August Favourites

 are very thin on the ground - I made quite a few Christmas cards I was very happy with, but I don't tend to share those off-season. Apart from that, there are only these few that stand out as being favourites...

I just missed running over a caterpillar on the way home from work - and then went back to take a closer look at it. My sister and I both think it must be a white ermine moth. The patterning down its spine is quite beautiful.

The header photo is what I remember thinking was a very late moorhen chick. I had been saying that it was the first year I hadn't got to see any mallard (or other chicks) along the canal or in the park, and then we spotted this family down on the lily ponds. 

A Walk in the Park

 It was beautiful and sunny when I got up this morning to turn the griddle on for pancakes for breakfast. Not so much an hour later, but we still thought it would be good to get out and get some fresh air so we went for an amble in the park. Most trees are still green, certainly along the avenue I cycle along going to work, but there were a couple of young saplings that were really starting to show colour against a dense dark green background.

(A couple of photos are from earlier in the week. I had seen on Monday or Tuesday that they had cut the long grass in one of the meadow areas, and I was surprised the following morning to see that they had already baled it. I have a couple of photos on my phone - it goes without saying that when I brought my camera the next morning, it was much duller and more overcast and while the quality of the photos is better, they are not as atmospheric.

We were both struck by the reddish colour of the bark in this tree, and surprised that we hadn't noticed it before. I know we were walking in the opposite direction to normal around the pond, I don't know if that had anything to do with it. 

Juvenile tufted duck