Here we are on a Friday afternoon, enjoying the fifth consecutive day of sunshine in a row. Yes, I'm still in Orkney. Let's pretend there's not a bitter easterly breeze, eh? It has been so sunny and dry and [sighs] breezy, that we have run out of things to launder: bedding; towels; and so much clothing we can actually see the bottom of the laundry basket. Unprecedented times, I tell you. Monday saw work begin on the new pond location (a subject for a future blogpost). Tuesday, a second day of sunshine, and the insects were beginning to believe in Spring! Several White-legged Snake Millipedes put in an appearance and the first hoverfly of the year was spotted, possibly Eristalis pertinax . At lunchtime, we headed out to Yesnaby on the west coast to set up a transect to monitor Plantain Leaf Beetles for the Species on the Edge Project. It was so peachy, we did two! A Yellow Dung Fly joined me for lunch, which doesn't say much about my sandwiches We saw about 40 beetles an...
I'm sure that I have mentioned previously that there are houses being built around us. Obviously this will change the variety of wildlife we see in and from the garden, but we're hoping that we will gain a few creatures as well as inevitably losing a few. In my usual slapdash way, I have been documenting, in the form of a photo diary, the construction of the house directly behind us, colloquially known as Plot 1 until the new owners give it a name. Neither the house nor the diary are finished yet, but the latest photo was taken yesterday evening, so I hope you will excuse my jumping the gun in showing you progress so far. I think you will understand why.