The New Wildlfe Pond

All our interests have a connection in various ways to the environment, the countryside and the wildlife, so it's not surprising that many of our friends also have very similar interests. Last year we were asked by two of our friends if we could help them install a wildlife pond in their already well established wildlife garden. This film is a record of the preparation and development of what we hope will be another wildlife attraction to their garden.

Weather Watching

Just a short post to show everybody that I'm still around , perhaps not posting about wild orchids because it seems to be a yearly repeat. My latest interest is being a local weather forecaster for the BBC Television Weather Service. If you have time to watch my short film all will be revealed.

The Southern Marsh Orchid is moving North

17th July 2015
               A couple of days ago I made a short film on the advancement of this beautiful orchid,which has colonised our area over the last few years. I made the film in a hurry and grammatically it is incorrect with a few errors in my deliverance to the camera, but because we were visiting two of our friends Frank & Janice (Janice is a keen wild orchid enthusiast) up in the Yorkshire Dales early yesterday it lacks a bit of polish but I'm sure that the main message that this orchid has advanced north shows in the film.

The Bee Orchids cling on

Saturday 27th June 2015
     A quick look around the grass verges on the local industrial estate in Burnley gave me some encouragement that as long as they don't mow the grass within an inch of it's life the wild orchids can cling on. I wonder how many of the hundreds of workers that pass this way every week notice these little gems down at ground level or are they too busy texting on their mobile phones welded to their hands.

The grass bankings on the approach to this well know aerospace factory where more than three species of orchid survive.

              Another site outside the council vehicle repair workshop

Amongst the hustle & bustle of  of the industrial estate these little beauties survive

Bluebells still in flower

Sunday 14th June 2015
              After a month away in our motor home, today on a short walk in our local area with two of our friends, I was a bit surprised to find the Bluebells still in full flower growing amongst the Red Campion on the north facing slopes of  Sadler Hill above Slaidburn. It's been a colder spring than average so the cool temperatures have prolonged the season . Today's temperature was only 11c and we're only a week from the longest day.

                                                 Sadler Hill

 We also noticed that the Water Aven and yellow Wood Aven ( herb bennet) growing together in woods in this picture, they had cross pollinated to produce a yellow Water Aven.

They've cross pollinated in my own garden so I don't think it's very uncommon.

Spring Flowers at their best

Monday 4th  May 2015
      The spring flowers at Feizor Woods near Clapham in Yorkshire were at their best today, so enjoy springtime in this unspoilt wood along with our friends as we enjoy the regeneration of spring( my favourite season.)

                                                Feizor Woods

                                      Early Purple Orchid

                                 Early Purple Orchid (pink form)

                                       Carpets of Primroses

                           Primroses & Wood Anemones

                               Enjoying the Warm Sunshine

                                       Wood Anemones

                             Wood Anemones (rarer Pink Form)

                                             Cowslips

                                 Looking towards Pen-y-ghent

                                          Pen-y-ghent

The 1st of May and it feels like Winter

Saturday 2nd May 2015
              After a couple of weeks of warm spring weather this week we've reverted back to winter with temperatures more like March.Yesterdays walk from Ribblehead up Whernside the highest of the "Three Peaks"at 2419 ft.  This walk was a cracker but the temperatures dropped rapidly over the 2000ft contour and it felt more like Jan./Feb. The snow that had fallen over the last few days still lingered on to create a wintry feel to our walk.

 The start of our walk, the Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle/Carlisle railway

                                    Whernside above the viaduct

     The path follows the railway line to the start of the Blea Moor tunnel

                                  Good views of Ingleborough

               Up onto the ridge with a newish path to combat erosion

                      Easy walking along the ridge to the summit

                        Whernside's summit triangulation point

Sitting quietly, we were surprised how close this pair of Dulin foraged just beyong the patch of snow

 Back along the ridge with good views of the Lake District mountains

          The beautiful unspoilt Dentdale with the Howgill fells

        Down off the ridge back to Ribblehead to complete the walk