LionelB

My main themes here are gardening, nature and conservation, green energy and open source software but my frustration with the way billionaires are trashing our world will inevitably feature at times.

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lionelb_at_expressional.social@momostr.pink

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Last Notes

2026-04-26 17:14:05 UTC

This is one of the most startling creatures in the UK. Although named after a cat, to me it is absolutely a miniature rabbit. It is a Puss Moth (Cerura vinula).
What you can't see from the photo is that it is huge. Around 40mm in length.
It is surprisingly well camouflaged when tightly folded. I did a double-take before I believed my eyes.
#moths #entomology
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/116/472/093/343/548/215/original/a4f0160471cc3246.jpg

2026-04-25 07:33:56 UTC

A very attractive insect yesterday. This is a German Scorpionfly (Panorpa germanica). Oddly elaborate.
#insects #entomology
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/116/464/164/015/448/451/original/2ded722b1bf876f5.jpg

2026-04-23 19:57:41 UTC

It really doesn't get better than this. A fruit tree arbour in a walled garden on a warm, sunny afternoon.
#gardening #England #gloucestershire
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/116/455/765/330/849/185/original/4e6ef96a07f801d8.jpg

2026-04-22 09:06:37 UTC

An unashamed post of yet another Holly Blue. For this and the Orange Tip this is absolutely a bumper year.
Insect behaviour is far more structured than we imagine. This female is basking on a Shining Cranesbill (Geranium lucidum) in my garden. As the name suggests, the leaves have a highly reflective film, which bounces back a lot of solar energy. It is like sunbathing on space film.
There is a particular corner with a thuja and Portuguese laurel which they are drawn to. Thuja has a strong citrus scent. It could be that they 'like' the smell. Equally, it may just register to them as an unmistakable landmark, like a station clock.
#insects #butterflies
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/116/447/493/196/762/354/original/52cfc455e08b06e6.jpg

2026-04-18 07:53:00 UTC

I bought a pack of kiln dried birch logs (Home Bargains in UK) and picked out the thicker blocks to make a bee house. They are fussy about depth, so I needed auger bits for greater reach. The excavations are around 12cm deep.
#solitarybees #bees #insects
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/116/424/604/154/447/637/original/73f97e526ac67226.jpg

2026-04-08 20:45:08 UTC

I have said before that my macro lens is not best suited to ornithology but this came out very well.
It is a Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) and it - and others - were singing beautifully today. Southern UK.
#birds #warblers #ornithology
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/116/371/015/219/396/996/original/27a1ca91b03b8b9c.jpg

2026-04-06 11:30:15 UTC

Some excellent news. Under fleece protection, the giant Canary Islands echium has not just survived but flourished. Over the winter months it has doubled in size. Now, it is in great need of sunshine. [Cotswolds, UK]
#gardening
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/116/357/515/136/150/388/original/70bca9cfc18ba7ad.jpg

2026-04-04 11:42:44 UTC

The Caltha palustris doing very well in the raised pond.
#gardening #pond #wildflowers
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/116/346/247/292/126/833/original/b0e4b5800573e2fc.jpg

2026-03-29 20:08:02 UTC

@npub1ppe…qv2g
An update on Nottinghamshire's Tapinoma ants
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr1KZSqvS34
#ants

2026-03-11 17:37:57 UTC

Weevil! This would need microscopy follow up but is likely Ceratapion onopordi. Southern England
#weevil #WeevilWednesday #insect
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/116/211/732/879/289/663/original/71120963c4e0381d.jpg

2026-02-28 10:20:30 UTC

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Whilst gaining nothing on their Right.
Will Labour shrink to a rump, simply implode, merge its remnants into Reform?
The "Starmer is a decent man" narrative is clearly nonsense and the bulk of their MPs are cynical careerists. All are participants in their 'authentic zeitgeist whisperer of the (1950s) working class' religion.
There is a maybe a niche for a revamped Harold Wilson (of whichever gender) as part of a parliamentary alliance against the hard Right.
It certainly looks like epochal territory.
#ukpol

2026-02-04 17:07:55 UTC

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A tray of sodium bicarbonate is said to be good at absorbing dog smells from the upholstery. No need for direct contact.

2026-02-01 09:52:56 UTC

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A corollary to that is the different perspective on time. Big tech in the USA initially played the long game of entrapment. Now everything has its focus on immediate extraction. Quarterly performance is 'long-term'.
In China, everything is subsumed to a 5 year or 10 year horizon.
That reflects also in social media. Greed now, versus destiny.

2026-01-23 19:59:37 UTC

Fountain grass (Cenchrus setaceus) was growing abundantly along the sea wall.
#wildflowers #costablanca
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/946/177/100/013/050/original/7225c226d2ce3f37.jpg

2026-01-21 17:51:34 UTC

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Wanting to get on with it is understandable 😃

2026-01-21 17:22:32 UTC

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Sweet peas will start in October but the best advice I have seen is to sow them in December. A lull in the early part of the year is probably not doing them much good and they will tend to become leggy. Continuous growing from a later start avoids that and they should transplant better.

2026-01-14 11:20:15 UTC

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Whoever allowed the use of Copilot by the police should be sacked.

2026-01-14 11:13:32 UTC

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My catalpa stems are very straight and lighweight. They would be ideal for the longitudinal sections I think.

2026-01-11 10:04:47 UTC

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On the accession of Eastern Europe, Blair had the option of a seven year phase-in but refused it.
To "borders should not exist" purists, this is not problematic.
It did though mean that flows exceeded what the logistics could handle - infrastructure and employment.
Much grievance was not about xenophobia but about the sudden deterioration of schools, GP surgeries, housing availability.
There should have been a seven year transition and there should have been comprehensive social integration and infrastructure projects in parallel.
We are essentially still in that place. There are academic economic arguments about demographics and entrepreneurial spirit which look good on a spreadsheet but still no attempt at planning, no transition arrangements.
Race and volume get all the attention on both sides of the divide but the assumption is still that new arrivals will just disappear into the system, which will take up the slack, with no policy and no investment.

2026-01-01 15:17:13 UTC

This growing in a verge beside a road. Cyclamen hederifolium. Elsewhere, the top-soil has brought black mustard, geranium and artichokes, along with many others. Everything growing very vigorously. Curious.
#disturbedground #urbanwildflowers
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/820/477/631/714/944/original/9a5e28d766546a2d.jpg

2025-12-30 15:30:01 UTC

My crazy Teucrium. Like gorse, it never stops flowering.
#gardening
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/809/218/313/769/667/original/b9ce840c74014244.jpg

2025-12-29 14:10:37 UTC

The giant echium today before it was wrapped in fleece. There are some cold nights coming up. Whether it survives is now entirely down to the weather.
#echium #canaryislands
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/803/239/664/666/815/original/a6e6b237c4d326d7.jpg

2025-12-22 10:58:18 UTC

@npub12pw…zvxn
When I started work, it was common to get things done by doing favours and calling in favours. Those who were obliging and flexible did well. The miserable and ungenerous got no help, so they performed badly. Actions didn't come out of my budget or your budget. It was our budget.
Since this was a 'favours' economy, objectionable customers of course got an inferior service. Rightly so.
Then the accountants set up micro section budgets, creating fierce competition. Defending one's own pot of money became the universal top priority and everything froze. Instant, imaginative (and inexpensive) fixes became impossible and sloping shoulders became the norm. Useless meetings, position papers and disputes gobbled up funds, all in the name of not being the one holding the parcel when the music stopped.

2025-12-22 09:52:59 UTC

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'Evidence' and metrics are generally that which is easily measured. The accountant mentality.
Innovation, cooperation, the human touch should be core considerations but accountants are not interested in anything outside the realm of their bean-counting expertise. Which is most things.
The spreadsheet was one of the most damaging things ever invented.

2025-12-20 13:17:55 UTC

Not only is the giant echium alive, it is growing vigorously. The abutilon too. I presume that both take their cue from day length. January is likely to pose the biggest threat.
[Southern UK]
#gardening #climatechange
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/752/062/350/032/498/original/24b1c570f214570b.jpg

2025-12-07 10:17:04 UTC

There is supposedly a drift towards giving consumables for Xmas. That seems like a very good idea. Soap, subscriptions, food hampers, paper, bird seed...
Most people have a crazy amount of 'stuff' and want to reduce it, not collect more.
For those in need, basics are a lifeline.
Wooden brushes and darning kits too - simple equipment to extend the life of stuff we already possess.
Arts and craft are also an exception. We need to sustain those creative people.
#christmasgifts #christmaspresents

2025-12-02 22:55:28 UTC

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Goldfinches descend on my Perovskia as late as April, so I leave it until the new growth is already well on the way.

2025-11-29 10:02:10 UTC

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Just short of £160,000 at this point.
33 days left.

2025-11-19 16:52:01 UTC

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Alcohol-free beer is excellent these days and widely available. The scenario is much less of an issue than it used to be.

2025-11-09 09:52:13 UTC

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I would call it Lutheran. Dark and proper. Highly suspicious of joy. At home in a bank, a town hall or the office of a solicitor.

2025-10-28 16:16:13 UTC

@npub1t2q…n4vh
I am not seeing 'Navigation' in default apps in iOS.
Latest Organic Maps is installed.
I am in Spain.

2025-10-26 14:03:29 UTC

#SilentSunday
Three clam shells on a beach.
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/440/830/088/724/794/original/684f7229b6441008.jpg

2025-10-19 17:39:39 UTC

A young woman gave up her seat to me on the metro. Very nice of her but not familiar territory for me.
I will no doubt try to rationalise it by the fact that I was weighed down with a heavy rucksack, which might have caught someone in the face. Better to be sat down.
I am 'old' but probably it is only other old people who understand that the elements of decay are just external.
The me inside is perennially around 30. There isn't a me inside which is 'old'.
To say that there is a feeling of being trapped would be an overstatement. It creeps up very gradually. But there is a sense of disconnect. The two states don't match up.
#life #ageing

2025-10-18 13:30:06 UTC

Chocolate and hazelnut gateau is probably not good for me at a physical level.
But think of the spiritual aspects.

2025-10-16 10:26:05 UTC

This day flying moth on lantana has an almost unbelievable abstract art colouration. It is a Rattlebox, not sure of species. Quite large. 13-14mm.
#moths #andalusia
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/383/340/027/147/635/original/bb0d15a635493450.jpg

2025-10-14 19:21:34 UTC

These are very popular in Spain, with good reason. 75km range and plug in anywhere. Dry, space for shopping, fits through small gaps.
Disadvantage is that they are not 90% of cars on the road. F=m.a
Also, the choice is grey or grey.
#weirdcarmastodon #ev #microcar #citroenami
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/374/104/602/065/000/original/42ef3062592cf403.jpg

2025-10-08 09:19:27 UTC

Fabulous little Seat 127.
#weirdcarmastodon
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/337/793/448/983/204/original/a7d8b9b964886b41.jpg

2025-10-05 17:13:11 UTC

I am not suggesting this is either properly wild or native but these nasturtiums are growing at the base of a basalt cliff, mostly in shade. It gives a useful insight into where they like to be.
#WildflowerHour
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/322/658/220/170/752/original/b04bb7aa40bf928b.jpg

2025-09-25 20:12:25 UTC

A lecture from Adam on Alienation, without ever using the word.
His is a very important point. In wild places, we have come to see ourselves as intruders. We had better relearn quickly that we are participants. We can be destructive or beneficial but we are not and have never been absent.
#ecology #forests
If This Isn't Good Medicine, I Don't Know What Is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLXdaT2kZNU

2025-09-21 09:59:28 UTC

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Law is often treated as a toolbox to advance the ideological agenda of enforcement officers.
Much is simply ignored. Some is contorted to have application in ways not intended by the legislators.
The letter of the law and the alleged intentions behind it are considerably removed from the direct exercise of power. Political interference is very evident.
Windsor a case in point.

2025-09-19 09:06:10 UTC

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If all of the imagined efficiency gains had been real, the economy would be a nothingness by now.
Squeezing demoralises and injects chaos. Capital is spent without training, maintenance, monitoring, policy formation. It is therefore poorly utilised.
Squeezing increases inefficiency. More mistakes. More lost opportunities.

2025-09-13 10:06:11 UTC

I bought an 1857 reprint of an 1815 book on entomology. Not for scientific insights but to see how they thought, what they did and what they observed.
What I expected was Enlightenment inspired scientific analysis.
I was quite unprepared to find heavy duty theology. Given that vicars were among the few who had the education and leisure to become entomologists, I should not have been.
The Victorian habit of signalling gentility by always using three words when one will do is extremely intrusive.
Mass production of print seems to have brought about conspicuous over-indulgence in text.
#entomology #history #insects
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/196/355/680/219/142/original/d9ac0c8cb68d0393.jpg

2025-09-07 19:41:56 UTC

One of the best views out of a train window anywhere. Perfect weather for it.
Dawlish.
#rail #travel
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/164/704/835/961/976/original/17cff62587759ba8.jpg

2025-09-04 23:07:29 UTC

For no very obvious reason, I just remembered the 1954 film 'The Runaway Bus', starring Frankie Howerd.
It revolves around a then British European Airways bus which gets lost in fog.
With breathtaking chutzpah, almost the entire film is set in special effects fog, so the bus is the set. Accidentally avant garde and surely the last word when it comes to working within a tight budget.
#film #movies

2025-09-02 13:20:01 UTC

This book is part of the New Naturalist series by Collins. It was written in 1947.
It has some very interesting characteristics. The text is learned and technical but it is set out in plain language. There is no superiority about it. Throughout, there is an infectious sense of wonder and many references to what we don't know.
The approach is systematic, so most of the content is as valid as it was then.
It reflects a time when curiosity and knowledge were valued in their own right and respected.
Today, the focus is much more on photographic lists. Trainspotting, without a knowledge of infrastructure, engineering, logistics and communication.
#nature #biodiversity #insects #entomology
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/134/815/376/408/355/original/61d1e8f4140072dc.jpg

2025-09-02 09:21:31 UTC

Naturalists are predominantly elderly.
Is this because they were socialised as children in a time when there was a greater abundance and variety of wildlife and were more free to roam or is it simply that in retirement they have time to let their interest flower?
If the former, we are in danger of seeing a collapse in data gathering for anything other than birds and butterflies, putting the natural world in greater danger.
If it is just a stage of life thing, there will be steady replacement and data will continue to flow.
Any thoughts?
#insects #entomology #biodiversity #birds #wildlife

2025-08-31 17:25:29 UTC

Horse Chestnut trees in the UK and elsewhere are being destroyed by a virulent fungus. Both young and old trees are affected, from early in the season.
It was interesting to see Indian Chestnut nearby. It is very mildly affected.
Since young plants are susceptible, a hybridisation or gene transfer experiment could yield results much more quickly than for Ash.
#trees #arboriculture #treediseases
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/124/527/826/583/332/original/f520e18aa2dc1a73.jpg
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/124/527/771/525/948/original/efa9dcc5cb3a047c.jpg

2025-08-31 17:12:58 UTC

This is a medlar. A very unusual fruit tree but very attractive.
#gardening #fruittrees
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/124/475/046/089/399/original/03586532e3dfc66d.jpg
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/124/475/040/328/860/original/04560e2b7cdc09c6.jpg

2025-08-31 12:17:55 UTC

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To those of us of a certain age, having fizzy drinks squirted over them.

2025-08-27 21:33:03 UTC

This is quite wonderful. It addresses the romantic idea that there is a battle between mankind and the countryside. [Oligarchs versus everything decent and good is a different case]. Homo sapiens bad. Nature pristine and ideal. An emotional take.
It takes that belief system apart and explains that 'the countryside' is artificial and is how it is because of what we humans did to it. That keeping it means intervening actively, as opposed to not interfering.
The historical perspective on trees, built on facts rather than emotions, suggests a radically different perspective in favour of interfering and against the ideology of neglect.
Well worth a watch. Challenge what you think you know.
#trees #ecology #countryside #conservation
*How Natural is Natural? Historical Perspectives on Wildlife and the Environment in England*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPzjCQb2Uuw

2025-08-25 13:27:58 UTC

This is a fairly new cultivar of Ligustrum which is called Lemon 'n Lime. It is supposed to develop yellow-lime foliage when grown in the sun but actually it burns to an ugly brown crisp.
In the shade it loses the colour intensity and becomes a much more mainstream green. It also becomes a delightful small tree.
Ignore the label. Grow it as a specimen well away from sunshine.
#gardening
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/089/608/431/373/820/original/90ad0933d8dc1178.jpg

2025-08-23 20:39:23 UTC

I bought some red-flushed apricots grown in England. A revelation! It used to be vaguely possible to grow one variety - Moor Park.
These were Congat. Very juicy and with a streak of acidity to balance the sweetness. Random sizes. No prissiness.
#fruit #apricots

2025-08-18 18:07:14 UTC

I have just booked a rail journey of 160 miles. Admittedly I have a railcard but I paid just £21 for a single.
Something quite dramatic has happened on UK railways, with very little fanfare.
It is so cheap that it wouldn't be a disaster if I decided not to go. Though I can get a partial refund, as long as I don't activate the ticket.
Seat bookings are included.
Train travel deserves to be used much more for leisure.
#rail #UKRail #railways #travel #Trains

2025-08-17 21:35:06 UTC

This Vitex agnus-castus has flowered properly for the first time this year. I removed a lot of lower branches and I think it took the hint. I have loudly announced its possible removal.
It is called Chasteberry because a potion made from it was fed to monks, to dampen down any 'urges' which might have distracted from their monastic duties. Historical records don't indicate that it was very effective.
#gardening #shrubs
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/046/220/653/989/535/original/c2751674d141a660.jpg

2025-08-17 20:39:39 UTC

A caterpillar of the Knot Grass moth (Acronicta rumicis). They will eat lots of different things. Interesting that this one was on Red Bartsia. The moth is very decorative but entirely black and white.
#moths #insects
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/046/010/420/232/846/original/387afac15d766c36.jpg

2025-08-16 15:30:02 UTC

I hadn't expected this to be a butterfly day but it turned out that way. This is a male Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus).
#butterflies #insects
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/115/039/131/514/613/783/original/09daf1b839a3eff9.jpg

2025-08-09 21:16:43 UTC

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With nettle, you can extract the fibres and make into tea towels and shirts :) If you have a few months with nothing to do...

2025-08-09 21:14:23 UTC

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With both you can leave them to rot down in a big bucket, then drain off the juice in the bottom and use it as liquid fertiliser.

2025-08-06 18:20:02 UTC

Very quiet today but there was this. Common Darter female (Sympetrum striolatum).
#dragonfly #insects
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/114/983/180/161/265/412/original/27a6a1ad55f21f52.jpg

2025-08-05 19:17:59 UTC

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Comfrey and nettle.

2025-08-01 17:55:32 UTC

One of our most beautiful insects. This is a (greater) Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria). It is completely harmless; all an act.
In flight it is a brilliant orange. It resembles clear toffee.
Found mostly in southern areas of England. It does janitor duties in hornet nests.
#insects #hoverfly
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/114/954/744/218/556/389/original/ff84b7c300048643.jpg

2025-07-30 20:31:42 UTC

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The chilling effect is exactly what Labour want.
#ukpol

2025-07-30 18:26:08 UTC

A nice afternoon but invertebrates were hiding away. Only a few recorded. The stand out was this 22 spot ladybird (Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata).
They are about a fifth the size of the usual 7 spot.
There are Harlequins around but I see the native species thriving alongside the supposed monster invader. I don't buy into the Armageddon hype around Harmonia axyridis.
#ladybird #insects
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/114/943/537/851/194/743/original/97b5deaeccc57afc.jpg

2025-07-28 15:22:12 UTC

This isa mystery. It is a distorted flower bud on a magnolia. It appears to be a wasp gall but hosting numerous larvae, rather than one. The white spots are odd though.
This is a fully mature specimen tree grown in a huge pot, so I would guess sourced wholesale from Italy.
Galls are normally quite specific but I can't find any reference to a specific wasp.
Magnolia is not a UK native so my presumption is that this is an invasive. I intend to remove the galls and destroy them, as a precaution.
Has anyone seen these before?
#insects #wasps #entomology #horticulture #magnolia
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/114/931/508/320/657/565/original/2295292969d98b3b.jpg

2025-07-24 22:36:50 UTC

Another plug for the up-coming (charitable) event which brings together a vast array of classic cars, vintage buses, coaches and motorbikes, steam engines, steam fair and much else.
Next to the Cotswold lakes.
https://www.glosvintageextravaganza.co.uk/
#weirdcarmastodon

2025-07-24 18:54:25 UTC

This is an invasive from Asia, sadly. Especially unfortunate as elm is already having a disastrous time.
No surprise at all to learn that it is called ZigZag!
#insects #sawflies
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/114/909/709/299/386/317/original/944dee0c39473eed.jpg

2025-07-05 16:21:44 UTC

A delight to find this. Passed by thousands of unsuspecting Tesco shoppers.
A Cinnabar moth caterpillar (Tyria jacobaeae).
They have been having a difficult time.
#moth #insects
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/114/801/495/158/132/071/original/463da803b8c35cdb.jpg

2025-07-04 20:35:14 UTC

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Corvids seem to take offence at petals sometimes. Maybe it is not chewing as such but angry pecking?

2025-07-01 09:26:25 UTC

Despite letting in 'cool' 19° air in overnight, the living space is still stubbornly at 25°.
An obvious improvement would be shade the windows from outside. Space blankets and duct tape?
Yesterday hit 32°. When the UK gets 45°, logic suggests it will get to 38° indoors.
The killer is no major drop in night temperatures.
To manage, the options [all of which presume significant spending power] are a portable air-conditioning unit; park the EV in the shade somewhere and drain the battery with the aircon; book into a hotel which has aircon.
There is a huge market in external shutters about to open up in the UK.
#climatechange

2025-06-14 13:54:29 UTC

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No serious harm done to me.
There was a local boy who had been in the thick of it. I took his hand silently. A woman friend took his other hand instinctively. And instantly we became 'nuclear family'.
We melted through the police lines like ninjas.

2025-06-14 13:40:58 UTC

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I was pushed through a shop window. The police were pretty solidly for the fascists.
But the day was a success. The hard core of the nazis lapped it up but their softer supporters were unnerved and their movement fell apart.
#antifascism
https://media.expressional.social/media_attachments/files/114/681/979/799/176/775/original/e68ed455f943f09f.jpg

2025-06-11 10:26:14 UTC

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I don't disagree with your sentiment but I think we need to dig down into the data more.
It is necessary to quantify how much of the divergence is down to inadequacies in primary care and how much is explained by Americans' horrific dietary habits.
I suspect that food policy/culture is the larger contributor by some margin.

2025-06-11 08:45:03 UTC

The sea-kale in the walled garden is enormous this year and the pineapple broom is well on the way to becoming a tree.
#gardening #walledgarden
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2025-05-22 21:03:55 UTC

A common red ant (Myrmica rubra) farming aphids this afternoon on cow parsley.
Fine in the wild but please not on my apple tree!
#ants #aphids
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2025-05-20 20:13:05 UTC

This is one of the best photos I have ever taken and the subject is rather special.
It has two beautiful names - Golden-bloomed Grey Longhorn Beetle and Agapanthia villosoviridescens.
It is very localised and I found it just about within its range. A highly unusual find.
The flight shot was the result of luck, persistence and observation.
Enjoy!
#insects #beetle #coleoptera
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2025-05-13 19:17:13 UTC

This is what I have been waiting for. I will be happy with just one.
My little apple tree from Tesco. Year 3.
#apple #fruit
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2025-05-13 19:07:14 UTC

This fledgling blue tit missed its vocation as a duck. It kept jumping in and out of the pond and splashing. Barely out of the nest.
#birdsofmastodon
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2025-05-13 14:10:04 UTC

I have been working on this for years. It finally delivered.
Iris borders are very rare. They need immense patience and a lot of space. They are over in days and rather dull most of the time.
But they are the pinnacle.
#gardening #englishgarden #iris
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2025-05-12 19:40:33 UTC

After complaining that the thyme bank was not attracting pollinators, @npub16rp…873y suggested it was probably because the soil was too dry.
After the rain (and my watering) things changed this morning.
Tiny bees around 5mm arrived. They have a startling green metallic head and shoulders.
They seem to be Common Green Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum morio) but a microscope probably needed to separate from other possibles.
Southern England.
#bees #insects
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2025-05-10 17:19:12 UTC

Tiny must have been a remarkable dog. Much loved.
Cherry trees tend not to live long. This one is 103 and full of vigour.
The owner long forgotten. The dog celebrated still.
#dogs #dogsofmastodon
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2025-05-09 22:38:29 UTC

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This one had been told that if it stayed completely still it would be invisible.
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2025-05-05 17:50:18 UTC

The Actinidia kolomikta is a close relative of the commercial kiwi fruit but purely decorative.
Whether this one was planted in the 1920's I am not sure. It became very tired and had some major surgery but as you can see it has bounced back well.
#gardening #shrubs
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2025-05-03 14:19:02 UTC

The willow twigs have taken very well. I hadn't expected catkins so quickly.
Gradually, they will be knitted together to make an arch.
#gardening #cuttings #propagation
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2025-05-03 09:23:23 UTC

A mint moth has arrived on the raised bed wildflower meadow. If I poke around there are probably hundreds. It is small. Under a centimetre.
#moths
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2025-05-03 07:53:32 UTC

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Flood defences are not 'climate action'.
They can't even get their categories right.

2025-04-20 19:32:01 UTC

I have basking stones in my raised bed wildflower meadow. It isn't that often that I see it used for basking but I am probably not around at the right moment.
Apart from that, it denies some space to plants and the soil it is sitting on is probably cooler and damper than the surrounding soil.
In insect terms, it is practically a mountain.
#gardening #wildlife #ecology
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2025-04-20 19:01:46 UTC

The Pearmain graft onto my species Malus is messy. The graft police would not approve. It worked though and now I have pink apple blossom from the fruit apple section.
Hoping it will set some.
#apples #grafting
@npub12ng…qtvm
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2025-04-19 20:35:41 UTC

This Dock Bug (Coreus marginata) seen this afternoon looks like a fortified rusty iron robot. Probably useful for loading flatbeds.
#insect #leatherbug
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2025-04-16 18:10:17 UTC

This is why you should allow the dandelions in your garden to grow.
This is one of the most beautiful hoverflies, Eupeodes luniger.
#hoverfly #insects
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2025-04-11 19:20:53 UTC

A lime tree with leaves just opened. A yellowish green with a glossy finish.
#tree #springtime
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2025-04-08 08:16:01 UTC

This is the shieldbug I posted yesterday, in context on a dandelion leaf. The similarity to the dazzle camouflage of battleships is striking. It easily passes as a bird dropping.
In the 18th century, naturalists (who of course needed independent means, for books, microscope, travel etc. as well as leisure time...) had many disadvantages over us. No instant communication, pattern recognition, cameras. They had to rely on distant mounted collections and sketches.
One strength they had was a much greater abundance of wildlife. But their greatest advantage was in sustained, patient observation.
To notice what is going on you have to slow right down and absorb. As with painting or drawing, the sensation of time passing changes. Other concerns are locked out. It is a kind of meditation.
We can and should learn from their focus and awareness.
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2025-04-06 08:45:25 UTC

Adding lime to the pond seems to have boosted its vitality considerably. The water was crystal clear but disturbingly sterile. Aquatic plants struggled to get going.
The rainwater must have been quite sharply acidic.
#pond #gardening
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2025-04-03 08:43:56 UTC

All it takes is a bit of sun (oddly we are getting lots) and England becomes a quite magical place.
Chiffchaffs and goldfinches very much at home in this canal walk.
#springtime #nature #countryside
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2025-04-02 23:17:04 UTC

Another Dark-edged Bee Fly (Bombylius major).
Several of these were hovering but at around 20cm off the ground, in open sunshine over dried mud.
The Eristalis were also hovering but at around 1.7m and kept close to the hedge.
These were also hanging around their mining bee hosts.
#BeeFly #insects
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2025-04-02 08:43:33 UTC

One of the issues with nature recording has been that for some categories, confirmation is very slow or there is just no response at all. That acts as a considerable discouragement.
From my own experience, I can see that the situation is getting much better. More coverage, quicker responses, better coordination.
For all categories, reports increased massively with the appearance of smartphones. A camera that is with you and easy uploads makes it a breeze.
Information shows geographical spread, climate shifts, food plant dependancy, conservation success, priorities for protection and a host of other things.
In the UK, the databases are incredibly advanced.
This mining bee from yesterday will be a piece of the big puzzle. It is an Andrena. I just need to refine the species and figure out its behaviour. Another visit today to watch and learn.
#insects #biologicalrecording #ecology #solitarybees
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2025-04-01 20:15:14 UTC

There is a mass of blackthorn in flower in the hedgerow but the blossom and small and rather unimpressive singly and the twigs are bare.
This wild damson has its leaves and the flowers are much more on the scale of cherry. More refined.
130 years ago there was a fruit farm about 2km away. Possible that this is descended from an escapee.
#hedgerow
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2025-03-30 19:59:40 UTC

Horse chesnut leaves infurling. They are deeply ribbed and droop at this stage. The sticky toffee leaf bud is seen peeled back.
#trees #chestnut
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2025-03-30 18:29:01 UTC

I could wait until Tuesday but this is just too lovely.
Strange how the clocks change and we are blasted into blazing sunshine. Tourists with their suitcases full of raincoats and thermal underwear are caught on the hop.
#trees #nature
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2025-03-26 00:29:39 UTC

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https://www.rhs.org.uk/disease/kerria-twig-and-leaf-blight

2025-03-26 00:27:01 UTC

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They are brittle. They snap very easily. Mine has been in for ages and this is the first year it has got to a size where it bears a lot of flower. It seems very healthy. Growing in not very much but mostly leaf litter.