30 Days Wild 2016- Day 23

Today we visited the nearby Peak Wildlife Park

We saw lots of lovely animals and birds but the highlight was seeing the Otterbecause last time we were there he didn't come out to say hello.

Apparently he is being watched carefully because his mate has recently died and he could get quite lonely.  They hope to give him time to get over the loss and then introduce a new one but it has to be timed so that they will accept each other.

30 Days Wild 2016 - Day 22

A Walk along the Canal

Today we visited Cromford in Derbyshire where we met some friends for lunch.

After visiting Scarthin books where I took the photo below from their upstairs window across the mill pond.

 After lunch we wandered along the Canal towpath

 It was great to be in the fresh air

 not a raindrop in sight

Plenty of bees though.

30 Days Wild 2016 - Day 21

Not very many wild things today and what I spotted was in and around the garden.

The magpies have been chittering away all day and flying down into the garden in twos and threes. They are quite handsome birds.

I managed to take a few photos through the upstairs windows.

One for sorrow

 

 Two for Joy

The skies were so blue today

 Two starlings were preening at the top of a tree

The clouds were so very beautiful and kept changing shape as we watched them.

 

 It was great to see the thrush back in the garden.

30 Days Wild 206 - Day 20

Not many wild moments today I'm
afraid.

But the squirrels have been quite funny to watch

Geting up to all sorts of tricks

and costing us a fortune in bird food

So cute though!

30 Days Wild 2016 - Day19

We spent the morning and early afternoon at Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire.

Below are a few of the things I spotted.

 Moorhen chick

 Grasses by the water, above and below

 Gold Fish in the moat

 Damsel fly on the grass

 Sparrows on the tables and chairs

Looking for food

 Mallard Ducklings by our feet

also looking for food.

30 Days Wild 2016 Day 18

Spotted these little fungi that had appeared over night in the damp lawn.

Also whilst clearing up the debris from around the pond I spotted a tiny frog so obviously at least one of our tadpoles survived.

30 Days Wild 2016 Day 17

Whilst clearing up the garden after yesterday's flooding we found two smooth newts hiding amongst the scattered pebbles.

They were cold and still and took time to warm up

 Once they became more active it was time to return them to the pond.

 After a few seconds they decided it was time to swim away.

 

30 Days Wild 2016 Day16

Well, it was certainly a wild day today

 Nothing else wild achieved I'm afraid

 Other than venturing out when the rain finally stopped

in order to assess the damage

 

to rescue some of the floating debris and pots

and to see what plants have survived.

30 Days Wild 2016 - Day15

Spotted in the garden this morning and photos taken in between showers

 The blue geraniums in the flowers beds....

.....were buzzing with bees.

Mr  Blackbird sheltering under the gooseberry bushes taking a minute or two out from busily feeding two hungry offspring.  He is such a busy parent and also sings every morning too.

 Speckled wood butterfly on a rhubarb leaf

 Elderflowers ready to make cordial I'm not sure we have enough flower heads to make many bottles though.

Hypericum or St John's Wort also known as Aaron's Beard or Rose of Sharon.  We do have a Rose of Sharon bush but it doesn't have the berries that this one produces and it is much larger with different leaves.

30 Days Wild 2016 - Day 14

We took a gentle stroll in the local park this morning to see what we could find.

It was a much better day than yesterday, but still misty under the trees 

until the sun came out to dry things out a bit

There are some beautiful trees in the park, which I think is the nicest of the five parks spread across the six towns.  It is the town of Stoke which doesn't have a public park.  Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Fenton and Longton all have parks.  The one we visited is my favourite at Fenton.

We spotted some foxgloves

The plant above which I think is a buddleia was covered in bees but I just could capture any with my camera.

We also saw this dead moth on the footpath.  I think it is a peppered moth.

30 Days Wild 2016 - Day 13

Had to walk down into town today.  Needless to say it was wet and I saw lots of snails and slugs on the way. I also saw lots of elderflower bushes, the natural ones, with their blooms heavy with rain, but I also noticed in quite a few gardens the cultivated variety with pink flowers and dark maroon coloured leaves and stems.

 

 I'm always amazed at how many green areas there are just off the main city streets.

I think these are left from when the city was, infact still is, made up of six separate towns each having their own centre.  I was on my way down to the shops in the southern most town of Longton.

30 Days Wild 2016 - Day 12

Wet Wet Wet

The rain has encouraged the snails to attack my lupins

I'm afraid that they have had to be removed

and sent on holiday to the top of the garden where they can do less harm.  I know they will be back.