Look at this beast we found in the long grass – it’s an Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillar. Those ‘eye spots’ are supposed to scare off predators apparently. Continue reading “Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar”
Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar
Happy curious cows!
The cows are making busy munching through the grass and flowers on Popehouse Moor, our Site of Special Scientific Interest. If you sit still in the grass they come and see what you’re about….
Continue reading “Happy curious cows!”
Butterfly counts
This year’s Big Butterfly Count is coming to a close – though you can still post sightings until the end of the month.
All you have to do is enjoy a cup of tea for 15 mins and count what you see – the maximum number of each species you can see at any one time. Continue reading “Butterfly counts”
A bit batty
Remember the bat detector? Well, the results are back. We have at least 6 and maybe 9 different species of bats flying near the eco lodges: Continue reading “A bit batty”
Zebra or a tiger?
George spotted this moth in Exeter when he was practicing parkour in the Cathedral and Quay car park. He snapped it on his phone. We weren’t going to bother looking it up, convinced it was bound to be called a zebra moth. But hey – a quick look in the book showed we were wrong. Continue reading “Zebra or a tiger?”
Which way now? 30 Days Wild No. 30
It’s always greyer inside than out, even when it rains. Today’s bike ride was primarily to gain preemptive absolution for Friday night snacks and drinks – but it was worth it. There was a sparrow hawk sitting on a wall, meadow sweet in the hedges, and deer in the far corner of a field. #30DaysWild No. 30 – and that’s it for this year.
Rainy day: 30 Days Wild No. 28
Hmmm, well it’s one of those days when you have to look for the silver lining. Frogs must must be loving it though…
Ringlets in the meadow: 30 Days Wild No. 27
#30DaysWild No. 27. Ringlets are everywhere at the moment – it’s butterfly city out there. It’s one of the main reasons we leave so much long grass (well, that and because it cuts down on the mowing). Continue reading “Ringlets in the meadow: 30 Days Wild No. 27”
Wildish hedge trimming: 30 Days Wild No. 26
#30DaysWild Random act of wildness No. 26. Ian has been wielding the hedge trimmer in a wildish but not entirely random way – trimming back vegetation under and alongside the line of the electric fence. It’s so we can get the cows back onto Popehouse Moor. Continue reading “Wildish hedge trimming: 30 Days Wild No. 26”
Champagne time!
#30DaysWild No. 25. Our annual thank you to Emma Miranda Smith, who shared her Elderflower champagne recipe with us a few years ago: Continue reading “Champagne time!”
Moth moment: 30 Days Wild No. 24
Today’s random act of wildness – releasing a moth while cleaning! #30DaysWild No. 24 Continue reading “Moth moment: 30 Days Wild No. 24”
Sowing more wildflower seeds
Today’s ‘random act of wildness’ was to take a moment to notice what we’ve achieved with wildflowers (down by the wildlife pond) and then to collect oxeye daisy seeds from the early flowers in the poly tunnel and spread them about the newly cut patch in front of Beech Lodge. This time next year – who knows. Maybe we’ll have a brand new band of flowers. #30DaysWild No. 22.
Solstice BBQ in the treehouse #30 Days Wild No. 21
Hmmm… Maybe a BBQ for four in Euan’s personal treehouse wasn’t an entirely sensible thing to do. But then it’s #30DaysWild not 30 days sensible. And you have to do something to mark the solstice don’t you.
Dragonflies on the wing
#30DaysWild No.19 Remember the dragonfly ‘skin’? Well here are the dragonflies on the wing. There are masses down by the pond, but they do frequent ‘fly-bys’ of the lodges too. Continue reading “Dragonflies on the wing”
Zen moment: 30 Days Wild No. 18
Everyone should have a Zen moment shouldn’t they? And how better to spend the hottest day of the year so far than on one of Devon’s enormous beaches…such as Northam Burrows at Westward Ho! #30DaysWild No. 18
Teasels for flowers and finches: 30 Days Wild No. 17
#30DaysWild No.17. Top tip – teasels make really striking cut flowers, especially if you cut the main stem early in the year, encouraging them to produce lots of smaller flower heads. And what you don’t use in summer become goldfinch magnets in winter!
A lovely evening for badminton: 30 Days Wild No.16
June evenings are so lovely – the kids are outside playing badminton and outdoor chess Continue reading “A lovely evening for badminton: 30 Days Wild No.16”
Large skipper: 30 Days Wild 2017 No. 15
#30DaysWild No. 15. Here’s today’s pic – a skipper resting on a heath spotted orchid on Popehouse Moor Site of Special Scientific Interest. We’re not entirely sure which species this is, but perhaps a large skipper rather than a small skipper – because of the chequered pattern on the wings. Continue reading “Large skipper: 30 Days Wild 2017 No. 15”
Emerging dragonflies: 30 Days Wild No. 14
Strange things are creeping out of the wildlife pond – and then creeping out of their skins. Continue reading “Emerging dragonflies: 30 Days Wild No. 14”
Annual amphibian invasion: 30 Days Wild No. 13
Did someone say an invasion of frogs? (Let’s not use the p word). Continue reading “Annual amphibian invasion: 30 Days Wild No. 13”
A big breath of fresh air: 30 Days Wild No. 12
#30DaysWild No. 12. Our air monitoring results are back from Friends of the Earth. Just 2.47 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre) of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). That’s good and clean. Deep breath everyone… Continue reading “A big breath of fresh air: 30 Days Wild No. 12”
Sky gazing: 30 Days Wild No. 11
#30DaysWild No. 11. It would have been Maggie’s Mum’s 80th birthday. So we all trooped down to Popehouse Moor and lay in the grass, among the orchids. The kids had orange juice, the adults wine and beer, and we remembered all the good stuff Anne did for us over the years.
A very local Devon brew: 30 Days Wild No. 10
Does a glass of your own home grown, home brewed organic cider count as a ‘random act of wildness’ for 0? It had better do after a June Saturday of cleaning the lodges and cottage! Continue reading “A very local Devon brew: 30 Days Wild No. 10”
Freshly Painted Lady: 30 Days Wild No. 9
#30DaysWild No. 9. The bluebells are pretty much over now, even our slightly late ones. But this Painted Lady looks  freshly minted. Slightly damp days can be good for spotting butterfly and dragonfly as they tend to sit still for longer!
An hour for the community trees: 30 Days Wild No. 8
Day 8 of #30DaysWild – the random act of wildness was an hour of volunteering on the community trees near the sports centre, while the kids were doing Judo. The soil is rich here and the tussocky grasses and docks are giving the trees a run for their money. So the scythe comes out again to try to give the young trees a bit of breathing space. Â Cant do it all though – it’s too big a task, especially at this time of year. . Back to you and the bigger group Kim! We’ll come and help again.
Scything the drive 30 Days Wild No. 7
June is when we have to start cutting back some of the verges, and yesterday’s gales have hastened that need: the long grass gets a bit flattened. So it’s time for the annual scything haircut along the drive. Thanks this time not only to our 2 lovely engineering student volunteers but also to guests Hamish and Colin, who lent a hand! Continue reading “Scything the drive 30 Days Wild No. 7”
First flight… 30 Days Wild No. 6
The gales are making it a hellava day for a first flight – looks like this baby robin is wondering if it made the right move in leaving the nest… Could this be the ragged robin’s next brood? We must put out more mealworms.
#30dayswild no. 6!
Mr Toad. 30 Days Wild 2017 No. 5
This fella was hiding out in the undergrowth when we were doing some nettle clearing this morning. We probably should have put him in the poly tunnel to eat the slugs – but on the other hand there’s a couple of residents there already. Continue reading “Mr Toad. 30 Days Wild 2017 No. 5”
Pipit nest? 30 Days Wild 2017 No. 4
Today for #30dayswild we went down to the magic pond and tried to light the bubbles. Sadly it didn’t work all that well – not as well as last time when we collected the gas in a bucket.
But on the way back through the grasses a bird flew up from a bramble bush right in front of us. That’s always strong clue… Continue reading “Pipit nest? 30 Days Wild 2017 No. 4”
Exe Estuary Trail 30 Days Wild 2017 No. 3
30 Days Wild No. 3. OK, we admit we didn’t actually do this today, because it’s change over day for the eco lodges and we were far too busy cleaning. Our random act of wildness today was a cup of coffee while watching the bumble bees. George put the video together of our cycle trip last Thursday. Continue reading “Exe Estuary Trail 30 Days Wild 2017 No. 3”