31 Sunday Mar 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers
Now before you feel the need to correct the spelling of ‘merry-gold’ in my title, let me just say that it was deliberate because I find Marsh marigolds such cheery, merry flowers, and it always makes me smile to see them. I spotted some yesterday in Cardiff’s Heath Park, and they’re also in full flower at the moment in Penarth’s Alexandra Park, where I went for a meander earlier today.
27 Wednesday Mar 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, fungi, insects, nature, spring, wildflowers
Tags
Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, primrose, Scutellinia fungi, Small tortoiseshell, violets
Today I went to Cosmeston for the first time in a few weeks and I was delighted to find its west paddock tinged a delicate shade of purple from all the violets currently in flower. I don’t remember it being so obvious in previous years. Along the edges of the paddock, primroses were in bloom, adding their soft buttery yellow to the colour mix.
While looking more closely at the flowers, I noticed tiny circles of red dotting the soil – a species of Scutellinia fungi I’m guessing, but working out which species requires some serious microscope work.
And then along flew my first Small tortoiseshell butterfly of the year to add its vibrant hues to the kaleidoscope of colour in the paddock. Just perfect!
23 Saturday Mar 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers
Almost …
Nearly there …
Yes! My first Bluebells of the year today in St Augustine’s churchyard in Penarth.
04 Monday Mar 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers
When I see violets, I always think of my nana Johno, my mother’s mother. She always had violets growing in her garden and would often pick a few to bring inside so she could enjoy their sweet scent. I spotted these particular violets on my way to Cosmeston this morning, growing wild on a grassy bank. I wasn’t able to smell them but I’m fairly sure these are Sweet violets (Viola odorata), which, as well as the traditional purple colour, can also be found in this pretty white variation.
02 Saturday Mar 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature, plants, wildflowers
Tags
#365DaysWild, Alexanders, Angle shades caterpillar, Angle shades larvae, Angle shades moth, British moths, British wildflowers, Phlogophora meticulosa
First I noticed the frass (that’s pooh, to most of us). Then I thought ‘Something fairly big must be in these Alexanders’ flower heads somewhere’. And, sure enough, with a little gentle pulling aside of leaves and flowers, I found the frass creator, very well camouflaged by its light green colouring. And then I thought, ‘There might be more’. And, sure enough, I found three caterpillars on three different plants, and frass on several more plants. These are the larvae of the Angle Shades moth (Phlogophora meticulosa). I thought it seemed rather early for them but my local Butterfly Conservation expert George tells me you can find them pretty much any time of year.
23 Saturday Feb 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, plants, wildflowers
The French dent-de-lion, lion’s tooth (from the shape of its leaves), became, in English, Dandelion, that wonderful burst of wildflower yellow that lights up grassy meadows and roadside verges, and provides an important early source of pollen to emerging insects. I couldn’t go past this particularly lush flower as I stomped down the zigzag path this afternoon.
13 Wednesday Feb 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature, spring, wildflowers
Today has been incredibly mild and Spring-like, and the warmer temperatures encouraged the birds to sit singing on tree tops, flowers to open (the flowers in this photo are Alexanders Smyrnium olusatrum – the first I’ve seen open this year), and lapping up the pollen from those flowers was my first bee of 2019.
31 Thursday Jan 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, flowers, nature, weather, wildflowers, winter
It was frosty white this morning but, as I write this at 4pm, the forecast snow hasn’t arrived. If I sound disappointed, it’s because I am – as an Antipodean who’s not seen much snow, I love it when it does happen. Still, I enjoyed crunching around the fields at Cosmeston this morning and made sure I took plenty of bird seed for all my hungry feathered friends.
29 Tuesday Jan 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, nature, wildflowers, winter
Tags
#365DaysWild, clematis vitalba, feathery seeds, Old Man's Beard, plant seeds, seeds, Traveller's joy
This is Clematis vitalba, commonly known as Traveller’s joy though, at this time of year, when its feathery seeds festoon hedgerows, clamber over fences, and bedeck stone walls, I think its other common name of Old man’s beard is more apt. Today, the Old men’s beards were looking a little damp and they’ll now be completely sodden – I managed a walk early this morning before the heavy rain came in.
27 Sunday Jan 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter
Tags
#365DaysWild, #WildflowerHour, Blackthorn blossom, Crocuses, first flowers of spring, Lesser Celandine, Primroses, Snowdrops
Though we are currently shivering our way through a day of wintery gales and low temps, our January weather here in south Wales has generally been much milder than usual and, so, the flowers of springtime are already beginning to appear. As well as the Blackthorn I spotted on the boundary hedges at Cosmeston today, I’ve also this week seen my first Crocuses and Snowdrops and, yesterday, my first Primroses and Lesser Celandine in bloom. Although I love winter, even I will admit it’s cheering to see these first signs of spring appearing.
earthstar 
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