Wolves Wild

A white-flowered wisteria putting out a second set of flowers in August. The setting: the beer garden of the George Hotel in Bewdley.

Common darters are indeed among the dragonflies most likely to be spotted. The first of these was resting on vegetation by the small pond in the museum at Bewdley; the second by the nearby pond in Jubilee Gardens.

This second one may have been the loser in a contest we had seen a few minutes previously, to decide which of two dragonflies would have the evidently desirable territory of the museum pond.

Grapes growing in the town museum at Bewdley, looking like the long, hot summer was ripening them completely.

The little pond in the small garden at Bewdley museum also attracted damselflies and dragonflies. This small blue damselfly seemed to spend most of its time resting on lily pads, perhaps hoping to attract a mate.

We were told that the pond also had resident newts, but these tend not to show themselves in the middle of hot days in August.

Jackdaw, or perhaps more than one jackdaw. Three were wandering along the riverside road in Bewdley in the morning, before the crowds had built up. They kept a little too far apart for me to get a group picture.

Another of the plants around the small pond in the museum at Bewdley: pickerelweed. Apparently, it’s originally American, and popular for planting at the edge of garden ponds.

Traces of the original blue of the flowers were still visible when we were there.