Category: David

The Celtic crosses in the west of Cornwall have been there a long time. Their stone, regular wetting from the Atlantic rainfall, and the unpolluted air mean they form an excellent surface for the growth of lichens.

One of these crosses is in the churchyard of Zennor, near St Ives. Possibly it gets less attention than other attractions of the village. The carving of a mermaid inside the church is probably the most famous of its type in Britain, associated with a “once upon a time” story of a mermaid which supposedly actually visited the nearby shore. The pub provides welcome refreshment for those who reach Zennor by the Coastal Path. But the cross, among gravestones similarly supporting lichens, is worth a little pause.

The other crosses are located inconspicuously in the grassy verge by the side of the road between Penzance and Lands End. They are a couple of hundred yards further west than the Merry Maidens stone circle. Motorists heading along the road quite likely pass by without even noticing them.

On hot days, it’s not unusual to see pigeons crouching down, spreading their wings and sunbathing. Smaller birds such as sparrows also adopt similar postures, but are then more active wriggling around: they’re anting, or having a dust bath. With the re ent warm weather, the Canada geese in West Park have been joining in as eell.

Beautiful demoiselle damselflies resting on leaves on plants overhanging the Worfe at Worfield. These were females, displaying themselves for the attention of males. The males are if anything even more gaudily coloured, in shades of day-glo electric blue.

These pictures were taken a few years ago. The river used to have lots of damselflies at the points where it could be approached in and near Worfield at this time of year. Hopefully, it still does.

A bolete mushroom, much nibbled by slugs and snails. Boletes are a group of fungi which have a classic mushroom shape, and drop their spores from the underside of their caps. But the spores emerge from pores, rather than from gills.

Coot chicks at different stages of growth, all seen on the same morning. From different nests on the shores of the island on the eastern lobe of the lake at West Park: the area which seems to be the prime location for coot nests.

On warm sunny days, pigeons sometimes squat down, spread their wings, and take the rays. This time, a crowd of the flock in West Park were spread out on a lawn area which was covered in flowering daisies. The birds were even all aligned, like sunbathers at a popular beach resort.