tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918861091327058032024-03-13T22:04:12.835+00:00The Northumberland NaturalistWords and pictures describing my wildlife wanderings in Northumberland and elsewhereEmma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-30555272037027492632012-06-16T16:23:00.000+01:002012-06-17T12:30:49.744+01:00Mull BirdsDuring my recent tour of the west coast of Scotland, I spent an enjoyable six days on Mull. My list of birds for the sixteen days I was away numbered eighty, but the birds I saw on Mull were certainly the highlight.<br />
<br />
In Tobermory harbour I found this Hooded Crow (<i>Corvus cornix</i>), feeding amongst the seaweed ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wO8-QGB4hTM/T9yPyZptS7I/AAAAAAAABdY/BIXfgLJio5k/s1600/P1020190+Hooded+Crow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wO8-QGB4hTM/T9yPyZptS7I/AAAAAAAABdY/BIXfgLJio5k/s400/P1020190+Hooded+Crow.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GgjbLClpVk0/T9yYIKXixiI/AAAAAAAABeU/JHZkLHq9ldg/s1600/P1020205+Tobermory+Harbour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GgjbLClpVk0/T9yYIKXixiI/AAAAAAAABeU/JHZkLHq9ldg/s400/P1020205+Tobermory+Harbour.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Tobermory Harbour</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
At the Ulva ferry landing, I joined a small group of birdwatchers on a cruise to look for Sea Eagles on Loch na Keal. Both the setting for the trip, and the weather, were perfect.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y_Onu1waL-4/T9ybDEN_b8I/AAAAAAAABes/KsqGP8tcJSw/s1600/Panorama+Ben+More+from+Ulva.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="85" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y_Onu1waL-4/T9ybDEN_b8I/AAAAAAAABes/KsqGP8tcJSw/s400/Panorama+Ben+More+from+Ulva.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The view from Ulva towards Loch na Keal </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>with Ben More (to the right) and surrounding mountains in the distance</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rOhK8LbHXZY/T9yQ0UQiysI/AAAAAAAABd0/3MdMJ0S_FOk/s1600/P1020402+Sea+Eagle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rOhK8LbHXZY/T9yQ0UQiysI/AAAAAAAABd0/3MdMJ0S_FOk/s400/P1020402+Sea+Eagle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Sea or White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) flying over Loch na Keal</i></div>
<br />
From the boat I had good views of Black Guillemot (<i>Cepphus grylle</i>), Great Northern Diver (<i>Gavia immer</i>) and Harbour Porpoise (<i>Phocena phocena</i>). And though I wasn't able to visit Staffa during my stay on Mull, I did see these lava stacks, a south-shore feature of Ulva ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YZiH3hZTS-4/T9ydwFvK1lI/AAAAAAAABfA/0ypUm0XWuaE/s1600/P1020342+Lava+stacks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YZiH3hZTS-4/T9ydwFvK1lI/AAAAAAAABfA/0ypUm0XWuaE/s400/P1020342+Lava+stacks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
While travelling along the southern coast of Mull, I found this Common Gull, nesting on the shore of Loch Spelve ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JZj_Vmd7pnw/T9yQs3nIoaI/AAAAAAAABds/M9yfiOTr6Ik/s1600/P1020593+Common+Gull+nesting+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JZj_Vmd7pnw/T9yQs3nIoaI/AAAAAAAABds/M9yfiOTr6Ik/s400/P1020593+Common+Gull+nesting+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Common Gull (Larus canus)</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
At Dervaig Bay, in the north west of Mull, I found a large group of Greylag Geese feeding.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Okmo5CoenoI/T9yQX_hUplI/AAAAAAAABdk/JfF-_3HNcew/s1600/P1020217+Greylag+Geese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Okmo5CoenoI/T9yQX_hUplI/AAAAAAAABdk/JfF-_3HNcew/s400/P1020217+Greylag+Geese.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Greylag Geese (Anser anser)</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cv_vpvdwerY/T9ydNaFVfvI/AAAAAAAABe4/WF4fAG77rdY/s1600/P1020213+Dervaig+Bay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cv_vpvdwerY/T9ydNaFVfvI/AAAAAAAABe4/WF4fAG77rdY/s400/P1020213+Dervaig+Bay.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Dervaig Bay</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And finally, while visiting Iona, I was delighted to hear a Corncrake (<i>Crex crex</i>) in a field next to the abbey ...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TT9jNPOFWIM/T9ygr37PAvI/AAAAAAAABfQ/s6wu8M2-juQ/s1600/P1020573+Iona+Abbey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TT9jNPOFWIM/T9ygr37PAvI/AAAAAAAABfQ/s6wu8M2-juQ/s400/P1020573+Iona+Abbey.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Iona Abbey</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-72411290082337165042012-06-04T12:34:00.001+01:002012-06-16T16:32:47.161+01:00An Atlantic OakwoodOne of the great pleasures of travelling is that you never know what you might find around the next corner. Ariundle Oakwoood, an Atlantic Oakwood on the outskirts of the pretty village of Strontian in Sunart, was one such surprise on my recent Scottish trip. And Sunart is one of the few areas in Scotland that retain their ancient oakwoods, now so rare they are protected.<br />
<br />
Ariundle is a precious fragment of an immense oakwood that once cloaked Europe's Atlantic coast from Portugal to Norway. Here, the steep lochside has been wooded since the glaciers retreated some 12,000 years ago. A lush covering of mosses, lichens and liverworts flourish in this undisturbed world in the Strontian Glen. The trees are mostly sessile oak, which do well on the acid soils that cover the granite bedrock. Other native species include holly, hazel, birch, rowan, alder, willow, ash and wych elm.<br />
<br />
Ancient oakwoods such as Ariundle have played an important part in the natural and human history of the area for thousands of years. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the trees were coppiced for charcoal burning and the remains of old charcoal burning platforms can still be found in the wood. The fallen trees and their dead wood provide food for spiders, beetles and insects such as wood ants.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbYPQHQ1laQ/T8yP_czVHzI/AAAAAAAABZg/tB06i5HxXVw/s1600/Oakwood+2x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbYPQHQ1laQ/T8yP_czVHzI/AAAAAAAABZg/tB06i5HxXVw/s320/Oakwood+2x.jpg" width="160" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B4tRlvAu-7c/T8yQ6fuTFWI/AAAAAAAABZ0/bFQ_RlaZ_70/s1600/P1020644+Tree+Lunwort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B4tRlvAu-7c/T8yQ6fuTFWI/AAAAAAAABZ0/bFQ_RlaZ_70/s320/P1020644+Tree+Lunwort.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Above Left: Evidence of coppiced oaks can still be seen</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Above Right: Tree Lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria)</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgAwPaPEJ7g/T8yR6KkHoWI/AAAAAAAABaE/0yPOzNs6Tms/s1600/P1020650+Atlantic+Oak+Wood+Wood+Sorrel+Moss+and+Canina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgAwPaPEJ7g/T8yR6KkHoWI/AAAAAAAABaE/0yPOzNs6Tms/s320/P1020650+Atlantic+Oak+Wood+Wood+Sorrel+Moss+and+Canina.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>The oakwood in single tree:</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Wood Sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) growing amongst moss with a Peltigera lichen to the left</i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8zcs9lEkLa8/T8ySLM9uPSI/AAAAAAAABaM/ION4wpStZoo/s1600/P1020648+Primroses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8zcs9lEkLa8/T8ySLM9uPSI/AAAAAAAABaM/ION4wpStZoo/s200/P1020648+Primroses.jpg" width="195" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6QxXyzeOe54/T8ySP_6OOQI/AAAAAAAABaU/l-pRcOc4S2c/s1600/P1020664+Lousewort+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6QxXyzeOe54/T8ySP_6OOQI/AAAAAAAABaU/l-pRcOc4S2c/s200/P1020664+Lousewort+2.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>The woodland floor: </i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Primrose (Primula vulgaris) and one of my favourites, a Lousewort (Pedicularis sylvatica)</i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e6pXYCM8zWg/T8yTWlcfZTI/AAAAAAAABao/kKLbLp7nIYs/s1600/P1020699+Cladonia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e6pXYCM8zWg/T8yTWlcfZTI/AAAAAAAABao/kKLbLp7nIYs/s320/P1020699+Cladonia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Cladonia squamosa</i></div>
<br />
<br />Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-75957620637779243692011-07-14T19:00:00.010+01:002011-07-14T20:01:34.256+01:00Widdrington TipI paid a visit to this interesting area this week and must thank <a href="http://boulmerbirder.blogspot.com/">Stewart Sexton</a> for sending a map and directions which proved most useful. I hoped to see butterflies and wasn't disappointed; Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Common Blue and a great number of Small Skippers were on the wing. And, for the first time in, let me think ... it must be thirty years, I saw and photographed a Six-spot Burnet moth.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BdBJf6Ic_KU/Th8xHw0fNHI/AAAAAAAABO8/Q0rmZBizzzU/s1600/Burnett%2B2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BdBJf6Ic_KU/Th8xHw0fNHI/AAAAAAAABO8/Q0rmZBizzzU/s400/Burnett%2B2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629272068670305394" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">Six-spot Burnet (Zyganena filipendulae)</span></center><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zk99fP8QHp8/Th8xGpjea7I/AAAAAAAABOk/g1ree_nVh_o/s1600/Small%2BSkipper%2B1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zk99fP8QHp8/Th8xGpjea7I/AAAAAAAABOk/g1ree_nVh_o/s400/Small%2BSkipper%2B1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629272049540033458" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)</span></center><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GS6KLCO28w0/Th88mGZ0Q8I/AAAAAAAABPI/vA6FahvrsMY/s1600/Common%2BBlue%2B3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GS6KLCO28w0/Th88mGZ0Q8I/AAAAAAAABPI/vA6FahvrsMY/s400/Common%2BBlue%2B3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629284684488000450" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">Common Blue (Polyomatus icarus)</span></center><br />I also came upon this Mallow growing in the track-side verge. I thought it was a Musk Mallow but it is not so hairy and the upper leaves were deeply cut so I take it to be a Cut-leaved Mallow (<span style="font-style:italic;">Malva alcea</span>) ...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xrhanHp7CWQ/Th8xHYziZAI/AAAAAAAABO0/5CzZf4ZOg9A/s1600/Cut-leaved%2BMallow.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xrhanHp7CWQ/Th8xHYziZAI/AAAAAAAABO0/5CzZf4ZOg9A/s400/Cut-leaved%2BMallow.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629272062223868930" /></a>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-27412484780837151402011-06-03T08:44:00.020+01:002011-07-15T12:07:51.905+01:00Kinloch HournI wonder how many times we pass the end of a road without giving a second thought to where it might lead or what delights we might find were we to follow it? The road to Kinloch Hourn proved to be such a road during my recent Scottish trip.<br /><br />Turning off the Skye road beyond Invergarry, the road to Kinloch Hourn begins in a wooded lane which hugs the northern shore of Loch Garry for five or so miles to the hamlet of Tomdoun with its delightful little church. Five miles on, when you come to the tiny settlement of Kingie at the head of Loch Garry you are already in the wilderness and amongst the high hills of Glenquoich. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d1yq9eoP0HU/TiAfIlxZBxI/AAAAAAAABPQ/u0eJJHvJ0ys/s1600/From%2BKingie%2Bto%2BKnoydart.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 158px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d1yq9eoP0HU/TiAfIlxZBxI/AAAAAAAABPQ/u0eJJHvJ0ys/s400/From%2BKingie%2Bto%2BKnoydart.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629533766651807506" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">Glenquoich, the River Garry above Kingie and the Knoydart hills beyond</span></center> <br />The views in all directions and the barren remoteness of Glenquoich revived long-unvisited memories of backpacking days in the Western Highlands more than twenty years ago. On this day, however, as I dawdled on along the single track road, taking in the splendour of it all, I could happily acknowledge that the road was more easily travelled from behind the steering wheel.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7SWmFJoS6f8/TeifhOkiUYI/AAAAAAAABMQ/dWsqCW3bCAE/s1600/Common%2BSandpiper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7SWmFJoS6f8/TeifhOkiUYI/AAAAAAAABMQ/dWsqCW3bCAE/s400/Common%2BSandpiper.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613912328713163138" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">A Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) on the northern bank of the River Gary</span></center><br />In the 1950's, the glen was dammed beyond Kingie raising the waters of the existing Loch Quoich by one hundred feet: sadly, it suffers today from the same unnatural shape and scarred, low-water shore line of many other man-made lakes. On rocky rain-washed outcrops near the dam, I found many Common Butterwort (<span style="font-style:italic;">Pinguicala vulagaris</span>). It was the first time I had seen these stickily hairy carnivorous perennials ...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pe-pdwjQ65Y/TeijTvlMvUI/AAAAAAAABMY/eYnadcAuy2Y/s1600/Common%2BButterwort%2BBest.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pe-pdwjQ65Y/TeijTvlMvUI/AAAAAAAABMY/eYnadcAuy2Y/s400/Common%2BButterwort%2BBest.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613916495102655810" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">Common Butterwort (Pinguicala vulagaris)</span></center><br />Other plants seen included these Lousewort (<span style="font-style:italic;">Pedicularis sylvatica</span>) ...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YWxrHvGsADk/Teim0rsNW2I/AAAAAAAABM4/nlMvV3gCpZg/s1600/DSC_2716%2BLousewort.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YWxrHvGsADk/Teim0rsNW2I/AAAAAAAABM4/nlMvV3gCpZg/s400/DSC_2716%2BLousewort.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613920359528880994" /></a><br />... these Thyme-leaved Milkwort (<span style="font-style:italic;">Polygala serpyllifolia</span>)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o8jGqGYD7T4/TeilNXyfLDI/AAAAAAAABMw/XukrFRBrj1A/s1600/Thyme%2BLeaved%2BMilkwort.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o8jGqGYD7T4/TeilNXyfLDI/AAAAAAAABMw/XukrFRBrj1A/s400/Thyme%2BLeaved%2BMilkwort.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613918584659979314" /></a><br />... and these fungi <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xqO2ooURFPM/TeilM1IxWyI/AAAAAAAABMg/g_-C4dhVzn0/s1600/Fungi%2BA.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xqO2ooURFPM/TeilM1IxWyI/AAAAAAAABMg/g_-C4dhVzn0/s400/Fungi%2BA.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613918575358204706" /></a><br />The Red Deer, featured in my last piece, were found near the head of Loch Quoich. Further on still, the steep descent to the road end at <a href="http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/knoydart/kinlochhourn/index.html">Kinloch Hourn</a> begins (the link to the <span style="font-style:italic;">Undiscovered Scotland</span> pages provides further information and pictures). The settlement comprises one or two houses and a farm, the latter offering food and basic accommodation for hill walkers, climbers, cyclists and exploring motorists! A path along the southern shore of Loch Hourn takes walkers to Barrisdale and on into the Knoydart peninsula while another path along the northern shore, takes walkers to Arnisdale and Glen Elg.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qg8NhzQ_vnI/TeitjMU26vI/AAAAAAAABNA/lIhjl1lOCNs/s1600/Over%2BLoch%2BCoire%2BShubh%2Bto%2BKinloch%2BHourn.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qg8NhzQ_vnI/TeitjMU26vI/AAAAAAAABNA/lIhjl1lOCNs/s400/Over%2BLoch%2BCoire%2BShubh%2Bto%2BKinloch%2BHourn.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613927755633060594" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">Near the end of my journey and before the steep descent into Kinloch Hourn, at the foot of the dark hill to the left of centre in this picture, this view over Loch Coire Shubh opened up</span></center>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-81498949620688851362011-05-26T07:55:00.002+01:002011-05-26T08:02:03.090+01:00Red Deer at Loch Quoich<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KTJwJZ7UKUA/TdkQQkxH47I/AAAAAAAABL8/A8fEKCRPtyI/s1600/Gorse%2Band%2BKnoydart.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 234px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KTJwJZ7UKUA/TdkQQkxH47I/AAAAAAAABL8/A8fEKCRPtyI/s400/Gorse%2Band%2BKnoydart.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609532687800329138" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">Loch Quoich with the Knoydart hills beyond</span></center><br />At the western end of Loch Quoich, where the single track road rounds a headland near a burn called the <span style="font-style:italic;">Alt Nighean Eobhain</span>, I came upon a small group of grazing Red Deer (<span style="font-style:italic;">Cervus elaphus</span>). <br /><br />I was struck at first that all of the deer in the group were stags until I read that for much of the year the stags and hinds lead separate lives, forming separate-sex herds. Male calves live with their mothers for a couple of years, but with the onset of maturity they leave to join male herds. This group were quite nervous of me but with care I was lucky enough to get close views and take the following pictures ...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jyVJIQ9WMLU/TdkFSF-2AKI/AAAAAAAABLM/CuxwI7olusU/s1600/Red%2BDeer%2BB.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jyVJIQ9WMLU/TdkFSF-2AKI/AAAAAAAABLM/CuxwI7olusU/s400/Red%2BDeer%2BB.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609520619268210850" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">A young stag with the steep slopes of Sgurr Mor, on the south side of Loch Quoich, in the background </span></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CZaqFID6yBI/TdkLIbpYS2I/AAAAAAAABLs/_HaSrGOoNNw/s1600/Red%2BDeer%2BA.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CZaqFID6yBI/TdkLIbpYS2I/AAAAAAAABLs/_HaSrGOoNNw/s400/Red%2BDeer%2BA.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609527050354838370" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">Another of the group with Loch Quoich in the background</span></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rxZNZCx4HyU/TdkGkTp5mFI/AAAAAAAABLc/T9W1R3rwRPo/s1600/Red%2BDeer%2BC.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rxZNZCx4HyU/TdkGkTp5mFI/AAAAAAAABLc/T9W1R3rwRPo/s400/Red%2BDeer%2BC.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609522031687735378" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v4O6Ga1FTKo/TdkGk1i_JiI/AAAAAAAABLk/Isn8PWWgibY/s1600/Red%2BDeer%2BD.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v4O6Ga1FTKo/TdkGk1i_JiI/AAAAAAAABLk/Isn8PWWgibY/s400/Red%2BDeer%2BD.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609522040785544738" /></a>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-54226993582258525362011-05-22T10:00:00.001+01:002011-05-22T10:04:54.630+01:00Common Seals at Loch CarronThis second piece describing my recent wildlife cruise on Loch Carron looks at Common Seals (<span style="font-style:italic;">Phoca vitulina</span>).<br /><br />Shortly after leaving Plockton on the <span style="font-style:italic;">Sula Mhor</span>, we passed a small rocky island where a group of Common Seals were basking. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rcyNmy2PqzI/TdjNl1wZ4gI/AAAAAAAABKk/mmHHMH8hfgg/s1600/Common%2BSeal%2BA.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rcyNmy2PqzI/TdjNl1wZ4gI/AAAAAAAABKk/mmHHMH8hfgg/s400/Common%2BSeal%2BA.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609459385858908674" /></a><br />The Common Seal, referred to as the Harbour Seal in other parts of the world, is associated with sheltered seas and is widespread on the east coast of England and the coasts generally around Scotland and Ireland. They have a rather friendly-looking face and are little more than half the size of the Grey Seals (<span style="font-style:italic;">Halichoerus grypus</span>) I more commonly see on the Farne Islands and at other locations along the Northumberland coast. They tend to be rather nervous and wary animals and in most circumstances are less inquisitive than their Grey cousins.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H2xhdZZscVI/TdjOwJYRZeI/AAAAAAAABKs/rAb4up48aAs/s1600/Common%2BSeal%2BB.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H2xhdZZscVI/TdjOwJYRZeI/AAAAAAAABKs/rAb4up48aAs/s400/Common%2BSeal%2BB.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609460662436718050" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7VLDGM2qXD4/TdjOwbEXR0I/AAAAAAAABK0/jfpBNQurbSQ/s1600/Common%2BSeal%2BC%2Bplus%2Bbirds.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7VLDGM2qXD4/TdjOwbEXR0I/AAAAAAAABK0/jfpBNQurbSQ/s400/Common%2BSeal%2BC%2Bplus%2Bbirds.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609460667185055554" /></a><br />There are believed to be over 350 Common Seals resident in the Plockton area. You can see more picture pictures of Common Seals at Loch Carron on <a href="http://www.calums-sealtrips.com/index.asp?pageid=159430">Callum Mackenzie's website</a>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-6599166099701408252011-05-18T19:22:00.011+01:002011-05-19T15:37:17.688+01:00Common Dolphins at Loch CarronAfter spending the first three months of 2011 decorating almost all of my house, and taking the time since to recover, I took myself off to Scotland for a short break last week to stay with my Invergarry friend at her home on the shores of Loch Oich. Sadly, as she is moving to the south of England in June, this was to be the last holiday I would spend with her in her Highland home.<br /><br />On Wednesday we travelled to Plockton, to the north of the Kyle of Lochalsh, meeting another friend for lunch before taking a wildlife cruise on Loch Carron. The cruise turned out to be one of those never-to-be-forgotten moments. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UEbST8FlXUs/TdQWUlgVWdI/AAAAAAAABJs/wO4xfGjNFL4/s1600/Plockton%2B1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UEbST8FlXUs/TdQWUlgVWdI/AAAAAAAABJs/wO4xfGjNFL4/s400/Plockton%2B1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608131978904033746" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">A rather cold and damp Loch Carron seen from the departure point </span>(<span style="font-style:italic;">cruise boat not shown in this picture</span>)</center><br />Our cruise boat, the <span style="font-style:italic;">Sula Mhor</span>, followed a course up Loch Carron towards a fish farm where Calum the captain told us we were almost certain to see the dolphins. We didn't but kept on cruising further up the loch towards Strome Ferry and beyond to Lochcarron village, hopeful but still without a view of them. The return trip, however, proved successful and the Loch's resident pair of female Common Dolphins (<span style="font-style:italic;">Delphinus delphis</span>), known locally as Gin and Tonic, put on a great show for us.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jl4B4u-LcUg/TdQXXFZtB1I/AAAAAAAABJ0/rQYm7z0mLyo/s1600/Dolphin%2BB.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jl4B4u-LcUg/TdQXXFZtB1I/AAAAAAAABJ0/rQYm7z0mLyo/s400/Dolphin%2BB.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608133121337526098" /></a><center><span style="font-style:italic;">Above and below: the Dolphins coming to the surface</span></center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yllEKtteO1c/TdQYGQ8HsrI/AAAAAAAABJ8/f6iqZoOrSf8/s1600/Dolphin%2BC.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yllEKtteO1c/TdQYGQ8HsrI/AAAAAAAABJ8/f6iqZoOrSf8/s400/Dolphin%2BC.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608133931888521906" /></a><br />And here, in this short video, the dolphins can be seen swimming at the bow of the <span style="font-style:italic;">Sula Mhor</span> ...<br /><center><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="320" data="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=71377" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"> <param name="flashvars" value="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=d2048218af&photo_id=5734364168"></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=71377"></param> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=71377" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=d2048218af&photo_id=5734364168" height="320" width="400"></embed></object><br /></center><br />If you are travelling in the Plockton area, do take one of Culum's cruises ...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iB2wec4NR-U/TdQY35Ucp6I/AAAAAAAABKE/exIKnQHNBVA/s1600/Calum%2527s%2BLeaflet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 281px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iB2wec4NR-U/TdQY35Ucp6I/AAAAAAAABKE/exIKnQHNBVA/s400/Calum%2527s%2BLeaflet.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608134784541566882" /></a><br />See more <a href="http://www.calums-sealtrips.com">here </a>at Calum's Seal and Dolphin Trips website.<br /><br />More of my Scotland trip in forthcoming posts.Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-67113588754716695872010-12-17T20:37:00.001+00:002010-12-18T20:36:20.026+00:00Life in a Cow-PatIt was bitterly cold today so I thought, for this short piece, I would transport myself back to a sunny day in late July when ... <br /><br />... returning home from another rewarding afternoon at Sidwood, crossing the high moor below Padon Hill, I paused to take-in this view north, to the remote steading of Dargues Hope, standing in splendid isolation at the foot of Blakehope Fell, and beyond, across the Rede valley towards the Cheviot hills and the border with Scotland.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TQu4-84iI_I/AAAAAAAABI4/PYbaFZJ7SYo/s1600/P1030831%2BView%2BNorth.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TQu4-84iI_I/AAAAAAAABI4/PYbaFZJ7SYo/s400/P1030831%2BView%2BNorth.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551734357298914290" /></a><br />As I turned away from the view to continue homewards, I glimpsed a number of fungi growing on cow-pats in a field to my right. The fungi were Egghead Mottlegills (<em>Panaeolus semiovatus</em>). This Mottlegill has distinctively shaped, cream-coloured caps and a short-lived, white-fading-to-yellow ring on the stipe. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TQpC578NCAI/AAAAAAAABIw/4wokEfLgUpw/s1600/P1030818%2BEgghead%2BMottlegill.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TQpC578NCAI/AAAAAAAABIw/4wokEfLgUpw/s400/P1030818%2BEgghead%2BMottlegill.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551323053797738498" /></a>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-86501307105161574722010-12-07T18:07:00.003+00:002010-12-07T18:15:35.194+00:00Deep and Crisp and EvenRedesdale enjoyed something of a thaw last Saturday but the days since have seen the winter's grip on the valley re-tightened. Thankfully, there's been no more snow but today, having to travel five miles outside the village to the nearest Post Office, I thought the roads quite unpleasant to drive along. I was glad just to buy stamps for my Christmas cards and, once back in the village, some vegetables and a woolly Peruvian-style hat at the mill shop before returning home for my lunch-time soup and a sandwich and an afternoon with Patrick Barkham's enchanting <em><a href="http://grantabooks.com/page/3012/The+Butterfly+Isles/715">The Butterfly Isles</a></em>, which I am very much enjoying and can thoroughly recommend.<br /><br />When leaving the mill, this view of sheep feeding in an adjacent field caught my eye ... <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TP5v1JGBEBI/AAAAAAAABIA/tWyspFzn9Mc/s1600/P1000413%2BSheep%2Bin%2BSnow%2B2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 193px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TP5v1JGBEBI/AAAAAAAABIA/tWyspFzn9Mc/s400/P1000413%2BSheep%2Bin%2BSnow%2B2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547994749731934226" /></a><br />And in the garden, the birds return again and again to the food I put out for them at their temporary feeding station on top of the wall at my front door. Here's another of the Brambling pictures I took from my living room window last week ...<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TP50UckcxgI/AAAAAAAABII/90k2gtBix0M/s1600/P1000302%2BBrambling%2B2R.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TP50UckcxgI/AAAAAAAABII/90k2gtBix0M/s400/P1000302%2BBrambling%2B2R.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547999685582308866" /></a><center><em>Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)</em></center><br />And a Christmas-card Robin ...<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TP51grF7-eI/AAAAAAAABIQ/-ui9whlXeuQ/s1600/P1000379%2BSquare%2BRobin.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TP51grF7-eI/AAAAAAAABIQ/-ui9whlXeuQ/s400/P1000379%2BSquare%2BRobin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548000995150920162" /></a><center><em>Robin (Erithacus rubecula)</em></center>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-52080023126169799322010-12-04T16:52:00.007+00:002010-12-09T22:05:16.153+00:00Bramblings in the SnowThe snow in my garden on Thursday morning was three feet deep and the most convenient way for me to feed the birds was to place small portions of their favourite foods along the top of the wall at my front door. <br /><br />From my living room window I watched three male Bramblings, a large mixed flock of Chaffinch, four Greenfinch, a female House Sparrow, three male and two female Blackbirds, individual Blue, Coal and Great Tits and a Robin visit the food. As might be imagined, I was particularly pleased to see the Bramblings. I think this is a first winter male ... <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TPp6peTxEuI/AAAAAAAABH4/vysdH0PNm0o/s1600/P1000349%2BBrambling.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TPp6peTxEuI/AAAAAAAABH4/vysdH0PNm0o/s400/P1000349%2BBrambling.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546880743989383906" /></a><center><em>Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)</em></center>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-53076224569016742432010-12-01T09:30:00.004+00:002010-12-04T20:05:24.857+00:00Hard TimesSince the weekend, the winter weather, which was at least picturesque in my last my last piece, has continued to tighten it's grip on Redesdale. The accumulation now is certainly as deep as last winter and clearing it has meant a lot of hard work for me and my new plastic snow shovel. The car-wide track down to the road, created on Saturday when I dug out the six inches of snow lying on my drive, has filled and been cleared twice again; on Monday the snow was twelve inches deep and there was another six inches yesterday. And if I felt up to the task this morning, five inches more has fallen overnight. It's still snowing heavily as I write so I've voted for a lazy day. Sadly, the garden birds will not be able to relax.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TPYJtBkG3YI/AAAAAAAABGw/M80nhQ3_FDc/s1600/DSCN0386%2BBlue%2BTit%2BWinter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TPYJtBkG3YI/AAAAAAAABGw/M80nhQ3_FDc/s400/DSCN0386%2BBlue%2BTit%2BWinter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545630660271988098" /></a>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-67518992223361683582010-11-28T17:55:00.005+00:002010-11-28T19:13:01.694+00:00WinterWe've had quite a lot of snow in Redesdale this week. Not as much, perhaps, as other parts of Northumberland, and certainly not as much, yet, as we had in the last week of the old year and the first two weeks of 2010 when I was snowed-in for three weeks. But worryingly, the large scar, marking a car-wide track down to the road that I dug out of the six inches of snow lying on my drive yesterday, was almost entirely filled by the overnight snow. <br /><br />For all of this, the countryside around me is looking picturesque as I discovered this afternoon on a short walk up onto the village trail.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TPKZ4pNWpnI/AAAAAAAABGY/G2MVKygZ1s4/s1600/P1000008%2BPadon%2BHill.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TPKZ4pNWpnI/AAAAAAAABGY/G2MVKygZ1s4/s400/P1000008%2BPadon%2BHill.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544663289660089970" /></a><center><em>A view west across Redesdale to Padon Hill</em></center><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TPKbfdwfkbI/AAAAAAAABGg/1dl12uTor0c/s1600/P1000017%2BTwo%2BTrees.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TPKbfdwfkbI/AAAAAAAABGg/1dl12uTor0c/s400/P1000017%2BTwo%2BTrees.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544665056112775602" /></a><center><em>On the village trail looking north</em></center><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TPKbfkW2NlI/AAAAAAAABGo/_sGBydaPCXo/s1600/P1000011%2BFawdon%2BHill.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TPKbfkW2NlI/AAAAAAAABGo/_sGBydaPCXo/s400/P1000011%2BFawdon%2BHill.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544665057884255826" /></a><center><em>Looking east from the village trail to Fawdon Hill</em></center>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-54877427526695130102010-11-22T17:08:00.007+00:002010-11-23T12:32:55.498+00:00Longhorn Beetle at SidwoodIn July, on the same day that I found the Scorpionfly at Sidwood, I came across another interesting insect, a Longhorn Beetle (<em>Pachytodes cerambyciformis</em>) feeding on what I thought was Feverfew (<em>Chrysanthemum parthenium</em>) but I am grateful to Stewart Sexton who tells me is Sneezewort (<em>Achillea ptarmica</em>), described below. <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TOqkGTdxMpI/AAAAAAAABGI/CVmz8XFouzI/s1600/P1030690%2BLonghorn%2BBeetle.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TOqkGTdxMpI/AAAAAAAABGI/CVmz8XFouzI/s400/P1030690%2BLonghorn%2BBeetle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542422719644119698" /></a><br />The best habitats for finding longhorn beetles are flowery woodland rides or edges, flower-rich meadows or roadsides near woodland, such as here at Sidwood, or marshy areas. Only a few species are common in very built up areas, gardens, coastal habitats and heath land.<br /><br /><em>Regarding Sneezewort, its leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. They are cardiac, diaphoretic, digestive, emmenagogue, odontalgic, sternutatory and styptic. The leaf is chewed to relieve toothache and can be used as an insect repellent. The dried, powdered leaves are used as a sneezing powder. The plant yields an essential oil that is used medicinally.</em>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-32566795785204192012010-11-18T18:30:00.001+00:002010-11-19T09:42:10.071+00:00Indoor WildlifeYou can imagine my surprise recently, when I discovered a small Common Frog (<em>Rana temporaria</em>) swimming in my toilet pan. I have thought very hard about how it could have got there and have concluded that it must have come through the open window and then found its way into the pan through a gap at the back of the seat. It seemed unable to scale the inside of the pan and make its escape. It was not a fully grown adult, being about 60mm long. I didn't take its picture while it was swimming about in the pan but this picture was taken after I released it in my garden ...<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TOVpz3hvg_I/AAAAAAAABFw/tCu6xzk9Xck/s1600/P1040115%2BFrog%2Bbest.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TOVpz3hvg_I/AAAAAAAABFw/tCu6xzk9Xck/s400/P1040115%2BFrog%2Bbest.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540951256348984306" /></a><center><em>Common Frog (Rana temporaria)</em></center><br />This is the second time I have found an unexpected creature <em>inside</em> my house. In August, 2007, I found this male Common Lizard (<em>Zootoca vivapara</em>) in my porch. Again, I have little idea how it arrived there as I don't often use my front door. It had lost its tail but this had regrown shorter and darker, which I understand is not uncommon. I placed in the sun on the wall at my front door and took the following picture before it made its escape ...<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TOVs5loBnYI/AAAAAAAABF4/Q5pkRf06KEI/s1600/Lizzard%2B2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TOVs5loBnYI/AAAAAAAABF4/Q5pkRf06KEI/s400/Lizzard%2B2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540954653157596546" /></a><center><em>Common Lizard (Zootoca vivapara)</em></center><br />It would be interesting to hear from others who might have had similar experiences.Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-32972540236462173802010-11-13T18:24:00.003+00:002010-11-14T13:18:38.419+00:00Holystone North WoodHolystone North Wood, a semi-natural, acid sessile oakwood, more typical perhaps of the Lake District, is a little way to the north of the Holystone Burn. It is thought to have survived since at least 1700. Many of the trees have multiple stems suggestive of copicing in the past, although records show that the wood was last worked in this manner over sixty years ago. <br /><br />The Forestry Commission plans to increase the oak woodland in Holystone to over one hundred hectares. Many of the surrounding conifer plantations are now being felled and will be replaced with oaks grown from local seed. <br /><br />The wood is approached by an up-hill walk through, and then along the edge of one of the conifer plantations. The first view of the wood, across a small pasture when leaving the conifers, is most inviting ...<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNxA2rHycvI/AAAAAAAABFo/sDBqyTzcQDM/s1600/P1040572%2BWood%2Bview.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNxA2rHycvI/AAAAAAAABFo/sDBqyTzcQDM/s400/P1040572%2BWood%2Bview.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538372949791372018" /></a>Some of the wood is fenced off to allow natural regeneration, but there is still plenty to see from the public paths ...<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNw4NRbQpPI/AAAAAAAABFI/DOV34Qvpa_8/s1600/P1040556%2BWood.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNw4NRbQpPI/AAAAAAAABFI/DOV34Qvpa_8/s400/P1040556%2BWood.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538363442426062066" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNw4OSfo2JI/AAAAAAAABFQ/7bw9bBfYthk/s1600/P1040557%2BWood.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNw4OSfo2JI/AAAAAAAABFQ/7bw9bBfYthk/s400/P1040557%2BWood.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538363459892730002" /></a>During my visit this week, I had good views of small groups of feeding Redpolls and Long-tailed Tits. Jays and a Red Squirrel were also active. I also found this Bonnet Mycena (<em>Mycena galericulata</em>) growing on a decaying deciduous tree ...<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNw7Quo_0LI/AAAAAAAABFY/EHBE_lZOAV0/s1600/P1040568%2BFungi%2B2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNw7Quo_0LI/AAAAAAAABFY/EHBE_lZOAV0/s400/P1040568%2BFungi%2B2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538366800342798514" /></a>The return walk to the car park offered good views south towards the Holystone Burn, in the valley beyond the pasture, and Holystone Common ...<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNw8c_hVN4I/AAAAAAAABFg/ZHy2iAZ7e7s/s1600/P1040570%2BPasture.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNw8c_hVN4I/AAAAAAAABFg/ZHy2iAZ7e7s/s400/P1040570%2BPasture.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538368110544107394" /></a>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-84665094116202558382010-11-11T15:39:00.011+00:002010-11-14T17:53:04.334+00:00Hill BornOn Remembrance Day, I thought it would be appropriate to share another of the poems by the Hexham-born poet, Wilfrid Wilson Gibson, this time entitled <em>Hill Born</em>.<br /><br />The poem is from Gibson's First World War collection <em>Battle</em>. Due to his ill health, the army would not accept him for service abroad and he spent some months as an Army clerk in England. His poems in <em>Battle</em> are written from a soldier's point of view, portraying the horrors of war and the terrible effects on the young men who went to fight in the trenches.<br /><br />In <em>Hill Born</em>, the thoughts of a Northumberland man fighting in France turn to happier times spent in the Cheviot Hills ...<br /><br /><center><em>I sometimes wonder if it’s really true<br />I ever new<br />Another life<br />Than this unending strife<br />With unseen enemies in lowland mud,<br />And wonder if my blood<br />Thrilled ever to the tune<br />Of clean winds blowing through an April noon<br />Mile after sunny mile<br />In the green ridges of Windy Gile</em></center><br />Today, our thoughts turn to those who went to war and had no homecoming to the green ridges of <em>their</em> native hills.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNwTDm6sWuI/AAAAAAAABE4/xyMK6l8SQ7c/s1600/Windy%2BGyle%2B2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 182px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNwTDm6sWuI/AAAAAAAABE4/xyMK6l8SQ7c/s400/Windy%2BGyle%2B2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538322594466126562" /></a><center><em>Windy Gyle, on the Cheviot Ridge, from Shillhope Law</em></center>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-36549572883436170442010-11-05T18:17:00.000+00:002010-11-05T18:19:15.984+00:00Holystone BurnThe area surrounding the Holystone Burn is one I return to regularly, not least because the panoramas across the upland moorland are beautiful at almost any time of year, and certainly enhance my drive to the shops in Rothbury. Here we see the view towards Simonside in July, looking across the semi-natural woodland alongside the burn ...<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQy_nBCjlI/AAAAAAAABD4/_YZ1872eqqQ/s1600/Holystone+Burn+Panorama+Green.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQy_nBCjlI/AAAAAAAABD4/_YZ1872eqqQ/s400/Holystone+Burn+Panorama+Green.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536105910331674194" /></a><br />And here in late August, when the air is thick with the smell of honey from the fine sweep of heather, left ungrazed for many years ...<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQzOqImt4I/AAAAAAAABEA/q728qXyR_Lc/s1600/Heather+at+Holystone+Burn.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 188px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQzOqImt4I/AAAAAAAABEA/q728qXyR_Lc/s400/Heather+at+Holystone+Burn.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536106168866748290" /></a><br />And finally here, during my visit last week, when the autumn colour in both the trees and the decaying bracken was at its best and the distant Simonside was obscured by driving rain ...<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQzmAL1lwI/AAAAAAAABEI/TtcB4BskFV8/s1600/Holystone+Panorama+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 197px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQzmAL1lwI/AAAAAAAABEI/TtcB4BskFV8/s400/Holystone+Panorama+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536106569922877186" /></a><br />The land, which is owned by Forest Enterprises, is managed jointly with the Northumberland Wildlife Trust as a reserve and I hoped to find some interesting fungi in the woods. Sadly, there were not as many to be found as I might have liked ...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQ0IOM-khI/AAAAAAAABEQ/RlQ1nLepYYw/s1600/P1040248+Bolete.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQ0IOM-khI/AAAAAAAABEQ/RlQ1nLepYYw/s400/P1040248+Bolete.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536107157801308690" /></a><center><em>Brown Birch Bolete (Leccinum scabrum)</em></center><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQ0lFjeCFI/AAAAAAAABEY/c48IR08LRHA/s1600/P1040242+Bracket.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQ0lFjeCFI/AAAAAAAABEY/c48IR08LRHA/s400/P1040242+Bracket.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536107653695932498" /></a><center><em>Jelly Rot (Plebia tremellosa)</em></center><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQ8NWB4jZI/AAAAAAAABEo/yu1TahAp30Q/s1600/P1040427+Stag%27s+Horn.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQ8NWB4jZI/AAAAAAAABEo/yu1TahAp30Q/s400/P1040427+Stag%27s+Horn.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536116041894628754" /></a><center><em>Stag's Horn or Candle-snuff Fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon)</em></center><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQ8afmFEbI/AAAAAAAABEw/NHwFsm0Hjx8/s1600/P1040410+Pixies+Cup.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 261px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQ8afmFEbI/AAAAAAAABEw/NHwFsm0Hjx8/s400/P1040410+Pixies+Cup.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536116267800662450" /></a><center><em>The Pixie Cup Lichen (Cladonia pyxidata)</em></center><br />And during the walk, the Holystone Burn, glimpsed here through the trees, ripples along in the background ...<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQ1JCDz9dI/AAAAAAAABEg/-E0Y4ilVtB8/s1600/P1040254+Burn.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TNQ1JCDz9dI/AAAAAAAABEg/-E0Y4ilVtB8/s400/P1040254+Burn.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536108271233136082" /></a>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-555450346531521082010-10-31T16:21:00.002+00:002010-10-31T16:23:27.744+00:00The Colours of AutumnIs it just me, or has this been a particularly colourful autumn? In Redesdale, and in the surrounding countryside too, a palette of yellow, red, gold and bronze fills the woods as autumn gives way to winter. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TM2QDIdZ61I/AAAAAAAABDY/S45Tn70NG4o/s1600/P1040450+Autum+Colour+Burdonside+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TM2QDIdZ61I/AAAAAAAABDY/S45Tn70NG4o/s400/P1040450+Autum+Colour+Burdonside+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534237900593032018" /></a>At Sidwood this week, the autumn colour has been at its very best, such as here, alongside the lane which runs through the woodland ...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMvWfO3T7YI/AAAAAAAABCY/cPd8g6DOxQ8/s1600/P1040320+Sidwood+Autumn+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMvWfO3T7YI/AAAAAAAABCY/cPd8g6DOxQ8/s400/P1040320+Sidwood+Autumn+3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533752399209164162" /></a>In places, the woodland floor is carpeted in cones and leaves ...<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMva2i3OpJI/AAAAAAAABC4/TmqMvlNO2w4/s1600/P1040364+Woodland+Floor+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMva2i3OpJI/AAAAAAAABC4/TmqMvlNO2w4/s400/P1040364+Woodland+Floor+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533757197761029266" /></a>Nearer to home, at High Green, larch and some deciduous trees add colour to what could otherwise be a dull conifer plantation.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TM2W4vZYC_I/AAAAAAAABDo/42XlnHNWyhc/s1600/P1040452+Autumn+Colour+Goften+Cleugh.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TM2W4vZYC_I/AAAAAAAABDo/42XlnHNWyhc/s400/P1040452+Autumn+Colour+Goften+Cleugh.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534245418647948274" /></a>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-90061318675719147202010-10-29T09:24:00.003+01:002010-10-30T08:40:10.544+01:00Sidwood FungiThe first of the fungi found at Sidwood on a recent visit, the Horsehair Parachute (<em>Marasmius androsaceus</em>), is common and widespread but was easily overlooked amongst the debris on the woodland floor where, before a little 'gardening', only the caps were visible ...<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMba9dOkhyI/AAAAAAAABCA/V-id53_R5OI/s1600/P1040381+Horsehair+Parachute+Best.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMba9dOkhyI/AAAAAAAABCA/V-id53_R5OI/s400/P1040381+Horsehair+Parachute+Best.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532349941623850786" /></a><br />Collins <em>Complete Guide to British Mushrooms and Toadstools</em> describes the Horsehair Parachute as "small but conspicuous parachute with a very long, horsehair-like black stipe. The cap is up to 1cm across, convex, becoming flatter and usually with a depressed centre; strongly radially grooved, furrowed and wrinkled; pinkish-brown but sometimes paler towards the margin. The gills are <em>concolorous </em>with the cap. The stipe is up to 5cm long, cylindrical, thin, tough and wiry and black. Its habitat is usually on plant debris, often heather and conifers, and is less often associated with deciduous trees". The examples in my picture were 20mm tall.<br /><br />I think that this is The Deceiver (Laccaria laccata) ...<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMqDSQIMTNI/AAAAAAAABCQ/-rOMPyIPqw8/s1600/P1040297+The+Deceiver.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMqDSQIMTNI/AAAAAAAABCQ/-rOMPyIPqw8/s400/P1040297+The+Deceiver.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533379441768287442" /></a><br />And this is Root Rot (Heterobasidian annosum), seen here growing on the roots of a connifer ...<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMqA93XU8yI/AAAAAAAABCI/xSTCt-pXtx0/s1600/P1040317+Root+Rot+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMqA93XU8yI/AAAAAAAABCI/xSTCt-pXtx0/s400/P1040317+Root+Rot+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533376892500243234" /></a><br />... and its underside ...<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMbZfQDdUdI/AAAAAAAABBw/gGttZYzoUKQ/s1600/P1040315+Root+Rot+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMbZfQDdUdI/AAAAAAAABBw/gGttZYzoUKQ/s400/P1040315+Root+Rot+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532348323179876818" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><em></em>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-55094336305172520902010-10-25T21:39:00.002+01:002010-10-26T16:31:13.901+01:00Butterflies and BuddleiaWinter in Redesdale last year started earlier, lasted longer and was more severe than most in recent memory. So when spring eventually stirred, I couldn't help but feel just a little relief.<br /><br />Happily, the four buddleia bushes in my garden had survived the winter and were starting to produce new shoots. They were little more than rooted twigs, throw-aways from a neighbour's garden, when I had planted them five years before. But as time passed they matured, flowered beautifully in purple or white and, just as well-behaved buddleias should, attracted lots of butterflies (as described <a href="http://northumberlandnaturalist.blogspot.com/2009/08/butterflies-and-buddleia-1.html">here</a> in one of two pieces published in August, 2009)<br /><br />Then one night, when the new growth was coming along nicely, the temperature plummeted to -12 and shrivelled it all. At first I thought the frost had killed the bushes entirely, but as spring moved on, they recovered and new growth returned, mainly from the base of each bush.<br /><br />This said, they certainly flowered later than in previous years, and as a result were still attracting butterflies during the few mild days we enjoyed at the start of October. Here are two of those late visitors ...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMSrDrN4A3I/AAAAAAAABA4/9JEk6UoqtDY/s1600/P1040131+Red+Admiral.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMSrDrN4A3I/AAAAAAAABA4/9JEk6UoqtDY/s400/P1040131+Red+Admiral.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531734321946690418" /></a><center><em>Red Admiral (Vanessa atlanta)</em></center><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMSrDj_vQYI/AAAAAAAABAw/6nfJJxPuT-k/s1600/P1040145+Small+Tortoiseshell.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMSrDj_vQYI/AAAAAAAABAw/6nfJJxPuT-k/s400/P1040145+Small+Tortoiseshell.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531734320008348034" /></a><center><em>Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)</em></center>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-27392895116080017142010-10-21T19:00:00.002+01:002010-10-22T18:55:33.976+01:00Making Autumn ChutneyHaving bought more Bramley apples than I needed for my recent blackberry and apple jam making, I thought it would be a good idea to use the left-overs in a chutney. In <em>Good Old-Fashioned Jams, Preserves and Chutneys</em> by Sara Paston-Williams, published by the National Trust, there's a very simple recipe for Autumn Chutney; if you have any windfall apples or pears, this a great way to use them up.<br /><br />The ingredients are ...<br /><br /><em>2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped<br />1lb of cooking pears, peeled, cored and diced<br />1lb of cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced<br />Grated rind and juice on one lemon<br />Half a pint of malt vinegar<br />Half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon<br />Large pinch of ground ginger<br />Large pinch of ground cloves<br />8oz of soft brown sugar</em><br /><br />... and the method is: Cook the onions in boiling water for five minutes to soften them, then drain. Put the pears, apples, onions, lemon rind, vinegar and spices into a large pan, then cook them over a low heat for about twenty minutes.<br /><br />Stir in the sugar and lemon juice and continue to cook over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, stirring frequently, then bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for about an hour until the mixture thickens. To tell when the chutney is cooked, make a channel right across the surface with a wooden spoon; if this does not fill with vinegar, then it is ready.<br /><br />Spoon into warm, sterilized jars, filling them up to the rim, and seal. Store for at least one month to mature before using.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMCvefRZ6AI/AAAAAAAABAY/JohGIy38Qjo/s1600/Chutney+Making+Tile+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMCvefRZ6AI/AAAAAAAABAY/JohGIy38Qjo/s400/Chutney+Making+Tile+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530613280736405506" /></a><center><em>Top left & right: The left-over Bramley apples; The apples diced; Bottom left & right: The pears peeled and ready to dice; The finished chutney waiting to be spooned into jars.</em></center><br />The finished chutney filled five, 7oz, jars ...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMHP--zme4I/AAAAAAAABAo/ZWfmdmcz8o4/s1600/P1040163+Jars+of+Chutney.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TMHP--zme4I/AAAAAAAABAo/ZWfmdmcz8o4/s400/P1040163+Jars+of+Chutney.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530930498305948546" /></a><br />I've not yet opened a jar of the chutney but I can say that it tasted fine before it was put into its jars.<br /><br />I find making jams, jellies, marmalades, and now chutney, particularly satisfying and it's a great diversion on a miserable autumn day. My friends also seem happy to receive and enjoy the gift of a jar of something homemade and some of my production this autumn will be used as stocking fillers at Christmas.<br /><br />I recycle a lot of jars, and friends and neighbours keep me going with jar donations, but I do buy new tops and other jars from the <a href="http://www.jamjarshop.com/">Jam Jar Shop</a>. The friendly and helpful people there have a great selection of glass ware, equipment, accessories and even ingredients; I particularly like their 7oz jars, used here for the Autumn Chutney. It's easy to order on line and orders are fulfilled and delivered quickly and in tact.Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-37105216864660280552010-10-18T10:44:00.001+01:002010-10-18T10:50:22.364+01:00Scorpionfly at SidwoodI happened upon an insect I’d not seen before while walking at Sidwood in July. I thought it was rather unusual so I took some pictures to help identify it when I returned home. The insect turned out to be a female Scorpionfly, an insect with a long and interesting family history.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEfzyoF763I/AAAAAAAAA8o/VPeFBiaR2uc/s1600/P1030776+Scorpion+Fly+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEfzyoF763I/AAAAAAAAA8o/VPeFBiaR2uc/s400/P1030776+Scorpion+Fly+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496629921310305138" /></a><br />Scorpionflies are the only UK representatives of the insect order <em>Mecoptera</em>, derived from the Greek <em>mekos</em>, long, and <em>pteron</em>, wing, and referring to the shape of both the front and hind wings in most species.<br /><br />In evolutionary terms, the <em>Mecoptera</em> is an old group; fossil specimens have been found from the Permian period, 300-250million years ago. However, the group was far more diverse in prehistory, when there were nine families, than now when only three remain. The <em>Mecoptera</em> are also one of oldest known <em>homometabolous</em> groups, having <em>complete metamorphosis </em>(egg, larva, pupa and adult stages), and as such may be the forerunner of other insects that have complete metamorphosis such as butterflies, moths and caddis flies. To see pictures of fossil Scorpionflies click <a href="http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Galleries/Insect_Galleries_by_Order/Mecoptera/Mecoptera_fossil_gallery.htm">here</a><br /><br />The three present-day families of Scorpionflies are Common (<em>Panorpidae</em>), Snow (<em>Boreidae</em>) and Hanging (<em>Bittacidae</em>). There are some three-hundred species of <em>Mecoptera</em> world-wide of which thirty species can be found in Europe. The Common Scorpionflies, the <em>Panorpidae</em>, are the largest family but only three <em>Panorpa</em> are found in the UK. These are <em>Panorpa germanica</em>, <em>Panorpa communis </em>and <em>Panorpa cognate</em>; they are all so similar that it is impossible to tell them apart without examining their genitalia under a microscope. To read more about Snow and Hanging Scorpionflies click <a href="http://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-files/orders/mecoptera.html">here</a><br /><br />It is only the Common Scorpionflies that have the upturned scorpion-like genitalia or 'tail' that gives the order its name. They are brownish yellow and black insects with mottled wings and are found amongst shaded vegetation, such as the one I found at Sidwood, and in hedgerows. To see pictures of other Scorpionflies, including males, click <a href="http://www.treknature.com/search.php?phrase=scorpionfly&type=&search=Go">here</a><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEfzbqlF0WI/AAAAAAAAA8g/cAYLYMOoUDI/s1600/P1030778+Scorpion+Fly+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEfzbqlF0WI/AAAAAAAAA8g/cAYLYMOoUDI/s400/P1030778+Scorpion+Fly+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496629526840856930" /></a><br />The adult Scorpionfly is about 15mm long. Its head is shaped like a beak, as in my picture above; it is this feature that is useful in distinguishing them from other insects and which first attracted my attention. And while the adults look a little scary, they are in fact quite harmless. They feed on dead or dying insects, including any they might spot in a spider's web, and on pollen and flowers. They are also partial to ripe fruit and, when it's available, to human sweat. <br /><br /><em>Panorpid</em> males attract females by vibrating their wings. When it's time to mate, the males find a good source of food and attract females with pheromones from their enlarged genital segment. When the female approaches, the male exudes a mass of brown saliva, which serves as a nuptial gift. The female chooses a male based on this gift and in response to this, the males have evolved saliva glands so large that they take up most of their body cavity. <br /><br />After mating the eggs are laid in soil, expanding greatly just before hatching. The larva are caterpillar-like with conical legs. They have compound eyes, which is unlike the larva of most of the other homometabolous insects (for example, caterpillars and beetle larva do not have compound eyes). They can pupate quickly, sometimes in a week and hatch as adults. An illustration of a Common Scorpionfly larva can be found <a href="http://www.kendalluk.com/mecop.htm">here</a>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-41465697414983734992010-10-16T12:04:00.030+01:002010-10-17T19:48:03.381+01:00Fungi at Rupert's WoodRupert's Wood, a mixed woodland including some ancient trees, is little more than four miles to the north of my home in Redesdale. The wood is owned by Lord Redesdale and occupies some thirty-one hectares enclosed by a dry-stone wall. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLmQS5mXsqI/AAAAAAAAA-4/wDK2NA5NBQc/s1600/Rupert%27s+Wood+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLmQS5mXsqI/AAAAAAAAA-4/wDK2NA5NBQc/s400/Rupert%27s+Wood+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528608671947797154" /></a><center><em>A view of Rupert's Wood, taken on an earlier visit</em></center><br />The wood is home to a stone-lined pond dating from the mid-nineteenth century, reputedly used in the past for swimming. Its best use today is as a mirror, providing some wonderful autumn reflections and reminding me of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Worlds">Escher's <em>Three Worlds </em>lithograph</a> ... <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLmOeuPdZgI/AAAAAAAAA-w/POq9olZDd0I/s1600/Reflections+2b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLmOeuPdZgI/AAAAAAAAA-w/POq9olZDd0I/s400/Reflections+2b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528606676034086402" /></a><br />Rupert's Wood is an excellent site for fungi and several pictured during an earlier visit can be found <a href="http://northumberlandnaturalist.blogspot.com/2009/11/fungi.html">here</a>. During my visit this week I found others, including two new to me comprising this Stinkhorn (<em>Phallus impudicus</em>) ...<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm1GDwSP7I/AAAAAAAAA_A/Yy0b8K9Q7oI/s1600/P1040177+Stinkhorn.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm1GDwSP7I/AAAAAAAAA_A/Yy0b8K9Q7oI/s400/P1040177+Stinkhorn.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528649133265665970" /></a><br />... and this cluster of Sheathed Woodtuft (<em>Kuehneromyces mutabilis</em>), growing on the decaying wood of a deciduous tree ...<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm48VRvp6I/AAAAAAAAA_g/cyRKdr4h4Hg/s1600/P1040196+Sheathed+Woodtuft.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm48VRvp6I/AAAAAAAAA_g/cyRKdr4h4Hg/s400/P1040196+Sheathed+Woodtuft.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528653364217227170" /></a><br />Despite it being a sunny autumn day, there was not enough light to take pictures amongst the undergrowth in the deeper parts of the wood, at least not without using my camera's flash ... <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm2qqc6U0I/AAAAAAAAA_Q/lmxH2SZ1W1U/s1600/P1040197+Yellow+Staghorn+x.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm2qqc6U0I/AAAAAAAAA_Q/lmxH2SZ1W1U/s400/P1040197+Yellow+Staghorn+x.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528650861640307522" /></a><center><em>Yellow Staghorn (Calocera viscosa)</em></center><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm4PmU_aUI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/5Z8D4SuGgZU/s1600/P1040217+The+Sickener.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm4PmU_aUI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/5Z8D4SuGgZU/s400/P1040217+The+Sickener.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528652595700132162" /></a><center><em>The Sickener (Russula emetica)</em></center><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm50aSSTDI/AAAAAAAAA_o/Y-mfvuYUdLA/s1600/P1040176+Coral+Spot.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm50aSSTDI/AAAAAAAAA_o/Y-mfvuYUdLA/s400/P1040176+Coral+Spot.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528654327634349106" /></a><center><em>Coral Spot (Nectria cinnabarina) : The soft cushion-like pustules of the conidial (pre sexual) stage</em></center><br />I also found this Birch Polypore or Razorstrop Fungus (<em>Piptoporus betulinus</em>), a more mature example than that found at Sutton Hoo and shown in my previous piece ...<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm50j5yjjI/AAAAAAAAA_w/o0AxUb7HYf0/s1600/P1040209+Birch+Polypore+best.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm50j5yjjI/AAAAAAAAA_w/o0AxUb7HYf0/s400/P1040209+Birch+Polypore+best.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528654330215960114" /></a><br />Finally, this view showing upland Northumberland at its best, looking north from Rupert's Wood, across Upper Redesdale towards the hills of the Scottish border ...<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm_jcOkjyI/AAAAAAAAA_4/R2EGa2XeHMI/s1600/Upper+Redesdale2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLm_jcOkjyI/AAAAAAAAA_4/R2EGa2XeHMI/s400/Upper+Redesdale2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528660633167630114" /></a>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-44566419201970042382010-10-14T22:40:00.016+01:002010-10-16T16:10:16.122+01:00SurfacingIt's almost three months since I wrote something for these pages. Now autumn has arrived and I'm nagged with the mixed feelings of regret, for opportunities missed during the lost months, and concern for what I'll find to fill these pages during the winter.<br /><br />I'm not long returned from a short trip to Suffolk where I enjoyed visits to <em>Constable Country </em>and Sutton Hoo, so these might be good places to start.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeBfqvLS3I/AAAAAAAAA9I/BLAY-1FDzKw/s1600/P1040049+The+Haywain.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeBfqvLS3I/AAAAAAAAA9I/BLAY-1FDzKw/s400/P1040049+The+Haywain.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528029448668662642" /></a><center><em>Willy Lott's house and the 'flat ford' crossing</em></center><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeA2rHDCtI/AAAAAAAAA9A/Wb9Kguznz6c/s1600/P1040045+Flatford+Cottage.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeA2rHDCtI/AAAAAAAAA9A/Wb9Kguznz6c/s400/P1040045+Flatford+Cottage.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528028744394148562" /></a><center><em>Flatford Cottage</em></center><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeEldE15iI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/o0TMAasD0qw/s1600/P1040051+Flatford+farmhouse.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeEldE15iI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/o0TMAasD0qw/s400/P1040051+Flatford+farmhouse.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528032846615537186" /></a><center><em>Valley Farm</em></center><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeE8yrmb7I/AAAAAAAAA9Y/jMDUgVxZyXY/s1600/P1040040+Speckled+Wood.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeE8yrmb7I/AAAAAAAAA9Y/jMDUgVxZyXY/s400/P1040040+Speckled+Wood.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528033247552237490" /></a><center><em>My first Speckled Wood</em> (Pararge aegeria)</center><br />At Sutton Hoo, the exhibition at the National Trust visitor centre was fascinating, not least the remarkable reproduction of the Saxon helmet unearthed at the site in 1939 ...<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeGBOH0moI/AAAAAAAAA9g/OcwXA-YLcW8/s1600/P1040060+Sutton+Hoo+Helmet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeGBOH0moI/AAAAAAAAA9g/OcwXA-YLcW8/s400/P1040060+Sutton+Hoo+Helmet.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528034423149468290" /></a> <br />Following the woodland walk to the burial grounds, I found this perfect Fly Agaric (<em>Amanita muscaria</em>) ...<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeG5pQUD_I/AAAAAAAAA9o/ahjHTKZOpRY/s1600/P1040070+Fly+Agaric.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeG5pQUD_I/AAAAAAAAA9o/ahjHTKZOpRY/s400/P1040070+Fly+Agaric.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528035392505516018" /></a><br />And this equally perfect Birch polypore (<em>Piptoporus betulinus</em>) ...<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeG5_CHYYI/AAAAAAAAA9w/VScaNuBc_bg/s1600/P1040077+Birch+Polypore.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeG5_CHYYI/AAAAAAAAA9w/VScaNuBc_bg/s400/P1040077+Birch+Polypore.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528035398351544706" /></a><br />And in the hedgerows surrounding the beautiful farmhouse home of my young friends Kerry and Paul Baker, I found sufficient blackberries to make, on my return to Redesdale, a winter-long supply of blackberry and apple jam ...<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeJILlVTEI/AAAAAAAAA94/Fy6F12vYJwo/s1600/P1040056+Grange+Farm.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeJILlVTEI/AAAAAAAAA94/Fy6F12vYJwo/s400/P1040056+Grange+Farm.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528037841261907010" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeKeCvfe-I/AAAAAAAAA-A/kg7HALR1V5U/s1600/P1040098+Finished+Jam.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TLeKeCvfe-I/AAAAAAAAA-A/kg7HALR1V5U/s400/P1040098+Finished+Jam.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528039316357348322" /></a>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91886109132705803.post-85615522085415851252010-07-21T20:19:00.009+01:002010-07-21T23:07:19.998+01:00Common Blue at SidwoodThere's been strong wind and quite a lot of rain in the valley recently so, taking advantage of the first fine day to dawn in the last two weeks, I had a drive to Sidwood this afternoon and added a new butterfly to my list, a Common Blue (<em>Polyommatus icarus</em>).<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEdKggxGHiI/AAAAAAAAA7w/wA6lJJxXL84/s1600/P1030750+Small+Blue+Male.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEdKggxGHiI/AAAAAAAAA7w/wA6lJJxXL84/s400/P1030750+Small+Blue+Male.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496443792641105442" /></a><br />Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Small Skippers were also flying.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEdL2FNVoBI/AAAAAAAAA8A/UfYL-9ZYv7A/s1600/P1030741Female+Ringlet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEdL2FNVoBI/AAAAAAAAA8A/UfYL-9ZYv7A/s400/P1030741Female+Ringlet.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496445262712119314" /></a><center><em>Ringlet (Aphanotopus hyperantus)</em></center><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEdPeuwdrwI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/hA_fJbzYMes/s1600/P1030771+Small+Skipper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEdPeuwdrwI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/hA_fJbzYMes/s400/P1030771+Small+Skipper.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496449259594952450" /></a><center><em>Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)</em></center><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEdLUStlPII/AAAAAAAAA74/fn-qSubax_g/s1600/P1030668+Sidwood.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RoaCkKjdTJE/TEdLUStlPII/AAAAAAAAA74/fn-qSubax_g/s400/P1030668+Sidwood.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496444682221468802" /></a><center><em>Sidwood - a peaceful place for a saunter</em></center>Emma Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04385447781203785369noreply@blogger.com8