On the commons.

We start each day with a little bonding, reaffirming our trust, our confidence and our love for each other.


"Hiya, Dollface, wanna walk me?"


"Shucks"



"I'm just saying, if Hemmingway had, had a dog..."
"Can it, Poochie! Tell him, will you?"
Hemmingway's dog

Sunday:
Well, we met our nearest neighbours, Mike and Tracy. That was good, interesting to hear their evidence of wild boar and deer. Checked the hide, that was ok. Nuts all present and correct. Looks like we found a safe place to store them. Sue did some work on clearing tracks. I worked on my bee expertise and developed an interest in fungi.
The butterflies and dragonflies were more subdued, probably down to the constant miserable weather. The exceptions were the darters, who were playful to the point of attention seeking.
Oh yes, and I overexposed nearly every photo I took, for a big game hunter, I am still a poor shot.



Common carder bumblebee-Bombus pascuorom.


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Common earthball-Scleroderma citrinum






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Common darter-Sympetrum striolatum


Common Fruit-Rubus fruiticosus
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Weekend spent trying to seduce birds

The seduction of birds is a tricky business. We can hear them all around us but they are very hard to see in woodland. Of particular interest are the owls, only heard and the woodpeckers. So next week we are gonna string a mouse up, this week we set off to lay a nutty trap and build a hide.
The path to the wood was absolutely cluttered with peacocks, which is very cool because they are fine, dancing along the path in the sunshine. The s. hawkers were in the clearing but fewer. Rabbits and foxes, still too fast for my camera.
The business of building a hide was harder than I thought. First of all it took me ages to get a rope up over my chosen branch. In an Oak, twelve or fifteen foot up and then drag it out along the branch(to hang the nuts from). Our first hide , made of sticks and string, kinda fell down (We were rubbish, should have brought power tools) so we settled for a basha draped with camo netting. It doesn't hide much.
Reckon it will take a bit of time for any bird to accept our bait but we counted the peanuts and next week we will check to see if any have gone.

Vestal cuckoo bee-Bombus vestalis More

Peacock-Inachis io


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Veiw from the hide

Look! It's the invisible man.


















Female Wolf spider-Pardosa sp. with egg sac
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Boys night out.

Finally the weather broke. Max and I jumped at the chance of a bit of male bonding. So we packed the tent, some beers, a couple of steaks and we were off. I pretty soon realised there is something completely futile about sitting up in a high chair with a big, smelly dog beneath you. Bambi and Thumper gave us a wide berth.
We returned to camp and did a bit of work, clearing paths and constructing the field latrine, make the place nice for the ladies. Got the barbie on, Max spilled beer in the tent and we settled down for the night. I slept like a log that keeps getting its face licked. We weren't scared.
The next day, Max took care of the squirrels, whilst I focused on the smaller beasties. Can't wait to get back again. One thing I've noticed, Max has got a bit of an attitude towards the natural world, he needs a bit more training.


"You'll be safe up there"

"So many rabbits, only one master."

Facilities

"Hungry?"

"I could eat a horse." "Stop it!"

Southern hawker-Aeshna cyanea, immature male.

Aren't we all?

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Peacock-Inachis io

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White admiral-Limenitis camilla More

PS and the next thing I did was buy long sleeved shirts and two bottles of deet.

Home

Well, the wood is finally ours. A year in the planning and what an anti-climax. Now that we have finally got the key to the gate, Joe (son) has taken the car for the weekend and we are stuck in the garden. And it looks like rain!

At least it gives me a chance to get used to my new camera (Panasonic DMC FZ50). No fuzzy adders next time we get down to the wood, I hope.






Garden snail-Helix aspersa



Max The Puppy

Tilly Two Tails










Slow worm-Anguis fragilis



I'm in charge of the worms!




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Welcome to "Shootin' animals". First Impressions

All pics taken with my moby, sorry. The very next thing I do is buy a camera. Sorry Adders.
We have looked at a lot of woodland. This could be the one...

Adder-Vipera berus

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...and we were smitten by the snakes.