Although it might not feel like it, summer is in full swing. After a very dry start, recent rains have energised mother nature and flowers, insects and animals seem at the very height of their activity. Verges, commons, hedgerows and field margins hum with activity as our wildlife obeys it’s biological imperative. I implore all to get out and enjoy it, for it will be winter again soon enough.
For more photos like these, and a general documentary of a nosey bloke on a bike, check out my #365daysofbiking tumblr blog.
This is, apparently, a Canterbury Bell. They pepper the common, bringing a stunning beauty. Brownhills Common, near Chester Road, 3:19pm, Friday, 17th June 2011.
Red deer hinds at Jockey Meadows, Walsall Wood. Watch out for them when you're driving in Green Lane. Not a whole bunch of road sense in your average red deer. 12:32pm, Thursday, 16th June 2011.
Just after a heavy shower, I spotted this little chap in Bullmoor Lane, near Wall. Snails fascinate me, and this fellow seemed to be on a mission. 3:39pm, Saturday, 18th June 2011.
Honey bee swarm, Brownhills Common. Possibly the most stunning sight I've ever seen. 3:46pm, Friday, 17th June 2011.
For more on the bee swarm, see this post on my #365daysofbiking Tumblr blog.
Pippins ripening in the damp, warm summer air. Like the fruit themselves, bittersweet; this shows the passage of summer to harvest. Hilton, near Lynn, Staffordshire. 4:30pm, Saturday, 18th June 2011.
This is the same snail as the picture above. This intrigued me, he seemed unperturbed at being submerged and I watched him enter the water freely. How do gastropods breathe? 4:40pm, Saturday, 18th June 2011.
Poppies punctuate field margins like bright red exclamation marks - sometimes singly, sometimes in whole armies. They grab your attention and make you wonder at the beauty of nature. Lower Stonnal, Staffordshire 11:35am, Wednesday, 15th June 2011.
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Hi Bob
super photos of the surprising proximity of nature’s beauty in all its splendour hereabouts.
Very much appreciated ! Many thanks
Kind regards
David Evans
Lovely pictures Bob.
I love canterbury bells, i’ve got some white ones in my garden and they’re so pretty.I’ve also got, what seems like hundreds of those pesky little snails in my garden. I personally hate them, especially as they keep eating my strawberries. Slug pellets are out of the question , I couldn’t possibly kill them and I’d worry about the hedgehogs too.
Perhaps as you find them so fascinating, I could gather them up and deliver them to you. lol
Thanks for mentioning about the deer in Green Lane. I know of two people who had to brake as they went around the bend near the woods. Luckily they were travelling at a reasonable speed but there are some morons, who despite the 30 mile speed limit and deer signs still race like lunatics once they’ve passed the bumps..
A deer has already been killed so please, please take heed of what Bob said. If you don’t care about these beautiful creatures, then think of the damage to your car if you should hit one?
Dunno how you get any cycling done when you are so easily distracted 🙂
Just kidding – excellent pictures!! Thanks for the tip-off re: the bees, had I not been such a wimp I could have stayed there for hours. They weren’t in the slightest bit interested in what I was doing though.
Very impressed with scuba-snail!