An occasional journal
wildlife
Last of the Summer Wings
Sep 15th 2020
A Red Admiral perches on one of the few remaining buddleia flowers on the hottest September day since our records began: 33.0 °C. The days to come are predicted to be much colder, and then comes autumn, winter, Brexit…
Admin1 is reading Boiling a Frog by Christopher Brookmyre.
Nuts!
Sep 14th 2020
A cheeky squirrel raiding next-door’s bird feeder.
Admin1 is rereading Country of the Blind by Christopher Brookmyre. Admin2 is reading Sebastian Bergman by Hjorth Rosenfeldt.
Another Cloudy Day
Aug 18th 2020
A red kite in a grey sky.
Admin1 is rereading Slade House and Admin2 is rereading The Bone Clocks, both by David Mitchell.
Pigeon Homing In
Aug 9th 2020
Caught on our weathercam!
Admin2 is reading The Vinyl Detective: Low Action. We are drinking Mystery Coffee 12, watching Dark and scored oooo wow 13 on the GWQ.
Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep
Aug 2nd 2020
Scruffy teenage robin.
Admin2 is reading Grave’s End by William Shaw.
We are watching Bordertown and scored 10 on the GWQ.
Critters of the Day: Swallows
Jul 31st 2020
One swallow does not make a summer, but these two, among many others, appeared on the hottest day this year: 35.5°C, making July only the second coldest cloudiest July on our records.
Admin1 is rereading Dead Souls by Ian Rankin, and having watched Stranger Things series 1 to 3, and the (rather poor) 2017 film of It, has now ODed on cute kids. As relief he’s now watching Deadwind (aka Karppi), a Finnish crime series that ticks all the Scandi Noir boxes: blond female detective with tragic backstory; useless/suspicious dark-haired male sidekick; stylish domestic interiors; local politics clashing with local businesses and social services; torchlit searches of industrial areas; and, of course, they never call in backup.
Ginger Snap
Jul 28th 2020
This is the neighbour cat who has singalongs and standoffs with our nice cats. And sneaks inside and eats their food, as is obvious.
Admin1 is rereading Mortal Causes by Ian Rankin.
Coffee of the day: Ethiopia Rocko Mountain Reserve Natural Process: citrussy with curranty overtones and absolutely delicious.
Creature of the Night
Jul 26th 2020
Who says black cats don’t look good in photos?
Admin1 is rereading Strip Jack by Ian Rankin and watching Stranger Things.
We scored FOURTEEN on the GWQ!
Manspreading Cat
Jul 19th 2020
Ew! Admin1 is rereading Black&Blue by Ian Rankin. Admin2 is rereading Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. We scored 8.33 on the GWQ.
Critter of the Day: Small Tortoiseshell
Jul 16th 2020
There were also Red Admirals, Speckled Woods and Large Whites flapping around.
Admin1 is rereading The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin. Admin2 is reading When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi; the autobiography of an overachiever who gets his comeuppance when he dies of cancer in his thirties.
Critter of the Day: Red Admiral
Jul 10th 2020
Vanessa atalanta posing on our long grass. Today was a rainy cloudy sometimes sunny day with a brilliant rainbow.
Admin1 is reading A Question of Blood by Ian Rankin. Admin2 is reading White Corridor by Christopher Fowler.
Critters of the Day: Cinnabar caterpillars
Jul 1st 2020
After the eggs, a load of adorable little stripey youngsters cavorting on the ragweed.
June’s weather was pretty average for June; ie colder, cloudier and wetter than the average May and July.
Admin1 is reading Bryant and May on the Loose and Admin2 is reading Seventy-Seven Clocks, both by Christopher Fowler.
Cinnabar Eggs
Jun 17th 2020
Watched a cinnabar moth laying eggs in precisely spaced rows like a miniature 3d printer.
Admin1 is reading The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin. Admin2 is rereading Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd.
Critter of the Day: Large White Caterpillar
Jun 14th 2020
The caterpillars are much more colourful than their large white parents. Here are three of them working as a team to demolish the cabbage. They are not the only critters wrecking our victory garden; today the squirrels stole our cucumber seedlings and a young tomato plant. But we had homegrown peas for tea.
Admin1 is rereading The Complaints by Ian Rankin and admin2 is rereading Reconstruction by Mick Herron.
We scored 12 on the GWQ!
Firebird
Jun 6th 2020
An iridescent cloud dancing in the sky.
Admin2 is rereading Spook Street by Mick Herron.
Night Fox
Jun 3rd 2020
Earlier we heard it yelping outside our front window; later it sneaked round the back and prowled around the garden.
Admin2 is rereading Real Tigers by Mick Herron.
Flying the Nest
Jun 2nd 2020
Hottest day of the year so far: 31.1 °C and some newly fledged baby birds were leaving home for the first time. Most just shot off like rockets but this little long-tailed tit just hopped from twig to twig in an agony of indecision and anxiety; the adorable patsy in cartoons and wildlife films everywhere. Hope it doesn’t end up as cat meat.
Admin1 is rereading Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin.
Critter of the Day: Cinnabar moth
May 27th 2020
Admin2 has been chasing this creature around the garden for days but Admin1 found it while mowing the lawn.
Admin1 is reading The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffifths.
Critter of the Night: Hedgehog
May 6th 2020
We set up the motion-triggered night-vision camera yesterday, and last night we caught a rat, various cats, and this cute fella. Apologies for the quality.
Admin1 is reading The Last Protector by Andrew Taylor.