BITS AND PIECES 5

An incredibly hot day after what I thought would be rain for the rest of the holidays. Up high here, the mist burnt off by about 9.00, and I changed into hot weather clothes including revealing THE LEGS; not something that happens very often. I got in the car and drove to some friends down nearer Chagford, only to feel a complete idiot as I stepped out of the car into a chilly fog and friends dressed in trousers and jumpers. I was proved right eventually but it took a couple of hours. Anyway, here is another rag-bag selection of the things I've seen this week so far. This beautiful calf was asleep when I approached it and looks pretty new. I think it must have been born out here. 

Our resident slug warden is not doing his job properly as you can see here. What a slacker!

OB and one of his friends found this tiny frog down by the stream and brought it back in a bucket. It's now safely ensconced near the Tupperware pond we created for the tadpole rescue last year.

This was as close as I could get to this Buzzard unfortunately. Nice to see one off the wing so to speak. 

Not sure if this is a female or a juvenile Stonechat with a very large insect. It let me get quite close, which makes me err on the side of the juvenile as, within every species, they seem consistently less fearful than their savvy parents. 

The garden is dominated by the sparrows and Chaffinches at the moment, whose offspring seem infinite....

It was really misty here all day yesterday, sometimes drizzling.

The Dartmoor Madams are getting more and more accepting of my presence and the grey (did I mention she was liver chestnut until a few years ago?) even lets me spray her with Trigger's Citronella based fly spray. He hates it whereas she just stands there, seeming to understand it gives some relief from the incessant nibbling of midges and flies. She's such a sweet pony and when I give her a scratch, she tries to reciprocate as with her equine friends, which I'm trying to dissuade her from for reasons of pain and ruined clothing!

Today, despite the hellish heat, I decided I had to mow the lawn, which hasn't been done for about three weeks thanks to the heat-wave. I use the term 'lawn' loosely as it will never be the bowling green I would like. We inherited what was essentially a large chicken run with more hairy bittercress, creeping buttercup, dandelion and plantain than grass. Over five years, I've tried to transplant bits from here and there....mainly from the borders I created. Why does grass grow so brilliantly where you don't want it? I encourage clover and self heal because they seem to suppress the more pernicious weeds and the bees love them. Before I cut it, I took some pictures of the things that don't always get a chance to get so advanced when it's cut weekly.

Plantain

Creeping Buttercup

Daisy

Self Heal carpet

Clover

I like to grow Self heal in the border too: 

I love this slightly blurry picture of the Jacob's ladder:

Tomorrow we are meeting friends at the River Dart Country Park; somewhere that appeals more to OB than me, but perhaps I will find some brilliant photo opportunities to share with you. Don't hold your breath though. Until next time, here's a nice cooling picture of Snippet digging in the snow last year that I found in a folder I was going through. Look at all that hair! Have a great weekend.