16/09/2021 More photos from August and still I have not caught up!

 The maximum temperature here today is 24⁰C, minimum 15⁰C. Raining as I type this. Wind 10km/h icy North-Easterly winds with gusts up to 26 km/h!

Moth Burnet Companion (Euclidia glyphica)...

As above.

Cyclamen

A rose with a fabulous perfume.

Sunflower.

Garvinea Cheeky Pink

Melodious warbler (Hippolais polyglotta).

Nasturtium.

Tomatoes.

Tiny sunflower with a busy bumblebee.

Comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album).

Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria).

Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus).

Wasp (Scolia hirta) on the sweet potato flowers.

Western Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera)...

As above drinking...

As above all at the water bowl.

Garlic chives in flower (Allium tuberosum).

This bee is very dark but possibly Western Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera)...

As above.

European Peacock Butterfly (Aglais io).

Take care everybody, keep well and stay safe.

My local list of wildflowers. (91 Species 20/06/2021).

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World. 

05/08/2021 Trying to catch up with the July diary!!

My apologies for the lack of posts, and also the lack of visits to your blogs.  We seem to have been extra busy.  We have been catching up with entertaining, people to who we have owed a meal for 15 months.  Now we are all doubled vaccinated and we can have couples visiting, we are enjoying getting to chat with people other than to each other!  Also, the Mirabelle plums have ripened in the past week and we have destoned over 1000 plums for dehydrating - still a few more on the tree so we have not finished yet!

I think this is the nymph of the Mottled Shield Bug, (Rhaphigaster nebulosa), but I am open to discussion.

Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae).

Common or European Toad (Bufo bufo) in the vegetable garden and well camouflaged.

Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth (Hemaris fuciformis)...

As above.

Scarce swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius)...

As above...

As above...

As above...

As above...

As above...

Agapanthus with a bee, I am not sure which one it is!

Sunflower.

An unusual colour double poppy from one of the packets of mixed seed.

Lesser stag beetle (Dorcus paralellapipidus). Quite a cheeky little fellow, very aggressive and ready to attack!

Stargazer lily (Lilium 'Stargazer')

A stroll around the garden.

Tomato flower, grapes, quince,
Pattypan, Granny Smith, young Boer Pumpkin,
Sweet Potato flower, Courgette, Haricot Beans,
Medlar, figs, butternut flower.

Yet another smiling Sunflower.

Take care everybody, keep well and stay safe.

My local list of wildflowers. (91 Species 20/06/2021).

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World. 

 

21/12/2020 Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas and a much improved 2021.

   Maximum temperature here today 14⁰C, minimum 6⁰C.  3 mm of rain measured this morning but it has been raining all day.  23km/h North-westerly winds with gusts up to 46 km/h.   The freeze arrives on Christmas day.  Temperatures drop and frost arrives.

I had intended doing another blog before this one, but time caught up with me, and the speed of the WiFi just got worse.  I hope it will improve in the New Year but I do not have much hope.  I have picked one photo from each month of 2020, thankfully COVID has not as yet killed off my photos.  Probably not the best photos as far as photography goes, but the ones I like from each month

12.2 km walked yesterday the best ever!

14/01/2020 A sunset that looked like a fireworks display.

03/02/2020 Snow drops appear in the garden.

21/03/2020 Blossom and insects start to appear.  Mirabelle blossom and hoverflies.

11/04/2020 Butterflies are very visible out on my walks. Orange Tip butterflies  

(Anthocharis cardamines).  Male on the left and the female under the leaf.

25/05/2020 Lots of Damselflies around. Beautiful demoiselle Male (Calopteryx virgo).

09/06/2020 I just liked this shot of the Wall Lizard (Podarcis Muralis) eying up the hornet (Vespa crabro). They both finally decided to go in opposite directions!

04/07/2020 Happy and smiling Sunflowers.

16/08/2020 Lesser purple emperor, female butterfly (Apatura ilia).

11/09/2020 Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

18/10/2020 Hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum).

14/11/2020 One of our neighbour's little ponies, they have four, and none of them are higher than my waist.

16/12/2020 What else but a Robin for Christmas. (Erithacus rubecula).

Happy Christmas 

Gesëende Kersfees

Nginifisela inhlanhla ne mpumelelo e nyakeni

Nadolig Llawen

Nollaig Shona Dhuit

Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna Mhath Ur

Buone Feste Natalizie

Feliz Natal

Feliz Navidad!

God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt Ar

Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan

 Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun

 Kung Ho Hsin Hsi. Ching Chi Shen Tan

Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

Sawadee Pee Mai

Gajan Kristnaskon

Froehliche Weihnachten

Kala Christouyenna

Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova.

Vrolijk Kerstmis en een Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar

See you all in 2021 I hope.

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World.