Natural highs and lows

Having sustained the bumblebee queens which were on the wing before any willow trees were in bloom, the Dandelions are now going to seed and feeding several Goldfinches. Meanwhile, I have begun Operation Dochan 2026, a task not dissimilar to painting the Forth Rail Bridge, though with less red led read led read lead red lead. As the canopy of dock leaves temporarily diminishes, I am left with two thoughts, one good, one bad. The bad news is that there is also a profusion of Lady's Mantle, the non-native invasive species Alchemilla mollis , which if left unchecked might even give the docks some grief, as well as everything else. The good news is that there are also many, many orchid rosettes this year. Oh joy unconfined! The front garden has not previously been particularly orchid-y, but this year looks like it will rewrite that history. Needless to say, there's no mowing occurring, save for a perimeter path and a gently-curving route from the little wooden gate to the propos...

Since our house move, there's not been too much time for dedicated nature watching, as we instead navigate the peaks and valleys of cardboard boxes which seemingly fill every available space in home and garage.  Blogging has taken a bit of a back seat, so best I publish a 'catch-up' post to cover the days and weeks either side of the move. Immediately prior to completing the purchase (or settlement, as it's called up here), I was working in Shetland for a day. With a bit of time to kill before the ferry back to Orkney, I opted for a short wander in the hills near my last customer, rather than head into Lerwick and do battle with the hordes of cruise ship passengers from two huge vessels in the harbour. A once typical and increasingly rare Shetland scene because of the Viking Wind Farm project Bog Asphodel, a Sundew, Selfheal and Tormentil Sheep's-bit A species of Ragwort Possibly the warmest hour I have ever spent in Shetland, it was idyllic What I was unaware of, h...