Life along the road and in the garden.

My cold has been keeping me indoors, apart from brief spins to Eddy's, my local shop. I've been missing my regular visits to the bay, and to see what, if , has changed and to point my lens to the birds in the water and those, foraging in the mud.
So this is what I did see.
Along the road I saw plenty of life and even colour which were trying to cheer me up when I passed Saturday on my way home after having picked up the Irish Times in the shop.
The birds must be delighted with these Wild Ivy berries which are ripening a lot slower than those which grow near the pier. There were many, at various stages too, some even still having to start getting into shape at all.


This was peeping through the hedgerow a little from the estate entrance, and I suspect that it is an escapee from the garden behind it. And I've missed the best flowering period, it seems as it is fading already. But who cares. It's about the colour!


And as last, the glorious Daisy!




A few birds which called in over the last few days:
Chaffinch, female.

2 male Bullfinches had been checking me out since early December and called in a few times since. They never stay for long, and never really touch much of the food either. Last winter and last summer, it was a male and female which


Blue Tit:



Our juvenile Jackdaw, JJ: He still loves posing while he is filling his stomach



Dunnock

J.J's Debut movie.

On Birding I had posted a short movie, starring JJ, already. This is the original Debut video however which I had hoped to post there first, but things got mixed up. So here he is: Junior, aka JJ.

And like in the movie 'houses', posters of the leading male/female is the by-product of any movie





During the summer I've been seeing a tiny Moth very regularly, without it giving me a good chance to take its photo for an ID. Yesterday I got my wish granted: it was giving me the perfect opportunities to take a picture and then end up with something decent enough to post at the Yahoo-Moth Group, where I hope someone can put a name t this gorgeous little creature.

This picture gives an idea of size, where it is sitting on a hinge of the window. Which is about 8cm high.

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"Insect" pictures; I love the structure and way the legs fold in/out and the sharpness of these. They just intrigue me. Don't get me wrong though: I'm not a creepy crawlies type at all> far from it!


And finally: Insect being caught at the bottom of my tub! Insect was very obedient in going into my tub and also at departing later when we went outside. Only problem is, Insect has been back, daily since. Amazing how it flattened itself onto the bottom immediately.

Bamboo, more Insects and JJ.

I had promised more Junior pictures for Crow and Border Reiver, which I shall post on birding, I think, so in the meantime I can concentrate on two Moths, one of which landed on my windowsill last night, as soon as I had posted on this blog! My pictures worked out well; no surprise really, with a stunning orange body, it could not disappoint! I guess it was a female, the wings transparent, or very lightly tinted, I could not be certain and my little magnifier sat already in the pocket of my little sleeveless jacket, which offers me all I need when venturing outdoors.
The Publish Post button in my blog was supposed to be the last thing I’d do before shutting down and hopefully shutting down my eyes too, as it was already past midnight.

In bed I could not help but go through the first half of my Moth book, no success as of yet! In the porch I found this very large Spider, that it really made my skin crinkle and age years a second. When sitting beneath it, you are more vulnerable to catch it on yourself somewhere and shaking it off is blimey hard too. All you do is having it land within your wheels! And although I’m not squeamish about Arachnids, let’s just say I’m not fond of these eight-legged creatures either. And on the ceiling or high on the wall, they have one over me. Out of reach, I cannot get control over them. It is not that I need that control; it is the idea that I cannot have it, which bothers me. They can have the attic, I do not mind, they are already using the shed, I assume! This is there for any wildlife to use now that we managed to evict the wild Kittens. It would not surprise me if birds had bred in there! Mostly it is a wood store.

Here are still a few photos from my last walk. Near the dug up areas on the backroad, I also shot this large and broken stems of a Wild Umbellifer, Wild Carrot, perhaps, and as a maker of bamboo flutes myself, these stems looked oh so appealing to me! They were at least the size of a soprano flute, I guess. As a thirteen year old I was introduced to this anthropologist with a keen interest into the craft of certain musical instruments and taught this at a school for children with learning disabilities.

Teaching a kid with a physical disability was a challenge to him and soon I was off to his wonderful house after school. I hated these schooldays on Saturday morning till 12 or 1pm, this new prospect of learning this new craft worked wonders to keep me concentrating on those lessons.

A few more photos from my last walk to the bay.
Wild Carrot? A different kind of bambooI love these bits of Fluff; isn't Nature great in supplying us with something this cute?Ivy at its work on a Scots' PineI'm still expecting one on my head after riding this main road since 1987Pictures of those named Insects, all taken within the kitchen and the front porch:
Last night's beautiful orange MothIn contrast is this very worn MothBig Spider in the porchSome specie of Fly in the kitchenAnd a few shots from the garden, including the Big Star: Junior, aka JJ. My guess is that it is a confidence problem, now he is getting fame he wants a name without focus on his Juvenile status!
And yes, I will post more of him tomorrow in Birding! Really.