Author: David

A ladybird rubbing its mouth parts with its front legs as it rested on an ivy leaf.

Comparing the effects of the presence (below) or absence (above) of a polarizing filter.

The plant is a member of the borage family. The hairs can cause skin irritation, so gloves are advisable when handling the plant.

The caterpillar was pictured with (above) and without (below) the addition of a close-up supplementary lens.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davea2007/7234198058

Stitchworts are a plant whose common names claim a relationship which doesn’t actually exist. The greater and the lesser both produce pleasant white flowers in the spring; the “wort” suffix to the names may indicate that they were once thought to be useful medicinally or for some other herbal purpose.

Seen in a hedgerow in the Herefordshire countryside. I presume the web is protective.

The road leading west to Kilpeck church is planted with chestnuts at each side to form an avenue. In May, the trees were blooming, some of them with pink flowers.

Today’s posts are from in and around Kilpeck, tiny village outside Hereford which has a small church with some famous nine hundred year old carvings.

The concentration of buttercups in the middle of the field marks one of the raised areas which is a remnant of a one-time building in the deserted village.

Something has been eating holes in these comfrey flowers to take the short route to getting the nectar: probably an insect.

I couldn’t decide which of these two pictures I preferred, so I’ve posted them both.

The wood by the stream in the Cotwall End LNR had impressive patches of wild garlic flowering.

The bluebells (just visible in the picture below) also looked as if they had been a sight to see, but were almost over by the time of my visit.

Acers are at their most spectacular in the autumn, when the leaves turn into far more vivid shades than any native deciduous tree. But even the new leaves of spring are exotic in their shades of green, as seen in this picture of the sunlight shining through the acer in front of the Tea Rooms in West Park.