Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Monday 5 May 2014

Garden Update and a Brief Visit to Henley in Arden


I've put the moth trap out several times over the weekend. Friday (GMS Wk10 ) Min temp Minus 1.1!! resulted in one Shuttle-shaped Dart

Saturday Min Temp 5.4 produced one Early Grey and two Caddis flies.

This morning however, there were two rather nice surprises - both New For Year. Min temp was 4.7

The highlight was this beautifully fresh Lime Hawk Moth. My family even get excited about moths on the odd occasion the moth trap presents me with one of the Hawk Moth species.




The second surprise was this Muslin Moth (a male - the females are white)



I have to say this moth is probably one of the cutest and looks, to me, like a little Teddy Bear :)


On this photo you can just see his little yellow trousers!




Blue Tits

The female Blue Tit is still incubating - the eggs should hatch sometime this week. The male regularly brings her food in the nestbox

Newts

I'm really pleased we have such a healthy population of Common/Smooth Newts. The males are still displaying and its fascinating to watch the females laying eggs in the leaf of a water plant and then folding the leaf over.

Frog tadpole numbers seem quite low but unfortunately Common Newts are rather partial to Frog tadpoles!


Flowers

Clematis is now flowering in the garden


and the seedballs are starting to sprout!


Thyme is now flowering - bees just adore these flowers


Azaleas are flowering and again attract bees.




Yellow Horned Poppy


Oh dear - look what I found on my Snakeshead Fritillary :( In fact there were two pairs of Lily beetles mating plus another lone individual no doubt feeling rather left out of it. Pretty they may be but I just wish they'd go away and find someone else's lilies to feast on.




A few weeks ago I popped briefly into Henley in Arden to pick up a painting from a gallery there. Just a few photos of this historic market town as I've covered it several times before.




Remains of 15th century market cross





Its impossible to resist buying flowers from this florist!




Elizabethan half-timbered Guild Hall standing to the north of St John the Baptist Church





The 15th century St John's Church



I haven't been inside this church before so just a few photos mainly of stained glass - I still can't hold the camera straight!!




This window was made to celebrate the Millennium



Finally, I love these two stone dragons standing guard at each side of the church door.


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now I am jealous....a Lime Hawk- beautiful. I bet you haven't stopped grinning... :-)

Ragged Robin said...

Countryside Tales - Still smiling today especially as blue tit eggs have started hatching :)

Anonymous said...

Awesome moths Caroline, that Lime Hawk is stunning and I am super, super jealous !!!

It is also good to hear that your Newts are thriving and sometimes I wish we had a wildlife pond in our garden.

As ever I loved all the stained glass and church carvings, and though I generally prefer more traditional window designs, that Millennium window is certainly striking and full of colour.

Ragged Robin said...

David Turner - Thanks David :) Was rather thrilled with the Lime Hawk as I am lucky to get 2 or 3 Hawkmoths a year! I do hope you get a visit soon or are they even scarcer in Yorkshire?

Yes, my husband is very pleased re: newts - he even forgives them for eating frog tadpoles!!! I do hope you can have a wildlife pool at some stage.

I'm glad you enjoyed the stained glass too :)

SeagullSuzie said...

Fantastic moths! I love the dragons too.

Ragged Robin said...

SeagullSuzie - Thanks :) Still chuffed with the Lime Hawk moth :) and yes love the dragons too :)

Wendy said...

I love the Lime Hawk moth. The old buildings in Henley in Arden look wonderful

Ragged Robin said...

Wendy - Thanks :) Glad you liked the Lime Hawk moth :) Henley is a lovely little town with some wonderful independent shops :)