Moon - Bjork

With Friday's partial eclipse of the Sun turning into a 'non-starter', it's a good job there have been other Heavenly Bodies to keep our eye on. But enough about me, we have on recent evenings been watching Jupiter, when it cuts across a clear sky, but more correctly a closer look at its 4 largest, 'Galilean', Moons. Io, Europa,Ganymede and Callisto, which derive their names from the Lovers of Zeus, are quite readily discernible with the aid of an average 'bird watching' telescope, but not the other confirmed 63 lesser Moons.

It might have had something to do with

When the moon is in the seventh house
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

that it was decided to go 'off piste' again  for a couple of hours yesteday.
Firstly, the Moth Traps are now catching slightly higher numbers of Insects,
but mostley of the species we have been catching before, but
 

MARCH MOTH
c4 in fact was the exception to that rule.
At what used to be the Hurn Gravel Pit all that could be seen was this lone

ROE DEER

while at the Avon Causeway there was a little more to be seen

starting with this huge, but unfortunately dead

PIKE

(stupid boy)

A decent gathering of

BLACK-HEADED GULLs

and in there midst

MEDITERRANEAN GULLs

I make it c3?

all else were a few

BLACK-TAILED GODWIT

but I was starting to get decompression sickness so decided to beat

a hasty retreat back to Parley Court Farm.

BIRCH CANKER

which had escaped my gaze before and the

HAZEL CATKINS

are now in full bloom.

BROWN-LIPPED SNAIL

shells made for a colourful image

but unfortunately they too had seen better days.

As ever at Merritown Heath the c4 Galloway Cattle were conspicuous,

but it seems one has managed to adorn its front left hoof with a

BANGLE

Looks like a seal or insert from a large hose pipe but who knows.

Another

HARE

put in a brief appearance, but not as confiding as the last one we featured.

'EASY'

like Sunday Morning - Lionel Richie.

An area not frequently visited and almost untouched is the

woodland at

NORTH DEAN DITCH

the stronghold of TEAL on the property but only a

SONG THRUSH

there today.

Work continues apace on what used to be the

Main Offices of Dampney Ltd

and a redundant

MAGPIE NEST

Looks like another

PHEASANT

bites the dust guess Raynard is on the trail.

Gravel Extraction

is almost completed at the

Irrigation Pond

so back-filling should be underway soon?

RHODODENDRON

at the Fishing Lakes seem to be close to blooming

while I for one am eagerly awaiting the first round of

Bat Detection.

We can also report that the Heath Clearance at Merritown is also

now completed and already looks better for the works.

and finally a few

CROCUSES
in Harbins Garden

Entry
UK	464
USA	225
Germany	195
Russia	46
France	34
Estonia	18
Lebanon	15
Ukraine	15
Netherlands	11
Argentina	6 - back again after a too long absence. Many, Many lovely memories of my 5 visits to this fabulous, not to be missed country. "buenos días"