L'amour Est Bleu - Paul Mauriat

Thus far we have been getting along quite nicely with the new Canon SX50 camera, but this morning one of those settings that shouldn't have been pressed was and suddenly Blue, Blue My World Was Blue! On the other hand the weather continues much the same with a fresh blustery breeze, humid and plenty of cloud, making things Grey, Grey My Life Is Grey! In reality nothing could be further from the truth. News from the Moth Trap continues to be of 'few Moths' but what was found were mainly additions* to the Property List.

 THE LACKEY*

 PINE HAWK-MOTH*

 BLOOD-VEIN*

 SMALL RIVULET*

 BLACK ARCHES (female)

 COMMON RUSTIC

 COMMON BLACK GROUND BEETLE

 COMMON EARWIG

Finally, this specimen caused me some heartache as no amount
of searching the Field Guide could lead me to identification.
It is, I am told by my mentors, a
STRAW DOT
an Insect I should be familiar with.

Ladybird - Tears For Fears

Again we woke to leaden skies, but the forecasted rain showers came to very little. The Moth Trap once again showed scant returns, in fact there were far more other insect species than Moths this morning, among others were:-

7-SPOTTED LADYBIRD

BURYING BEETLE again

FOREST SHIELDBUG

and HARLEQUIN (species) LADYBIRD.
 
 SHARP-ANGLED PEACOCK
was the only Moth worth publishing.

Water levels are very much reduced at
LONGHAM LAKE

but for the want of a 10 minutes drive it was worth a look for a

Wood Sandpiper that has been reported in the last few days.

SOUTHERN HAWKER DRAGONFLY

GREENFINCH

Another 'Dragon' that was doing far more flying than perching only
allowed this very poor shot. If anyone can confirm ID it would be
much appreciated.

DUNNOCK

COMMON BLUE BUTTERFLY

LAPWING right and no not another perched on a branch,
but the rather similar looking MAGPIE.

By far the most numerous species at the lake today was
TUFTED DUCK

mostly in the shape of newly hatched young. Already 'diving' for
their own food it was impossible to make an accurate count.

As a proud Mum looked on my 'guesstimate' was 100+.

At frequent intervals along the footpaths what appeared to be
'mateing' COMMON or GARDEN SNAIL

GREAT CRESTED GREBE

SEDGE WARBLER
plenty of these along with as many Reed Warbler and Reed Bunting.
So, after a long chat with Ian the Water Bailiff it was a 15 minute
drive to the Avon Causeway.

There was not a sigh of the 300+ Mediterranean Gulls reported
there just a couple of days ago, with all of interest being
EGYPTIAN GEESE
numbers of which only just reached double figures.

Back for a quick scout around the Parley Ponds to find most of
the Damselflies of recent days along with

a few CARP (Sp?) not often seen here these days.

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In Dreams - Roy Orbison

Something must be afoot as things go from bad to worse with the Moth Trap. Just 7 'macro' Moths last night despite having it away from any buildings or any other interfering light source. Anyroad, we can only turn it on and hope for the best as others, further west in the county, catch such beauties as Saltern Ear and Antler Moth. Indeed it was a very quiet day throughout, although the weather stayed bright with some decent sunny patches, but just as we decided to draw a line under it the unexpected turned up.

but firstly a return to yesterday and the

DREAM CATCHER.

I have NEVER shared one word of my vast memoir with anyone, not even nearest and dearest, but it was thought easier simply to copy a diary entry for the day my daughter Lisa and I spent in Nashville, Tennessee. This was part of a Coast to Coast adventure in the USA during the Spring of 1995, journeying by Greyhound Coach from New York to Los Angeles taking in small parts of Canada and Mexico en-route.

First stop was at what I would call an ethnic shop specialising in traditional North American Indian memorabilia. There were a thousand things I would love to have bought but the problem was getting them back home. Here we met a lovely Shoshone lady KIMANA (Butterfly) who was more than happy to talk to us and who noted my obvious interest in the 'dream catchers’. Before leaving UK I had bought one as a present for a friend, but was not totally sure of their origin, I was about to find out first hand. The lady told me that Indian children would have one made for them, individually, at birth and this would stay with them throughout life and be buried with them at the end of their days. During the persons lifetime it would be adorned with various sentimental items or just things that caught the eye such as feathers and beads. The story goes that a small child found a Spider in the tepee one day and not caring for its presence was about to squash it when stopped by the Grandmother. She quietly explained that Indians only kill what they need to sustain life and that all creatures were sacred telling the child to set it free. Now, as these fables go, this was no ordinary arachnid but one of 'magic' which thanked the old lady for her kindness and said it would do something in return. Creeping to the top of the tent, on reaching the 'smoke-hole' it spun a web across the circular outlet then told the woman of its magic powers. From now on you will all sleep in peace as the threads of the web will catch any bad dreams while letting the good dreams pass through the hole in the middle. The Dream Catcher is made of Willow which is bound with finely tanned animal skin, the web is made of 'gut' or other thread which is often dyed red. Small beads are threaded onto the web to represent 'bad dreams' which are burnt-off by the first rays of the morning sun. Leaving there our next stop was to be The Crazy Horse Saloon a huge pub selling beer brewed on the premises and playing some fine Blues.

Feathers from around the world are all that adorn mine, except for a NAZCA ARROWHEAD (right of centre) to which are tied the pinion feathers of a

GREY-BREASTED SEEDSNIPE

both found in Northern Chile. Unfortunately, the injured bird died
unlikely a 'road casualty' not up here in the Alto Plano.

Others include (at 2 'o' clock) Hoatzin primary, base of which points to Black Guan, the grey one below Galah, (10 'o' clock and 9 to 6 close to rim) Golden Eagle, (5 to 3 'o' clock with white patch) Madagascar Nightjar, (orange and pointed blue above) Scarlet Macaw, plus Helmeted Guineafowl at 1 'o' clock. The longest of all is Common Pheasant the only one I ever shot and ate.

Taking an early evening wander around the ponds a stranger shape
than the attendant Mallards caught my eye.

Despite careful approach these 2

female MANDARIN DUCKS

took to the water but otherwise stayed close by.

The Lord of the Manor (Hugh) was summoned by which
time the birds had returned to the bank.

After what must have been our 14th barbecue of the year, 

the Ducks seemed to have flown.

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