Dunwich Beach and Dingle Marshes

Tags

beach, birds, buck's-horn plantain, common scurvygrass, Dingle Marshes, Dunwich beach, gorse, little egret, plants, reeds, sea campion, seashore, sheep's sorrel, shingle, Suffolk, wader

On May Bank Holiday, the first Monday after May Day, Rumburgh village always holds a fair and Rumburgh church always has the cake stall – a money-earner, though not as good as the tea tent.  This year, I had made a honey and ginger cake which Richard and I delivered to the stall along with a quantity of our rhubarb, which usually sells well.  We didn’t stay long as we had a few chores to do at home and we had planned to go to the seaside in the afternoon.

The day was cool and breezy and rain was forecast for late in the afternoon so Elinor, Richard and I set off as soon as we had had our lunch.

We found ‘Thelma’ hauled far up on the shingle.

We looked inside her and what did we find?

A dried-up dogfish tail.

The wind was cold and strong on the beach and the spray from the waves was being blown about.

Looking north up the beach….

…and southwards.

Inland, behind the shingle bank, is Dingle Marshes Nature Reserve, looked after by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and The Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

Richard contemplating the view. It was good to be out of the wind!

Plenty of Sea Campion (Silene uniflora) were in flower.

A Little Egret ( Egretta garzetta) was wading through the marsh

Here it is again, marching purposefully on!

Another view of the marshes with a bright yellow ribbon of Gorse (Ulex europaeus)

Common Scurvygrass (Cochlearia officinalis)

A plant of saltmarshes and increasingly, along the sides of roads that have been salted during the winter.  (Danish Scurvygrass (Cochlearia danica) however, is seen more regularly than Common Scurvygrass on roadsides).  Common Scurveygrass has almost circular fleshy leaves with a few blunt teeth along the edges.  The seedpods are spherical and a few can be seen on a flower-cluster close to the centre-right edge of this photo.  In that same cluster of flowers and seedpods is a tiny yellow-beige 16 spot ladybird which fees on pollen, fungi and nectar.

In the past, scurvy was a very common disease, often fatal, in those who spent much of their time at sea.  Their diet was restricted to salt pork and dried biscuit and they had no fresh fruit or vegetables.  Many on land also had restricted diets so it was a happy day when herbalists discovered that scurvygrass, with its high vitamin C content, was one of the foods that prevented the disease. It became the fashion in 17th century England to take a glass of scurvygrass water every morning. The leaves were made into a beer called scurvygrass ale.

The gorse was so bright and cheerful.

Gorse is also known as furze or whin and grows on the acidic soil of heathland and close to the sea.  It is an excellent fuel and burns quickly and fiercely in dry weather causing heath fires to spread.  It was grown near houses so that washing could be lain out to dry on it and the prickles would prevent the clothes from blowing away.

There was plenty of Sheep’s Sorrel (Rumex acetosella ) with its red flower-spikes.

Sheep’s Sorrel is more sprawling than Common Sorrel and is usually found on very poor sandy soil.  The leaves contain the chemical calcium oxalate which tastes acid; the name ‘sorrel’ comes from the old French word for ‘sour’ (‘surele’).

Lovely rosettes of the leaves of Buck’s-horn Plantain ( Plantago coronopus)

The seeds of this plantain exude a large amount of mucilage when they get wet.  This gummy stuff was used in France to stiffen muslins and other woven fabrics.

There were paths through the reeds.

And an approaching rain shower.

A small wader

Here it is again. Apologies for the poor quality of my picture.

This is the same bird in both photos but I am unable, through ignorance, to identify it.  It may be a sandpiper of some sort.  I am sure someone will be able to suggest a name.  It moved about very quickly.

An information board.

Please click on any of my photos to enlarge them.

Another information board.

We soon left for home before the rain arrived and had a warming cup of tea.

 

April’s End

Tags

April, church porch repair, churches, Common Hawthorn, Common Storksbill, cowslips, crown imperial, daisy, dandelion, Dove's-foot Cranesbill, Forget-me-not, Greater Stitchwort, Lords and Ladies, Ribwort Plantain, St Michael and St Felix Church Rumburgh, St Michael South Elmham church, Suffolk, sunset, the Beck, walking

I began writing this post immediately after publishing my last one and got well over half way through writing it and then had to stop.  No time for much self-indulgence, reading and writing for some weeks and now that I have a little time, this post seems somewhat irrelevant.  However, I don’t want to waste it by deleting it so I’ll finish it as best I can.

A pastoral scene at St Michael South Elmham church

Holy Week and then Easter week were very busy, so I didn’t manage to take many photos.  This was one of a very few and was taken on Good Friday as I was leaving church after a service of quiet prayer.

The churchyard of the church of St. Michael and St. Felix at Rumburgh

This and the next two photos were taken on Easter Day in the early afternoon.  As you can see, the churchyard was full of yellow Cowslips ( Primula veris).  I had taken Mum to her church at Eye in the morning and Richard had been to a service at St. Margaret South Elmham in our benefice.  After having some lunch we visited Rumburgh church to make sure all was well and to change the colours on the altar and to put flowers in the church.  We returned home and I began preparing the dinner to which Mum had been invited.

One of the many cowslips in the churchyard

Rumburgh church

During April we had work done on the church porch at Rumburgh.  It is now less likely to fall down.

A striking sunset seen from the back of our house.

Richard and I managed to find time for a short walk round the lanes during Easter week.

Crown Imperial

Someone must have either discarded a Crown Imperial fritillary at the side of our lane or planted it there on purpose.  We have seen it here for a few springs now and it is getting larger and larger.  It is about 3.5 feet tall, well over a metre in height.  I was unable to stop and photograph it when it was in full and glorious flower but even with its shrivelled petals you can easily see what it is and how well it is doing.

The Beck – the stream that flows through much of The Saints.

There was very little water in the Beck at the end of April and by the middle of the following month it had dried up completely.

Some of the undergrowth and scrub had been cleared away from this area next to the lane and an ancient boundary ditch was revealed

The first Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea ) flowers of the year

A bright and beautiful Dandelion (Taraxacum agg. )

The Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna ) was just beginning to blossom

I noticed some Forget-me-nots at the back of the grass verge but didn’t look to see what kind they were.  Probably Field Forget-me-not (Myosotis arvensis).

I also saw my first Lords and Ladies (Arum maculatum) of the season. I love all the different shades of green in this photo!

A couple of days later I had to go to the doctor’s surgery for my regular blood-test and noticed that there were many flowers blooming in the patches of grass alongside the driveway.  These grassy areas haven’t been tended as they used to be, due to financial cuts and other problems so these ‘weeds’ have flourished.

Dove’s-foot Cranesbill (Geranium molle) with Daisy (Bellis perennis) and Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)

I noticed a profusion of yet more small pink flowers….

…and discovered they were Common Storksbill (Erodium cicutarium), a plant that I usually see nearer to the sea as it likes growing in sand and gravel. My camera doesn’t show how very pink this flower is.

And that is all I managed to record in April this year.  Rather an abrupt end, for which I apologise.

Southwold Again

Tags

pheasant, pier, seashore, Southwold, Suffolk, walking, waves, white pheasant

Last November, Alice had two weeks holiday after leaving her old job and before starting her new one and came to see us for five days.  We loved having her with us for so long.  She spent those few days sorting out some of her belongings as well as visiting an old friend and cycling to Rumburgh to look round the village where we used to live.  We took her out for a meal one evening and on the one bright and dry day of the week we had lunch in Southwold and walked along the front.

Seagulls perched on the top of the breakwater.

The tide was in and the wind was very strong and cold.

A recent storm had caused this set of steps to be covered in sand and stones.

Even as the tide receded, the waves were still very large and powerful.

Southwold Pier

There was spume all over the beach.

Another view of the pier.

Richard, Alice and Elinor sitting on the steps by the café.

We didn’t sit for too long as it really was extremely cold in the wind.  We turned and made our way back to the car and instead of walking back along the front we crossed the road and walked through the town.

A last view of the sea.

I will end this post by including a rather blurry photograph of a bird seen from our spare room window.

A pure white pheasant.

I last saw this bird just after Christmas.  Friends of ours had two white pheasants visiting their garden.  I am surprised the birds lasted as long as they did as they don’t exactly blend in with their surroundings, do they?

Highlights Part 6: Shingle Street

Tags

beach, kite-surfing, Shingle Street, Suffolk, wild flowers

After we left the Suffolk Punch Trust we drove a couple of miles to Shingle Street on the coast.

Shingle Street beach

I wanted to visit this beach to look at the plants and flowers that live on the shingle.  I had heard that it was a desolate spot but when we were there the place was teeming with kite-surfers!

Kite-surfing on a windy day

Kite-surfers on the beach

More kite-surfers. Here you can see the spit of shingle which curls round forming a calm lagoon.

The lagoon

The houses at Shingle Street

The Coastguard House

Shingle Street  Part of the beach was fenced off to protect nesting birds, little terns and ringed plovers, and to protect this beach from damage by trampling.

Shingle Street

Looking south towards the Martello Tower

Looking north towards Orfordness lighthouse….

…and the old atomic weapons research establishment

The village of Hollesley

Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare)

The name ‘Bugloss’ derives from the Greek for ‘ox-tongued’ – the plant is quite rough and bristly to the touch.  Parts of the plant are also thought to look like a snake – the fruits, which are said to resemble an adder’s head, used to be used to cure snake bites even though the plant is poisonous!

 

Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum)

According to my field guide, the flowers are honey-scented when fresh and smell of new-mown hay when dry.  In days gone by, it was said to discourage fleas and so was added to straw mattresses especially for the beds of women about to give birth.

Sea Beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima )

Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare). Not an uncommon plant but I find it beautiful – and spiny!

Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris)

Sea Kale (Crambe maritima)

Yellow Horned Poppy (Glaucium flavum)

Yellow Horned Poppy (with a few pollen beetles!)  

Rosebay Willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium)

Sea Pea (Lathyrus japonicus)

I was very pleased to see this plant still in flower!  Usually I find it too late to admire the bright pink flowers.  It is a nationally scarce plant but where it is happy it grows well and plentifully.  My field guide tells me that the seed pods resemble garden pea-pods and were eaten (apparently) in Suffolk in times of famine (e.g. 1555).  The pods are toxic in large quantities.

Sea pea

Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola) These plants can grow as tall as 200 cm/ 6.5 ft.  Prickly lettuce is a non-native and was first recorded here in 1632.

A Ladybird on Prickly Lettuce

I think this is a type of Mouse-ear, probably Common Mouse-ear (Cerastium fontanum)

This visit to the Shingle Street beach was a very pleasant end to an enjoyable day.

Thanks for visiting!

Harrap’s Wild Flowers: Simon Harrap

http://www.seasonalwildflowers.com/

December 2016

Tags

Advent, Advent Crown, Cromer, Cromer Lifeboat, Cromer pier, fog, frost, mist, Norfolk, Norwich, Norwich Market, Rumburgh Church, Suffolk, sunset, Turnstone, walking, Westleton Heath

Before Christmastide draws to a close I thought I’d better write something about what we managed to do over the past few weeks.

This is the Advent Crown that Elinor and I made this Christmas. The first candle was lit on the first Sunday in Advent.

Norwich Market

Norwich Market

The 1st of December began with a frost (we had many frosty and foggy days in December) but by the time I had driven Elinor into Norwich for her afternoon classes at college it had clouded over and had become a little milder.  The light wasn’t really good enough for photographs but the city had recently put it’s decorations up and was looking festive, though these photos make it look rather gloomy!

During the whole month, unless I got to the city before 9.00 am, I was unable to find a parking space in any of the car-parks.  Norwich Council would like their visitors to arrive by train, bus, bike or on foot and don’t make it at all easy for car drivers.  There is very little public transport from where I live so we have to drive into town.  There are ‘park and ride’ places on the outskirts of the city but an acquaintance of mine queued for ages to get into the car-park and then waited an age with crowds of other shoppers for a bus  which was full before he got to it!  He returned home without doing his shopping.  I have discovered a roadside parking area near to the college where I get two hours free parking and which is only a fifteen minute walk away from the city centre!  This is where I had parked that day.  I had coffee and a sandwich in a café and did some Christmas shopping and then made my way back to my car.

The Coachmaker’s Arms

This former coaching inn is on St Stephen’s Road and was built in the 17th century on the site of an asylum.  The pub is said to be haunted.

An attractive frieze outside the pub showing what the inn might have looked like when first built.  It was near one of the many city gates

For most of the month, Richard was still unable to drive any distance and was very bored being at home all the time.  On the 2nd of December he joined Elinor and me in the car and after I had dropped Elinor off at college just before 9.00 am we drove to the north Norfolk coast and spent the morning in Cromer.

Cromer Pier

The tide was in.  Looking westward.

Looking towards the east.

This is a photo of a very tame Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) who had decided that a good living can be made by following visitors about and eating food crumbs. It behaved just like a feral pigeon!

We were so surprised to see this bird at such close quarters!  Normally they keep their distance from humans and find worms and molluscs etc. on the shore.

Cromer Pier

There was a large amount of spray coming off the sea

The sand and stones on the promenade show how high a recent tide had been

Boats out at sea

An off-shore wind-farm

A rainbow

Richard walking towards the beach changing rooms

Cromer cliffs

After walking along the front we then visited the pier.

View from the pier

Looking back towards the town

Cromer

We visited the Lifeboat station at the end of the pier

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Part of one of the boards listing all their call-outs. I chose this because I was born in 1958

This is one of the war-time boards

Richard in one of the shelters on the pier

‘The Wellington’ – one of the pubs in the town

Returning home from shopping the following week, Elinor and I marvelled at the beauty of this misty sunset

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Christmas flower arrangement around the font at our church at Rumburgh

Richard and I had a lot to do at church this Christmas.  At the beginning of the month we had an Advent Carol Service with all our favourite Advent hymns and Advent readings.  Usually we have a Carols and Capers service with the local Morris group and their friends at the beginning of the season but sadly they were unable to organise it this time.  We had a Christmas Carol service on the 21st of December and then our church hosted the Midnight Mass service on Christmas Eve too.

I had made an Advent Crown for church too

We went for a walk on Westleton Heath on Boxing Day

The gorse (Ulex europaeus) was in flower

In the autumn this area of heather is a rich purple colour

Alice, Elinor and Phil, Alice’s boyfriend who stayed with us this Christmas

Phil up a tree

Richard, walking without a stick now!

Trees on the heathland as dusk fell

Sunset

Melting frost on the outside of my bedroom window

These following photos were taken by Richard in our garden that same morning.

Hoar frost on a Hogweed seedhead

Hoar frost on rose leaves

Our big pond

Frost and fog

Frost and fog

Richard and I went out for a walk across the fields on New Year’s Eve.  The weather was very gloomy and I didn’t find much to photograph.

View across the fields

View across the fields

Yet another view!  Note the large toadstool – bottom right of the photo.

The large fungus!

And that was my December which also included Christmas celebrations with much cooking and baking, a lot of driving about, lots of shopping and an amazing amount of housework!

Thanks for visiting!

Highlights Part 2

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.

Mining bee

Mining bee

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.

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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!

Seaside at Sunset

Tags

Black-headed Seagull, common ragwort, Common Sea Lavender, gorse, hare's-foot clover, harvestman, mudflats, oil, Perennial Glasswort, plants, sand dunes, sea, sea campion, Sea Sandwort, Sea-holly, seashore, Suffolk, sunset, thrift, Walberswick

After a busy day last Friday and a hot, sunny day too, we thought it might be nice to go to the coast for a little while.  We knew that it would be extremely crowded for most of the day so we left it until after we had eaten our evening meal and set off just before 8.00 pm.

We decided that we’d visit Walberswick as we hadn’t been there for some time and parked the car in the car-park there at about 8.30 pm.

Walberswick. With its creeks, mudflats, sand-dunes and varied flora it is a favourite place of mine to visit.

The mass of mauve flowers you can see in the photo above are Sea Lavender.

Common Sea-lavender (Limonium vulgare)

I couldn’t get a clear picture of these flowers – mainly because I couldn’t get down low enough!  Sea-lavender (no relation of true Lavender) is related to the cultivated Statices – everlasting flowers.  Many people pick these flowers illegally to make dried flower arrangements.  Strangely, the drier the ground in which it grows, the taller it gets.  This plant grows in great masses on the North Norfolk coast and I would love to see it there again.

There wasn’t much Thrift or Sea Pink (Armeria maritima) left – mainly seedheads. Thrift is a relative of Common Sea-lavender.

There was a lot of rather scrappy Hare’s-foot Clover (Trifolium arvense)…

…and a small amount of Sea Campion (Silene uniflora)

I cropped the photo I took.

The calyx (the area behind the petals) is swollen, like Bladder Campion is and is similarly patterned with red veins. The petals are larger and thicker than other types of Campion and usually overlap each other.

Sea Sandwort (Honckenya peploides).  I like the way this plant grows. It reminds me of children’s building toys.

In Richard Mabey’s ‘Flora Britannica’ he says ‘… (Sea Sandwort) is one of the earliest colonisers of sand-dunes and shingle, and remarkable for its sprawling concertinas of geometrically stacked leaves’.  It is able to keep growing upwards so if ever it is inundated with sand or mud it can survive.  As with many seashore plants it is succulent and edible.

More Sea Sandwort, this time with a Harvestman or Harvest Spider. Can you see it? They are not true spiders but are related to them. They have one-piece bodies and no silk-glands so can’t spin webs.

Common Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) in flower and Gorse bushes (Ulex europaeus)

The dunes and my shadow!

Richard and Elinor beat me to the sea. The cool northerly breeze was so refreshing.

The sea and sky were beautiful

The sun was just setting behind us

Lumps of oil

More oil

I was sorry to see this oil on the beach.  This is evidence that tankers have been flushing out their tanks illegally in N W European waters .

The sunset progressed.

The view out to sea still looked good.

Seagulls were making their way out to wherever it is they go for the night…

…except these two Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus) who seemed to be doing some synchronised beach-combing.

One last look at the sea…

We made our way back to the dunes where I found a couple more plants to photograph.

Sea-holly (Eryngium maritimum)

A most beautiful plant!

A cute little bug hoping I leave him alone!

Vetch and Hare’s-foot Clover

Perennial Glasswort (Sarcocornia perennis)

Another name for Glasswort is Samphire and like Common Glasswort (an annual plant which is also called Samphire) it can be eaten lightly boiled or pickled in spiced vinegar.

For many hundreds of years Glasswort was used in the manufacture of glass.  The succulent stems were gathered at low tide, dried and burned in heaps.  The crude ash which is high in soda was then fused with sand to make a poor quality glass.  Saltworts were also used for this purpose.

View inland with the R. Blyth on the right

We had enjoyed our hour on the beach and went home cool and relaxed.

Thanks for visiting!