resist insects outside but am less than enthusiastic when they get inside the house!
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Ste J said:
Ah, summer, how I miss it! Gorgeous photos as always, I especially love the Jay feather.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Ste J. The feather is only 3cm long but so lovely!
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Ari said:
Wow those photos are beautiful. I love butterflies and beetles. We often get painted ladies and speckled wood butterfly. Those moths are lovely, I’ve not seen them. We often have the black and pink cinnabar moths.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Ari. I love cinnabar moths! They look so exotic! 🙂
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SaaniaSparkle 🧚🏻♀️ said:
Lovely pics 💕
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much! 🙂
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SaaniaSparkle 🧚🏻♀️ said:
My pleasure 😇
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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Resa said:
This is a wonderful post, Clare! The Damselfly is just gorgeous and your opening shot of the Four Spotted Chaser is brilliant!
Love the butterflies, and OMG! There’s a Holly Blue Butterfly. I can use that somehow in one of my adventures of Princess Blue Holly!
I love this post… but, well, the snake part … ah, live and let live! You go snake!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Resa! My husband can’t abide snakes but I am always happy to let them share our garden. I look forward to seeing how you use the Holly Blue butterfly xx
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Resa said:
xx
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Charlotte Hoather said:
Lovely photographs Clare. Everywhere I’ve been this summer seems to have been wet☔️, wet☔️, and wetter ☔️ I was surprised you hadn’t had much rain in the East. I didn’t know ivy had flowers either. I hope you and the family are all well 😊
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Charlotte. We are all very well as I hope you are 🙂
We were very dry but are so no longer! Our local rivers have burst their banks and some of the roads have been flooded too. We still haven’t had as much rain as the rest of the country.
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quercuscommunity said:
Fantastic photos, and an interesting commentary. I was particularly taken by your statement that the males are brighter than the females, then I realised you were commenting on the colours.
🙂
We used to have starlings around the house in the 1970s – they used to impersonate my mother whistling the dogs and caused a lot of confusion.
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Clare Pooley said:
Hehe! Poor dogs!
I must learn to edit with more care 😀 though I do enjoy your comments very much and would be sorry to miss out through being too careful 😉
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quercuscommunity said:
I just couldn’t resist. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
😀
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Liz said:
Hi Clare, sorry to be a bit late to this one – lovely photos as always. I hope you and the family are keeping well. xxx
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Liz. No need for apologies 🙂 We are all well at the moment as I hope you and Mr Liz are, too xxx
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Liz said:
That’s great to hear. We’re fine too thanks – Mr Liz says hi! Xxx
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Clare Pooley said:
xxxx
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Tamara Jare said:
Beautiful🎆🎆🎆🎆
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Tamara 🙂
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Helen said:
A very interesting post and I am sorry to have missed it earlier. I hope now your pond has filled and that there will be more holly blue butterflies next year.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Helen and no apology necessary 🙂 Yes, the pond is nearly full but it has taken some time because the water table was so low. I hope to see more beautiful blue butterflies next year too!
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Helen said:
Is it natural pond?
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Clare Pooley said:
I don’t think so. There are many hundreds of ponds like it in Suffolk, where the clay has been dug out in the form of clay lump to build homes hundreds of years ago and the hole filled with water. These are usually farm or village ponds. Our one was enlarged at some stage so it is enormous and very deep and has a tiny island in the middle of it. We were so excited to have it when we first moved here but it is very difficult to maintain properly.
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Helen said:
What do you need to do to maintain it? I can imagine it might have been a bit of a liability when your girls were small.
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Clare Pooley said:
Fortunately we only moved here in 2006 when our youngest was nine and quite sensible. My husband strims the vegetation on the banks during late summer and again in the winter and we try to keep brambles, willow, nettles, thistles under control as they could swamp everything else if we left them. We will never be able to get rid of them and we don’t wish to, either. We have to dredge out the silt at the bottom every now and then which entails hiring a digger and is very expensive. Reeds, rushes, sedges and waterlilies spread quickly and have to be dug out to maintain areas of open water. The drought caused all sorts of problems. Some plants we want have disappeared and others we don’t have spread down the banks into where the water had been. I’m hoping that the plants we don’t want in the pond will not survive being under-water and I hope that the plants we do want will return if we keep good water levels. The island has to be cleared of scrub regularly.
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Helen said:
My word, that does indeed sound like a lot of work. Nature won’t be able to help itself by all that water!
I’ve noticed in my own pond how quickly it silts up. Fortunately, with mine being so small in comparison with yours, I can clear it by hand.
Brambles will grow anywhere, considering how much I have – though not to do with the water. So, I dare say you’d also have those (and nettles) irrespective of your terrain.
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wholelottarosie said:
Clare, these are really nice photos from your garden and memories of a great summer. It’s autumn now in Germany too and the leaves on the trees are turning yellow, red and brown, we are harvesting the last of the tomatoes and hazelnuts and raking the beds. Soon our hedgehog will also move into his little house and hibernate there.
Greetings from the sunny autumn 🍂 🍁🌻🍂…. Rosie
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Rosie. We are tidying the garden too and have picked all our apples.Greetings to you too, from East Anglia 🙂
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