I am aware I haven’t posted on here for awhile. I have visited but it was a private family affair with my daughter and partner and I didn’t want to post photos. We had a lovely time, lit a fire, cooked lunch, did a few jobs. Yesterday it was just me all day. Didn’t meet anyone else and at this time of year the birds go very quiet. A tinge of loneliness crept over me at times but that was for a good reason and regular readers will know why. I only had two jobs in mind – finish the log store and bring some logs home for winter.

I got stuck into the construction straight away. There was just the vertical side pieces to add. It was a bit of a struggle, I had forgotten my special powered screwdriver, ran short of screws long enough and had to resort to nails. It was one of those days when my usual efficient planning was lacking. I’m having a few days like that where I seem to be clumsy and disorganised. Well I still got the job done and am pleased with it. I tidied up the side of the original logshed which had some old logs under plastic tarps and put them in the new shed. They are a bit black and dirty and will probably just get used in the campfire rather than home.

I loaded my trugs with clean logs for home and that was my jobs completed. I had plenty of free time to wander and take photos. I decided to concentrate on the small things. It’s easy to overlook them as you walk around so it’s a case of stopping, putting my reader specs on and looking carefully. This is a wonderful exercise for focusing on the present, just being in the moment. The first photo appears to be some sort of fly just emerged from it’s pupa.

This shot intrigued me. A large wasp and a bee sharing the same flower. The wasp seemed more afraid of the bee that the other way around and soon wandered off.

These round balls are oak galls sometimes called oak apples. I’ve mentioned them before but here goes again. A small wasp lays an egg on the oak leaf. The tree produces these galls around the egg which is now protected, will to hatch, feed off the gall and mature. Eventually the new wasp bites a hole in it and escapes. The galls are hard and brown by then and in the past have been used to make ink. They are rich in tannin and when crushed and mixed with a ferric solution, produce a very dark and fade resistant ink. Apparently the Magna Carter was written with gall ink.

This is a very old and gnarly crab apple tree. I love it for being just that.

Lastly a beautiful clump of vibrant green moss growing on a boulder. Till the next time.