Friday 1 May 2015

Five On Friday



 





 Where has the sun gone?

Yesterday I was in short sleeves. Today I am wearing socks and wellies.

The forecast for the bank holiday weekend is for rain. Lots of rain.

Grrrrrrrrr.

Today I am joining in with Amy and her Five On Friday. Five things that celebrate my week. Which has been rather lovely, thank you for asking.



Red Tailed Bumblebee

Olly spotted him buzzing among the Bluebells. Look at his little face in the first picture, and his delicate wings in the second. I am very, very fond of bumbles, but perhaps the red tailed one is my favourite. We have seen quite a few this past week. Both in and out of the garden. I was very pleased that Olly got close up and personal with this one, because he was startled by another bumble a couple of weeks ago. It was a large Queen hunting about in the garden, and it careered into Olly and gave him a fright. He decided he didn't like them very much anymore, and I was afraid that this would be the beginning of the end for my mini nature nerd. Luckily this red tail was docile enough to let us watch him for ages, and Olly seems to have forgotten all about the queen and her rather off hand behaviour. Do you enjoy watching the bees? The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is a great website for identification and so on. Me and Olly are members.

Lelant

We have walked Honey over Lelant beach several times in the past week. Dogs are allowed here all year long, and she loves it. She gets to meet her friends, chase after thrown pebbles and dig huge holes to sit in. There's lots to sniff at too, like the massive jellyfish that had been washed up on Monday. And the rather gruesome looking fish carcass. She liked that a lot. There is something about the colours on this particular stretch of beach. They are so clear and bright and distinct. This article explains it far better than me. Interesting, no?

The past few weeks has seen a wide array of flotsom and jetsom washed up on the shore. Some gorgeous pieces of driftwood that are now sitting on the windowsill of my conservatory. But some huge pieces too. Stuff that would take three lads and a wheelbarrow to haul off the beach. I do have the wheelbarrow. Anyone know of three burly fellas I could borrow?

Buttercups

It's not all about the coast living here you know. One of my favourite things are the hedgerows. I have already started picking the cow parsley. It's so frothy and beautiful, and unlike most wildflowers, it lasts for ages in water. There is a passage in the Susan Hill book 'In The Springtime Of The Year' that describes this so perfectly. It's a wonderful book if you ever happen upon it. I have a fondness for buttercups too. We always put them under our chins to see if we liked butter when we were kids. Did you? Where did that come from I wonder? Another article explains the science behind it.

Ladybird

I get very excited whenever I see a Ladybird, and this little beauty was sunning herself on the Lady's Mantle yesterday morning. In a way it's a shame that I do get so excited. They seem to be less and less common. I remember them  being in abundance when I was little. However Wagon Wheels seemed huge back then too, so maybe it's just memories of collecting them in jam jars (I know, I know). This one had six spots and just seemed to be hanging out. One of  her wings was poking out from the outer casing which made her look a bit bed head. I liked that about her. She's more than welcome here. Perhaps she over-wintered in our bug house? I guess that you all know the nursery rhyme about ladybirds? Here is an article about the possible origins.

This weekend we will be mostly watching David Attenborough, visiting the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, squabbling, drinking copious cups of tea and walking Honey in the rain.

Whatever you are doing, having a lovely one.

Leanne xx







25 comments:

  1. Five very lovely photographs. I love bumble bees too and always take pains to rescue any in trouble. Have a great weekend. X

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  2. Hehe!! That is a lovely five. If you find where to get some burly lads from, will you let me know? I could do with some too ha! The beach looks gorgeous, I will make a note of it for when we next go to Cornwall, it would be great for our black lab. Have a wonderful weekend xx

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  3. I love love love bumbles they are my favourites, that and butterflies. The bumbles are back in the garden but the butterflies are taking their time. The cabbage whites have appeared but we're still waiting on the more colourful ones to arrive. Not seen any Ladybugs yet either our garden is being a little slow this year. I do remember the buttercups under your chin too. Enjoy the bank holiday weekend. Mitzi

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  4. Love the buttercup tradition! That is do neat! Your photographs of all of those stunning blooms are amazing! I hope the cold passes quickly and you are back to sandals! Have a lovely day! Nicole xo

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  5. Five lovely things indeed. I'm a big fan of bumblebees too. We built a bee box a few years ago but they prefer the middle one of our trio of sparrow boxes; I think they like the birdy neighbours! Weather has taken a downturn around here too - typical for a Bank Holiday weekend! Have a good one. xx

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  6. five lovely things, have a great weekend, whatever the weather x

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  7. Five lovely photographs & five happy times x

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  8. lovely photos :) Sounds like a great weekend :)

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  9. Great photos, particularly the Lady Bug.

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  10. I am loving seeing the bees back again, I haven't spotted a ladybird yet. I will check out the Susan Hill book thank for sharing Leanne. Lets hope it warms up soon xx

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  11. Beautiful photos, especially the bee and the ladybird. xx

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  12. It's been a bit of a manic week up here in Winwick and when I looked at your photos, they made me feel wonderfully calm! Ahhh! Thank you xx

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  13. Definitely five wonderful things and five really wonderful photos too!!! I hope that the weather will not be too cold for you - or us! - this weekend - as long as it is dry I always say, but even so, being able to sit outside would be so lovely. Thank you so much as always for joining in. I hope that you have a great weekend! xx

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  14. Some gorgeous photos - and glad you had a good week. Lets hope the rain isn't as horrid as forecast. x

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  15. Hi Leanne. I still check if I like butter with the buttercups, an urge I cannot resist. Have great weekend my friend. Christina xx

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  16. I remember lots of ladybirds when I was little too. But I do think that as a child everything seems to be larger than life and is in glorious Technicolour... Having said that, we saw loads of them last weekend. All sitting on blackberry leaves. I thought nettles were their fave but there you go.
    Joe's suddenly terrified of need, despite my telling him how great they are and giving him honey on toast. It's because he has a Thomas the Tank Engine book where some bloke gets stung on the nose.
    Anyway, hope you have a lovely weekend and the weather's not too much of a washout.
    S x

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  17. Terrified of bees, even. Bloody stupid predictive text. And, erm, prosecco. Hey, it's our fifth anniversary today so we're allowed!

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  18. We're big bumblebee fans as well, we have an identification guide in the kitchen. At the moment lots of them are visiting the blueberries, it seems to be their favourite thing in our garden, far more so than the apple blossom. We do the buttercup thing here as well. It seems to shine particularly brightly under my chin, I do so like butter. I remember years ago visiting St Ives and finding it very arty and lovely and hearing all about the light and thinking I'd like to live there. I can even picture where I was when I had this epiphany, and the little arty houses there. I can still imagine a different life lived there. Enjoy your weekend of rain and tea and David Attenborough. I love all of those things, so it sounds very promising to me. CJ xx

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  19. Lovely 5 . Thank you for sharing xx

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  20. Send me some rain and I'll send you some sun. It's been a hot, windy week down here in Southern California. Beautiful photos. Enjoy your weekend :)

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  21. Good capture of the Red Tailed and the colour of that sea is something else- I have heard about the painting light in that neck of the woods. I am in need of a fix of the sea, your tales of jelly fish and flotsam and jetsam have increased the urge to go rock pooling and walk across sand and along the edges of frothy seas :o) Hope the rain eases.... xxxx

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  22. Great pics as ever Leanne. I'd rather be watching the rain in St Ives than from London's orbital car park, which is where I am sat at the moment.
    Have a great weekend!

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  23. Your bee photos are wonderful, Leanne. I enjoyed reading this post, you always have such interesting things to discuss. I hope you're having a good weekend.

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  24. Excellent nature photos, all so clear and spring-y. Fascinating link about the light in St Ives. There really is something particular about it. x

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  25. Beautiful pictures Leanne. I always love visiting Lelant the colours there are always spectacular! Sarah x

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