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.

24/11/2020 - Out walking finding several surprises.

  Maximum temperature here today 14⁰C, minimum 3⁰C.  Dry today, with a light frost this morning.   20km/h South-westerly winds with gusts up to 40 km/h. 

I have managed to get out walking every day over the past week.  The vegetable garden is now quieter and little work to do there, and no preserving to keep me in the kitchen.  The weather has been very pleasant, not too hot or too cold with the sun shining out of a very blue sky.  Of course, I still have the lockdown limitations but it is still good to get out.

Caterpillar of a Fox Moth (Macrothylacia rubi).  It was on the road so I gently moved it to grass at the side.  It rolled up tightly but refused to unroll for me to take further photos.  I only have 1 hour allowed out at present so this was the best photo I had.

Possibly Bush Vetch (Vicia sepium ).

Mushroom, but I am not good with fungal IDs

Mid-November and a Red Admiral !! (Vanessa atalanta).

As above.

Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus).

Teasel or Teazel (Dipsacus).

I could not fathom out why this sign was placed on a farm track that is generally only used by tractors!

Vapour trails which we have seen very few of this year due to the lack of flights

A pair of Great Egrets or Great White Egrets, (Ardea alba),

Hey mum come and help me,  I have an itch.

Man at work. Despite the lockdown they have to keep going.

Clouded yellow. Possibly (Colias crocea) but there are several of these butterflies in France which are very similar.

Moth - latticed heath (Chiasmia clathrate).

As above.

Are you looking at me?

Dandelion clock.

Well he does not have a problem with flies around his eyes 😊

My local list of wildflowers. (90 Species 23/08/2020).

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World.

Photo competition running until 31 December - colourful photos.

B u n t

Let us all join in great fun.

01/04/2019 No April Fool - just yesterday's walk 6 kms.

Maximum temperature today 20C, minimum 7C.  Dry, but light rain forecast for later.  11 km/h North-easterly winds with gusts up to 22 km/h.

The temperatures drop again tomorrow with possible rains forecast.

Just before my walk, seen in the garden. Little Owl (Athene noctua). More photos to go on next weeks bird blog

Cowslips (Primula veris) everywhere in the fields and the roadsides.

Unknown tree with spring shoots.

Sun Spurge (Euphorbia helioscopia). ID thanks to Susan.

Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea)

Peacock butterfly (Aglais io)

Twins growing up....

Some of the younger lambs...

Is it really that much easier to kneel???

Winter wheat.

Fields of yellow, a mixture of celandine, buttercups, dandelions and cowslips.

I would love to amble down this leafy path but it is on private property!

Mallards on the dam at Russas.

The Chateau at Russas, the pigeonnier on the right...

A closer look at the pigeonnier. (Pigeon house).

Horses in the field at Russas.

The hedge is hawthorn blossom,  but the flowering trees behind I am not sure about.

A closer look at the hawthorn,

Poppies outside someone's house...

More poppies in a very overgrown flower bed.

I have taken photos of this little pony before, he is barely two and a half foot high. (7.2 hh in equine language)...

nearly as broad as he is high!

This cow was keeping a wary eye on me.

Last, but not least, this Bank Vole (Myodes glareolus) was stealing some of the bird seed when I got back home. ID also thanks to Susan.

See also my Bird blog 

and My life In the Charente