Oh I remember reading the story Tina mentions in her post, to my kids, when they were much younger. And I am that country mouse for sure. There is so much to enjoy in the countryside, the quiet being one of the best things. Here in Ireland we have so much lush green too – so peaceful and restorative. The wildflowers and wildlife are just the icing on the cake.
John asks us to choose our Favourite Images of 2022. Some I have divided them into a couple of categories. Firstly (and probably not surprisingly) pollinators.
And then some wildflowers……………………
And finally some places.
Many thanks to John for getting us off to a good start for this year’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.
LAPC guest host this week is Jude at Cornwall in Colours – and she challenges us to find some textures.
last weekend, we enjoyed a lovely walk in the woods. I love all the different tree trunks.
Looking up into the canopy, the last few oak leaves clinging on to the moss and lichen covered branches.
And back down to the lake shore, where in the sheltered bay, the water was almost like glass.
And just for Jude, this was one of the last fuzzy bees I took a photograph of back in late September. Missing them and looking forward to seeing them back in the spring.
Special thanks to Jude for hosting this week’s challenge.
Well this challenge is right up my street, many thanks to Anne of Slow Shutter Speed for hosting “Wildlife close to Home” for this week. Those who drop by regularly won’t be surprised by my first image. I just love bumblebees, and it is great to see them enjoying the flowers in the garden.
This summer and autumn we had a lot more shieldbugs in the garden than other years. I think these guys look pretty comical.
Butterflies bring more colour to the garden.
And finally another favourite – this time a slightly larger animal and a rarer visitor to the garden, but always a joy to see – the Irish hare.
This year, I have been lucky to be working for the Great Yellow Bumblebee Project. The Great Yellow Bumblebee is Ireland’s rarest bees and it occurs on the Mullet Peninsula and Erris coastal mainland of County Mayo in the west of Ireland.
We have been working with farmers looking at how best we can manage fields in a way that provides lots of flowers for all types of pollinators. This area of County Mayo is stunningly beautiful, and supports a unique flower-rich habitat called Machair.
Machair is traditionally been used as winter grazing, which has benefitted the wildflowers that grow here and in turn these areas support a wealth of insects including pollinators.
We find lots of different bees. And finding the the rarest of them all, the Great Yellow Bumblebee, brings deep satisfaction.
Other rare and vulnerable bee species can also be found in this special place.
Many thanks to Ann-Christine for providing inspiration for this post – LAPC #214 Favourite Finds
This week Amy asks is to explore the sun.
I love the sun on water, the way it makes it shimmer and shine.
Without the sun we would not have plants. This one is a native Irish plant called the perennial sow-thistle. But I like to think of it as our own sunflower. They are tall plants – from 80 cm up to 150 cm with these glorious yellow heads and they are loved by bees and other pollinators.
With the sun, comes shadows and butterflies too of course.
And without the sun we wouldn’t have sunsets.
Many thanks to Amy for this week’s lovely challenge.
Had to think about Patti’s challenge this week – but maybe the motion of busy bees will fit the bill.
I have been missing out on Six and Saturday the last while. Life is busy and Saturday’s are equally so. But here are my six for this week. The wildflower meadow is just getting going.
Lots of blues and purples in the garden – like this iris
Sage is looking good.
As is the lavender.
And for a change of colour – how about a pink geranium?
And finally this week an aquilegia seed head.
For more Six on Saturday check out Six on Saturday’s host page here – The Propagator.
Murtagh's Meadow 