ShareMondays2020 – A Feast Of Thistles

ShareMondays2020 – A Feast Of Thistles

Only a few photos this week! I had a very brief spell outside with the camera last Wednesday, but the goldfinches at Heather Farm put on a good show for me, feasting on the thistle seed heads. On Thursday evening I started coughing. It was a bit concerning! I followed the guidance and immediately started the process of booking Covid tests for both myself and Simon. It is a bit of a process, but you just have to stick with it and keep refreshing the booking site, until you are able to get a nearby drive-through appointment, or order a home testing kit.

Simon got straight in touch with his employers, to arrange working from home, and I contacted my care agency and the carers I had seen that week. Although they all wear PPE and observe good hand hygiene, they have the closest contact to me (after Simon!) so I needed to alert them to the possibility that I may have contracted the virus. After a while I was finally able to book us tests close to home for the following day. I’ve got to say the test centre was really well run, staff did everything possible to make us feel reassured, and we were all done in just ten minutes. Our results were emailed and texted to us on Saturday morning, just under twenty four hours later, and I am delighted to say that we’re both negative!

I still have no idea how, or where, I have picked up this virus. I have been sticking to strict social distancing ever since shielding was paused. I’ve not been meeting up with lots of people, going to pubs or into shops. I’m still classed as extremely clinically vulnerable to complications if I catch Covid-19, so I’m not ready to take big risks. The fact that I am already taking so many precautions, yet have still managed to pick up a virus, just goes to show how easily they can be spread. None of us should start being complacent, especially as the Winter flu and cold season approaches and more sectors are being opened up to the public.

Even if you’re not in a high risk category yourself, there are plenty of clinically vulnerable people out there, around you, who need your help to stay safe. You can’t tell how vulnerable a person might be from looking at them. Some known risk factors like age, gender and ethnicity might be more obvious, but you can’t see chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, COPD, diabetes, severe asthma, organ transplants, certain blood disorders, to name but a few!

The person standing behind you at the checkout for the supermarket could be vulnerable. Did you wash or sanitise your hands before you touched any of the surfaces they might then be touching? Maybe you thought it was okay because you’re wearing your mask? Hand washing is still the most important thing we can all do to protect one another! The next most important thing we can do is to get tested as soon as possible if we develop symptoms: a fever, a new, continuous cough, a loss or change in sense of smell or taste. Self-isolate as soon as symptoms appear and follow procedures for contact tracing if you receive a positive result.

For now I am clear, but I am still feeling pretty rotten with the virus I have! I hope my depleted immune system can deal with it soon, so I can get back outside with the nature and wildlife I cherish so much. Take care and stay safe everyone x

Jun 22 2020

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ShareMondays2020 – Skipping Through The Meadows

ShareMondays2020 – Skipping Through The Meadows

I ventured out of the house for the first time since March 22nd last Friday! I’m still shielding, but we have been advised that we can go outside once a day, for health benefits, as long as we follow strict social distancing. It was so nerve-wracking, but the wildlife at the Heather Farm Wetlands area welcomed me back with what felt like a huge hug to the senses. The sights, sounds, scents, space and the feel of the breeze was just the therapeutic boost I needed. It’s peaceful in the wetlands, with only a few visitors, who were all keeping a good distance. I felt safe and that was really important!

I didn’t have to go far before seeing skippers flitting about all around me among the grasses. It was magic! A mix of both small and Essex skippers were so abundant in this perfect habitat. One obliging small skipper allowed me to get close-up with the macro lens and I hope this shows you why I just adore them. So fluffy, with the most enormous eyes! They were adorning the thistles along with thick-legged flower beetles, spiders and froghoppers (the larvae produce cuckoo spit!). See if you can spot them!

Grasses are so important to skippers! Small skipper larvae usually feed on Yorkshire-fog grass, and Essex skipper larvae will usually be found on Cock’s-foot grass. Both species will also use Timothy, False Brome, Meadow Foxtail and Creeping Soft grass. Aren’t they just the most wonderful names? Both the Woodland Trust and Wildlife Trusts have great information about grasses and sedges!

It’s really difficult to differentiate between the small and Essex skippers! It’s actually a bit early to be seeing the Essex on the wing, they would usually appear in July. Many of our butterflies have been emerging early this year, after the hot month of May. I am pretty sure that a number of the skippers I saw were the Essex, as a head-on view showed me the black-tipped antennae. The small skipper has an orange-brown tip.

Aug 13 2013

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Life In The Undergrowth

I went on a bug hunt today. The Basingstoke Canal is ideal for everything I was looking for! The tow-path is lined with nettles, brambles, thistles and other wildflowers that are often labelled weeds. My featured photo is a beautiful Speckled Wood butterfly.

At this time of year so many of these “weeds” hold great importance to our wildlife, in particular to butterflies and moths who lay their eggs on these plants.

Today I got my first glimpses of emerging caterpillars on the nettles as well as seeing many tents made by the larvae at the top of leaves. I’m pretty sure these are Red Admiral caterpillars.