Honeysuckle season

[puddleshark]

Sometimes the woodbine binds itself...





Rain first thing, but not much. Not enough to wet the ground. After it cleared, I took a walk through the woods, as far as the Great Bramble Patch of B., in the hope of seeing Silver-washed Fritillary butterflies.



Warblers singing overhead, somewhere in the sunlight and the green treetops. Down below, a sea of silent bracken crowding the paths. A faint hum of insects.








Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant). "Hard fern is dimorphic, which means it has two types of frond – sterile and fertile. The sterile foliage has long, flat, leathery, dark green fronds with slightly wavy edges. They arch outwards, almost parallel to the ground, and can grow up to 30cm. The fertile fronds are longer, narrower and upright." https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/ferns/hard-fern/


Hard Fern sterile foliage.

Along the path's edge, a ribbon of sunlit habitat for weeds and wild flowers:


Common Cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense). A hemi-parasite. The seeds have elaisomes, attractive to wood ants, who help disperse the seeds.

'Elaiosomes (Ancient Greek: ἔλαιον élaion "oil" + σόμα sóma "body") are fleshy structures that are attached to the seeds of many plant species. The elaiosome is rich in lipids and proteins, and may be variously shaped. Many plants have elaiosomes that attract ants, which take the seed to their nest and feed the elaiosome to their larvae. After the larvae have consumed the elaiosome, the ants take the seed to their waste disposal area, which is rich in nutrients from the ant frass and dead bodies, where the seeds germinate. This type of seed dispersal is termed myrmecochory from the Greek "ant" (myrmex) and "circular dance" (khoreíā).' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaiosome


Yellow Pimpernel (Lysimachia nemorum).


Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica).


Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus).


Common Carder bee (Bombus pascuorum).

The Speckled Wood butterflies were awake and on the wing, but no sign of any Silver-washed Fritillaries. Not my lucky day for fritillaries - you have to be in the right spot, at the right time to see them.


Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria).

Came back through the hay meadows, with the Meadow Browns fluttering through the grass.

Comments

[mallorys_camera]

Lovely.

You are such a gifted photographer.

[puddleshark]

Thank you!

While I was waiting for my rare butterflies (which never turned up), I got to play around a bit. :)

I felt like I'd been going through a bit of a barren/boring patch with my photography lately, but it turns out I haven't been giving places time.

[mallorys_camera]

Believe me when I tell you your photos never go through a barren, boring patch.

I am quite critical, and I never blandish.

[puddleshark]

Thank you.

[heleninwales]

I always admire puddleshark's plant photographs. Most people would just see a confusion of leaves and stems, but puddleshark can find a pleasing composition out of the chaos.

[puddleshark]

Thank you!

The auto-focus on my old zoom lens is no longer working very well, so I'm having to play around with lots of manual focus shots, and it all gets a bit arty & experimental!

[heleninwales]

I like your arty and experimental shots a lot.

[puddleshark]

Thank you!

[kaishin108]

Beautiful!
I love that Hard Fern. :)

[puddleshark]

Thank you!

I love the feathery geometry of Hard Ferns... Always end up taking pictures!