The maximum temperature here today 16⁰C, minimum 9⁰C. It just keeps raining!!!! Over 100mm in the last fortnight. Very windy with 31km/h North Westerly winds with gusts up to 74 km/h. More rain forecast.
A slightly bedraggled speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria).
Rosemary beetle (Chrysolina Americana) pretty but sadly a pest.
A Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)...
As above.
The caterpillar of The Lackey moth (Malacosoma neustria)...
then along came a spider....
and sat down beside her.
Black and red froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata).
As above.
The western honey bee (Apis mellifera).
European paper wasp (Polistes dominula)...
As above.
The Dun-bar moth (Cosmia trapezina) larvae...
It was on a sprig of rosemary that I brought in from the garden, which I only discovered when I put the sprig under the tap to wash it. Lucky fellow, he got put outside to have a second life
As above.
Peony, the only genus in the family (Paeoniaceae).
Wet, wet, wet, Rhododendron, Iris, Grape leaf and peony.
24/05/2021The potatoes are doing well, waiting for the continual rain to ease off so I can plant everything else! This was a dry spell at 8pm! I sort of managed to cut the grass yesterday afternoon, but it was so wet underneath that it did not pick up at all - cut grass all over.
Returning to May 8 the local mayor had a small ceremony for Victory in Europe day.
I am glad we went as there was only about 20 of us, all masked of course. This photo was when the young lady was reading all the names off of the memorial. After each name is read everyone says "Décédé pour la France" (died for France). They will never be forgotten.
Please Note if you follow me by email the old feeder is closing down. I have therefore updated with a new server, so please feel free to add your email address to the link above.
Take care everybody, keep well and stay safe.
My local list of wildflowers. (90 Species 23/04/2021).
See also my
How would I know if I follow you by email, Diane? Love the critters and the blooms.
ReplyDeleteIf you follow by email you should get an email sent to you whenever I post a blog. Thanks for following, your comments are always appreciated. Diane
DeleteThe garden is looking good. Hope the rain eases up for you soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks it looks like we have a couple of days that 'should' be dry and hopefully the temperatures will go up with a bit of sun around. Cheers Diane
DeleteThanks Diane for these excellent photos ... I must sort out my email feeder too ... I'll be back to see how you've done it. Your garden is just beautiful ... so organised ... and obviously prolific. Thanks so much - delightful ... Hilary
ReplyDeleteThe garden is doing well but we need sun and not so much water. The green house plants are over ready for planting but we have just had too much mud! Hope all is well, stay safe, Diane
DeleteYou have an amazing collection of bugs. So how do you eat all those potatoes? The rain makes everything so lush and green but can get annoying.
ReplyDeleteDiane I store the potatoes in the cool barn in potato bags and generally they last well until we plant the next year. This was the first year that I have had to buy a few as we had run out and never again, the bought ones are rubbish compared to our home grown. We have just had too much rain all together we need some sunshine!
DeleteKeep safe t'other Diane
We need some of that rain over here, Diane. It is as dry as a bone and in many places the soil is baked hard. There has been no precipitation to speak of for a month. Your insect shots are always a pleasure to see, Diane. Your blog may be unrivalled for this. I have no doubt it was good to be out with other people for a while, even though masked and part of a small group. It represents at least a small step back towards normalcy. There has been a slight reduction in lockdown rules here, but the situation is not going to be normal any time soon. Stay well. Hello to Nigel. David.
ReplyDeleteA few lockdown rules have been lifted here. None necessary shops have been allowed to open and restaurants that have a garden are allowed to serve food on their premises but the weather needs to warm up a bit for us to brave that. The curfew has been lifted from 6 am - 7pm, to 6 am - 9pm, but as we seldom go out late it does not effect us that much. I am not sure what the entertaining at home rules are but we need to find out, it seems we owe everyone a meal here!!!
DeleteTake care and keep safe, best wishes to you both, Diane
Brilliant photos of your insects, and I am always very impressed with how sharp and clear they are. Wonderful flowers and garden and a lovely photo of the Remembrance Ceremony for Victory Day. Having been to another ceremony in a French village several years ago, I can attest to how moving they are. A good week to you Diane and all the best.
ReplyDeleteThanks Denise for the kind comments, my camera does well considering I have no macro lens. The French war memorial ceremonies are always very emotional as you say, good that you have experienced one. Have a good day, Diane
DeleteMethinks the caterpillar is lucky it is so much larger than the spider, it looks like it otherwise would have had evil intentions 😉 You certainly have a varied and colourful group of bugs in your garden Diane. I probably have also, I just don't look for them :) Your 16C matched our weather on Monday, that's pretty cold for Perth considering it's not winter yet. Hope you are both well, have you had both of your injections yet?
ReplyDeleteOur temperatures have been very low for late spring, also wet and vey chilly winds, not nice at all. Yes I am sure you have plenty of bugs around you just have to get your eye in to looking for them.
DeleteYes we both have now had two vaccines, Nigel only had his second one last week, he had AZ while I had Pfizer a couple of months ago. Keep well and have a good day, Diane
As always your insect shots are superb.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gaelyn, always love to hear from you and I know that you are having problems with a WiFi connection.
DeleteHope the season is improving for you now. Take care, hugs from us both.
Excellent shots! Your garden looks like it's doing well.
ReplyDeletePam it is doing OK but it is desperate for some sun, we have just had so much rain!! Hopefully it looks like we may have a couple of dry days now. Keep safe, Diane
DeleteBeautiful
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit and the comment, appreciated. Take care Diane
DeleteInteresting critters. The hairy caterpillar looks scary. I wonder if it is harmful to the skin. I love to see your potato plants. They are growing so well and look very healthy. I have tried a few times to grow potato plants but failed. I wonder if I have over watered them.
ReplyDeleteI keep my hands away from hairy caterpillars, I would rather not find out what effect touching them might have! I think our potatoes have been over watered this year with so much rain, but hopefully the expected sun over the next couple of days will dry them out a bit. They do seem to grow well here. Keep afe and take care, Diane.
DeleteThis post is a bit buggy, Diane! 😉 The peony is magnificent! They're just starting to come out here. And your garden looks awesome, very neat and healthy looking with those great potato plants. Potatoes are the best when fresh out of the garden. Hope all is well with you and Nigel, take care!
ReplyDeleteHaha we are lucky to have bugs to take photos of, not much else to do during lockdown! I love our home grown potatoes and we have not bought potatoes for ages other than the last few weeks, they are horrible I will wait for ours now! Keep safe both of you, Diane
DeleteI still LOVE the Rosemary beetle (to see).
ReplyDeleteYes, very pretty but thank goodness we do not have a huge number of them. Hope you and all the family are well, Diane
DeleteHi Diane! Sorry for my long absence from your blog - Lindsay and I have been away for the second half of May for a visit to the Ouiter Hebrides - it was quite cold and very windy, but we managed to have a great time!
ReplyDeleteYour wonderful (as usual!)insect images have made me realise how lacking in insects we have been here. Now that we are at home and the weather has taken a turn for 'warm and sunny' I'm hoping that the situation will improve.
My very best wishes to you and Nigel. Take good care - - - Richard
Lucky you to have some time away despite the cold weather. We went out to lunch on Friday, the first meal out for 15 months!! I felt like a child at Christmas, I only hope this improvement holds but I am doubtful. Summer months, holiday makers and people who will not have vaccines is not the best combination....... Even if the borders are closed, there are many people here who have refused the vaccine and they will all make sure they go on holiday to other places in France!
DeleteKeep safe, we are still being very careful despite having had 2 vaccines. Best wishes to you both, Diane
Always a great job with the insect pics. Beautiful. Your garden is looking amazing.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, the garden is rewarding but hard work! Keep safe Diane
DeleteHow do you get a butterfly to sit still for a photo? Amazing.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Patience sadly of which I have little!!!! Thanks for the comment. Diane
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