It's a very forgiving fabric with this pattern!
Take care,
Sophie
Despite my worries that the world and his dog would descend by mid morning I was baffled when we were largely alone. Hardly anyone else made use of the last hurrah of summer, which is their loss and our gain.
You can see in the last shot the early morning mist that took it's time to burn off. No filter on any of the pictures (all three of them), it was a fantastic day. We made sure to queue for fish and chips nice and sharp, which were absolutely delicious, then favoured plopping back onto the sand once more.
It was a heavenly day of warmth, rest and calm, which really made us think that we are on the go so much of the time that this is a total rarity for us. Normal weekends are spent out, or cooking or wandering but never just stationary, resting. It was a tonic and both agreed that it was a perfect day well spent.
I got a funny tan line to my front and shoulders which will last for months until my skin pales off again now which made me laugh a lot. At least it wasn't half of my face, it could be worse!
This was one of our highlights of the year, such a brilliant day. I finished my book in two days straight. Time well spent indeed.
Take care,
Sophie
The garden has been a refuge from the ugliness of the outside world this year, more than ever. Two years ago I managed to coax a small handful of verbena bonariensis plants into flowering on our heavily shaded bed which was dominated by two big black clouds, namely overgrown conifers. Frighteningly large to be honest. The verbena seeded dutifully and last year I was blessed with a packed bed of flowers. This year there were even more, which stared to fade at the start of August and looked like they had given up for the year. Something must have perked them up as they all filled with fresh brightness and took off again. Amongst the plentiful visitors to the verbena have been bees, butterflies and tiny birds. My most favourite flying wonder has been the hummingbird hawk-moth which I saw zipping about one afternoon. I could hardly believe my eyes! Somehow, I recognised it, probably more from it's size and behaviour more than appearance. Dropping everything I dashed inside for my camera, battery, memory card and the big zoom lens.
Back out into the garden I spilled, breathless from the rush, re-spotted the moth and took aim. Naturally, the light was unfavourable and numerous blooms swayed in and out of the frame. If you've ever seen a hummingbird hawk-moth before you will know just how manic their flight pattern can be. They hover to feed, only pausing for a fleeting fraction of a second before whizzing along to the next bloom. Not necessarily in a logical order.
You can see what an incredibly long proboscis they have, above it's covered in pollen!
A wonderful curled up straw while in flight, on the move.
Body wise, they really are curious, Chequered effect to the body, almost a smooth furry body and their tail reminds me of a prawn. Huge wings, which flap so fast it's impossible to see more than a haze with your eyes. In print you can see the brown to the lower half of the wing.
Those eyes!!! They looks like they are so focused on their work.
Look at this guy, he's accidentally took a flower with him! Must have been loose.
I hope you enjoyed getting up close with these wonderful creatures. Hopefully they will be returning to our garden next summer too.
Take care,
Sophie
From a common, to a nature reserve, to woodland then, sadly, our path to return with had disappeared into the undergrowth with no sign of any use (or existence) so plan b was to walk the visible path then take the road back to the car. The road was a nightmare. One of those country roads which is fine to drive fast on, virtually zero verges and permanent blind bends. It did really feel like a dangerous mile or so. It was a relief to reach a straight stretch and then intercept an empty lane back to the car.
Below, mullein - possibly great.
Above, black bryony - extremely poisonous
Based on just how hard going the walk felt and how I never want to walk on a road like that again, it's unlikely we'll return. But in parts, it did feel like we'd escaped civilisation.
Below, massive football sized mushroom which has broken. I want to see one whole!
Fleabane above.
Hops! Since identifying hops in a hedgerow a couple of years ago we tend to spot it very often. The leaves are distinctive, the vines (if you call them that) are course and built for gripping on to other hedge plants and hoisting the hops to the top, along and all over. They travel far and wide. The papery flowers are fascinating. To hold, stroke and sniff. I think they smell sometimes citrus-y and often like garlic. If you see any yourself then let me know your findings.
And lastly, I do occasionally see this and couldn't figure out what it was (not in the book) but it's creeping cinquefoil. The leaves are distinctive.
It's due to be a steady start to the weekend but another toasty few days to start off the new week so don't pack your shorts away just yet. I'm excited to get out for plenty of outdoors activities, the list is growing! It could be the last chance to get blackberries, there are still some healthy ones in hedgerows but once they start to go, that's it.
I hope you have some fun plans for the weekend, but whatever you do, try to spend some time outside to enjoy the last of the summer.
Take care,
Sophie
Take care,
Sophie
The allotment has been a haven of activity and productivity, leading to hours in the kitchen trying to put it all to good use. I'll have to do another allotment catch-up, it's been maybe 2 months?!
Here's some pictures from the weekend. Above a brimstone butterfly. They just remind me of cabbage leaves.
A dragonfly a-posing.
Scabious.
Above, common centuary, though it's not common to see this at all, I only know of two locations where I've seen a teeny patch.
Below, greater knapweed. I don't see much of this either.
A hidden mallow and the picture doesn't help identify it, but it was a pale pink so I wondered if it were different.
I think the above is viper's bugloss but I'm unsure.
Below, green veined white? I've seen so many white butterflies, they are everywhere. I'm very concerned that I've not seen a single painted lady at all this year, not one. Have you?
Take care,
Sophie
