30 Days Wild June 2018 Week 5

Well, only 2 days to go!
Not a very exciting day for Day 29. It was too hot again to do very much during the day besides clean out the water baths for the birds. Weeding got done very late in the evening!
Day 30. The final day of 30 Day Wild was another scorcher with very little getting done, so I spent the time making a collage covering the whole month.

30 days Wild June 2018 Week 4

Well, we were right not to be too optimistic about the moth traps - only 51 moths. The weather looks better for Day 22 of the last full week of 30 Days Wild - the sun is shining but there is still a breeze, but definitely not as strong as it has been!  Still some nice moths to be seen.

Pot beetles are very rare in Scotland and last year we went on a survey looking for them on the only site they are known at in this country. Day 23 was the date of this years survey and the day dawned sunny and warm. Having found the beetles last year we were very optmistic as we set off with the rest of the small group of volunteers and experts. However luck was not with us this year! We found lots of other beetles, moths and insects but no sign of the pot beetle. It was still an enjoyable time and as we live close by the site we can go back and have another look in the next couple of weeks.

On Day 24 we had a trip out. We went to Lowther Castle to the Plant Fair they were holding and to see some of the summer flowers in the gardens. Their rose garden is in the process of being rebuilt and the plans were there for people to look at. We look forward to seeing it when it is finished. Their wild flower meadows were looking good and the gardens have really filled out since our last visit.

After walking around the gardens and the fair we set off home but took a slight detour to visit the village of Armathwaite. Over the weekend several gardens here were open to the public. A lot of hard work had gone into all the gardens - whether large or small - and the owners were on hand to answer any questions. Sunshine always make the gardens look better but the roasting temperatures made walking around them hard going!

With the extreme temperatures we have been getting during the day it means the nights are very warm too - ideal moth- ing weather. The traps went out again tonight.
We have been getting some moths in excellent condition over the last few trappings and last night was no exception so Day 25 began with moths again.

We have been watching the insects and bugs flying around the garden in this beautiful weather and wondering what they are called. Well today, on Day 26 we invested in a new app for our phones called Insect ID. You take a photograph of the insect and it then analyzes your photo and suggests what it might be! Sounds good eh? If it gives us the family of insects to look into later we will be happy. Just need to try it out with some that we know and see how well it does! Just been out into the garden and couldn't find much to take a photo of - must be the heat causing the insects to hide away too.
Day 27 should have been our Walk & Talk session today - however, walking in 30° heat did not seem a very good idea, so we cancelled today. Instead we took our moth traps to a friends garden, who is developing an interest in moth trapping, to set them tonight. Although she lives in the same town as us she lives down by the Solway Firth - so a different habitat.
Another hot day for Day 28 dawned but our friend has a large beech tree which was ideal for standing under while emptying traps. It was a really good catch, with 140 moths in the traps. There were some different moths caught at this location than we catch at home so an interesting time was had. It is always nice to see some different moths.

Had a chance to use our new insect app today too - the app confirmed we had caught an ichneumon fly! Don't know the exact name for it but ichneumon fly was near enough for us!

30 Days Wild June 2018 Week 3

Week 3 began with a quiet day but a busier evening. A moth event was advertised locally - running from 8-10pm on Day 15. Warm clothing, waterproofs and a head torch were advised as essential equipment. We added a couple of pots and torches and off we went. A local expert and local NNR reserve staff were waiting at the appointed meeting place. We were joined by 6-8 other people and had a great time emptying and identifying moths from 3 traps. Many of the spectators were new to moth-ing, so we helped them identify the moths and listened to their oohs and aahs as the moths were revealed! People are so surprised at the variety of colours and sizes of moths when they really take a close look. After identifying the moths we then went on a short walk through the wood for a little dusking - using a net to catch any moths flying around in the dusk. There were quite a few moths flitting around, but they were not easy to catch as we tried to avoid the brambles with our nets.
A very enjoyable evening with a group of friendly people.
Day 16 was a very miserable day with rain for most  of the day. Not much going wild today - just recording the birds in the garden and watching the mute swans on Carlingwark Loch. Apart from a few mallards and the usual black-headed gulls looking for food scraps, the swans were all we saw in the short while we were there. We always seem to find that a lot of birds disappear during the summer.
Day 17 began rather damp after the rain yesterday but we did manage a walk along the river at Moffat. There were wild flowers all along the way and a wide range of trees too - some of which were obviously very old with trunks so big it would be impossible to reach all round them.

Every 2 years the Royal Entomological Society organises Insect Week, to encourage people of all ages to learn more about insects. Day 18 coincides with the first day of this so another Bee count was in order. Many bees were enjoying the flowers on our hebe and in just a few minutes I counted 7 tree bumble bees, 2 white-tailed, 1 buff-tailed and 1 red-tailed bee - and that was just on one bush! Inspecting the Bug House revealed that many of the solitary bees had developed and broken through the "filler" at the end of their tunnels.
Not very wild again today but the strawberries are coming thick and fast so more strawberry jam is in order on Day 19 and as the local supermarket were selling off raspberries - raspberry jam too!
Day 20 's wild activity was watching the birds in our garden. Baby starlings were on the lawn pecking for worms and bugs, while the baby sparrows were everywhere again! We saw our first baby goldfinches too -  the yellow flash on their wings giving the game away as to what they were.Both the robin (s) and blackbirds are very busy too feeding young chicks. We watch them fill their beaks with food and then fly off to next door's garden or the hedge to feed their offspring.
Although the sun returned, the wind was still very strong on Day 21 but a Large Yellow Underwing was around the garden this afternoon so we wondered about putting out the moth traps?  The wind did drop as the evening went on but as it was the Longest Day today it was very light until quite late.
We were not expecting a great catch as it had also gone rather chilly so Week 3 ended quietly.

Weeping Window at Carlisle Castle 21st June 2018

Weeping Window is one of two sculptures from the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation, originally displayed at the Tower of London in 2014. The original artwork consisted of 888,246 poppies, one to commemorate every British or Colonial life lost at the Front during the First World War.
The two poppy sculptures being presented across the UK, have been saved for the nation by the Backstage Trust and the Clore Duffield Foundation, and gifted to 14-18 NOW and Imperial War Museums. 14-18 NOW gives people across the UK a chance to experience the impact of the poppy sculptures in a range of places with links to the First World War. 

A tantalising glimpse of the Weeping Window sculpture, by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper, is seen as you approach the castle. Carlisle Castle was the HQ for the Volunteer Training Corps during WW1. It was also the HQ for the King's Own Royal Border Regiment from 1873 until 1959.
23,000 recruits passed through the castle during WW1 with the Border Regiment losing nearly 7,000 lives  after seeing action in France, Flanders, India, Burma, Italy, Mesopotamia and Macedonia.
The regiment won 5 Victoria crosses.

Once through the gate you see the full impact of the Weeping Window.

It flows from the top of the keep, arching over the inner ward wall and cascades down into the outer ward, enabling visitors to see the sculpture from below for the first time.

A very sobering, but at the same time, inspiring sculpture

30 days Wild June 2018 Week 2

Week 2 began with another sunny day. In fact Day 8 was so hot we were too lazy to do much more than wander around the garden just looking at what was around. Hoverflies were whizzing around plants but they are so fast it is hard to get a photo! The centipede was also very fast - well that's my excuse for the fuzzy photo! Manged to get a look at a day-flying moth today too - it actually sat still long enough to get a quick photo too. Wood lice, ants, flies, spiders, and bees were all busy despite the heat.

.... and as for the sparrows... their cheeps and tweets are a constant sound in the garden. There must be at least 50+ sparrows (adults and young) in the garden most days. We have also had a second brood of blackbirds in the garden too. This one was quite visible as it searched the chippings.

A calm, warm night encouraged us to put the moth traps out tonight too. When it is calm we often spend time outside catching moths coming to the traps as they arrive. Tonight was very busy - by midnight we had two shelves of pots in the fridge!
Day 9 obviously began with moths! Identifying and recording the contents of our fridge came first

and then we opened the traps.Got our first Large Yellow Underwing of the year today and a tiny beauty called Least Black Arches.Scale doesn't let you see that the wingspan of Least Black Arches is only 16-18mm while that of Large Yellow Underwing is 45-55mm.

We actually kept some of the specimens today as we are attending an event tomorrow and have kept some to show to members of the public. Keeping them in the fridge will do them no harm and they will be released tomorrow evening back into the garden.
As most moths do not start to appear until it starts to get dark there is no rush at this time of year to put the traps out - so about 8pm we set off to a local farm to set them. The farm is participating in Open Farm Sunday tomorrow and had asked if we would set traps and tell people about our catch.
We set four traps - 2 in an area where new trees have been planted, one in a small established wood and one in a grassy area on the way to a loch.

It was an ideal night for trapping and the sunset on the way home was beautiful.

Day 10  began - again - with moth traps. We had to collect the traps after carefully looking all round them in the grass for any moths that might not have actually gone in the traps. There were quite a number of moths like this so it took us quite a while to collect the traps together and go back to the barn to empty them. An hour and a half later we finished emptying the final trap! We had a great catch of moths including several Hawk-moth specimens - which would definitely be crowd pleasers later in the day. The moths were potted and kept in a cool box to keep them calm.

Open Farm Sunday is an annual event and the farm we were trapping on was being supported by the The Nature Friendly Farming Network. They aim to help the farming community to champion sustainable friendly farming. The farm we were visiting was offering guided walks, rides on a trailer, as well as information about moths,red squirrels and the NFFN. We had lovely weather which encouraged people to come and visit the farm and find out their methods and ideas. Our moths also proved very popular! A very busy day but a very rewarding one.
On Day 11 we decided to take it easy and just do a bee count in our garden. We had white-tailed, buff tailed, red tailed, carder and tree bumble bees buzzing round all day and then we managed to spot our first Wool Carder bee of the year.

They are spectacular little bees when you look closely and love to collect the hairy down off Lamb's Ears plants to use in their nests.
Day 12 saw us begin one of our regular summer rituals - making elderflower cordial. We gather about 25 flower heads and then put them in a bowl with oranges, lemons, sugar and tartaric acid for 48 hours.After straining the liquid through fine muslin it is ready to drink! We find it a very refreshing drink on a hot summer's day.

Day 13 dawned very windy and rather miserable with rain forecast this evening! The good weather was too good to last! Just a quick look at the wild flowers growing in our lawn and the parts we leave
without mowing. Among those we are used to seeing - white clover, daisy, buttercup, grasses, dandelion (good for bees early in the year), cuckoo flower and self heal - we found a tiny blue flower we didn't recognise. Research led us to believe it is Thyme-leaved Speedwell.

We did have some rain last night - just enough to dampen everywhere down. Don't know whether Day 14 would be called wild but it was a day in the kitchen. Strawberries (from the garden) are coming thick and fast so jam-making was in order. Some of last years blackcurrants were still in the freezer so they got "jammed" too. Lettuces were starting to bolt so they got made into lettuce soup for the winter and of course the elderflower needed straining. Enough for one day I think and a good end to Week 2.

30 Days Wild June 2018 Week 1

Week 1 of 30 Days Wild began with a week of hot sunny weather here in Scotland. Lets hope the rest of the month is as good as the first week has been!
On Day 1 we began steadily with Peter dismantling, washing and refilling all the bird feeders around the garden. Water containers were refilled - although this has been a daily task as the hot weather has evaporated the water fairly quickly - and the birds having their baths has splashed the water everywhere!
Day 2 took us to a village locally where we attended a community moth trapping event.

Six traps were set around the village on Friday night and opened this morning. The traps contained good numbers of moths. The “spectacular” were in attendance  – Poplar Hawk moth, Small Elephant moth, Puss moth and Elephant Hawk moth.

Others may have been smaller but no less spectacular - such as Pebble Prominent, Brimstone, Iron prominent and scorched Wing.

                       

The community were blown away with the quantity and quality of moths in the traps. As moth-ers ourselves we enjoyed it too. The local Environmental Information Centre collected all the information and reported back that over 400 moths were trapped, with 77 species identified. Of these, 18 species had not been previously recorded locally.

Day 3 dawned warm and still, but we had rain overnight. Nothing torrential but enough to give all the plants in the garden a good drink. Today was an opportunity to wander around our own garden and look a bit closer at some of the plants. We often think we know what a flower looks like – but look even closer and you may be surprised

                         

We awoke to a grey, cloudy morning on Day 4 but it was still very warm and humid.

We have had a couple of carrier bags full of pine cones sitting in the greenhouse for a while now. Today was the day to top up our bug boxes where the original contents had settled. A bit fiddly to unstaple the chicken wire but by the time it was restapled they looked much better, and there are still some cones left. Perhaps another box somewhere else in the garden?

                     

                   

We also set two moth traps at a local farm this evening.

It is always exciting to open the traps, never knowing what might be inside. It was nice and cool, although breezy, when we set off to collect and empty them on Day 5 but the sun came out as we drove to the site. Choosing to sit in a shaded spot in the hope of keeping the moths as calm as possible turned out to be much chillier than we anticipated. The wind blew straight down the track!
The moths were quite calm however so we had to grin and bear it. Not a huge number of moths -  52 of 19 species. The details will be passed onto the County Moth Recorder.
                   

Noticed when I wandered around the garden on Day 3 that one of our foxgloves had a bud at the top of the stem. We have seen this aberration before, a few years ago - apparently it is called peloria. Well Day 6 sees the flower open.

                           

Had a trip out on Day 7 to look around an old family house in Cumbria. The house was amazing but the garden had 43 species of tree collected by an ancestor as his arboretum! Some rare and specialist trees that looked majestic in their beautiful setting.