Sunday, July 29, 2012

Light and Shade

We've had some beautiful weather over the last few days but after all the unseasonal weather of the previous few weeks it has been hard to adjust to the sudden intensity of the heat.  On Friday we decided to take one of our usual walks at Consall Country Park.  It was lovely and cool under the trees with the dappled sunlight filtering through and the stream splashing and gurgling in the valley bottom.

We decided to walk the long route up towards the top of the ridge and back down towards the river and the canal on the opposite side of the park.The only people we passed on the walk were some very purposeful looking folk with wooden staves or sticks  I think they may have been 'balsam bashers'.


There is still a lot of  Himalayan Balsam  growing along the canal side especially between the water and the rails of the Churnet Valley Railway.  Although very pretty, this plant, like Japanese Knotweed, can be quite insidious and a threat to our native plants.  Hence the groups of  volunteer 'balsam bashers' who go out and break the plant down before it can seed and spread.


I know I've taken you on this route quite often so I tried to focus on different things this time and became quite fascinated with the wild flowers that were to be seen on the way round.

I think this is the Common Hogweed a member of the same family as Cow Parsley, Wild Carrot, Wild Angelica, Sweet Cecily and Hemlock.  Please do correct me if I am wrong, I'm not an expert on wild flowers but willing to learn.  There was such a lot of the Hogweed around. Not quite as much as the Himalayan Balsam though and of course it is, unlike the Balsam, a native plant, although the Giant Hogweed which is non-native, can be quite toxic.


Here is one with a flower just emerging into the light of the day.

 Does anyone know what the plant above is?  It looks like a nettle with purple flowers but I don't think it is a nettle.  Is is Wild Clary or Hedge Woundwort? I think the latter but I'd love to know for definite.

 I think the plant above is Bittersweet or Woody Nightshade.a member of the deadly nightshade family.

This one is Burdock used with dandelions to make a drink that reminds me of my childhood.  I wrote a post about this exactly four years ago,  here is the -  link.

The view from the top  of the ridge.  It was time to walk down the other side towards the canal.

This narrow boat was just pulling away from the mooring near the Consall Forge Pottery.  I wonder if they made a purchase?



There were some interesting pieces to chose from!

On the way back we had a walk around the pond and saw lots of Damselflies.  I didn't think I would be able to take a photo  but this one stayed still long enough for me to try.

Not the greatest photo but I loved the little glittering water droplets as well as the damselfly.

19 comments:

  1. Fantastic photo of the Damselfly! Just look at her beady eyes!!! I do love to look at all the wildflowers but haven't a clue knowing what they are without looking at a reference book. I think the weather is set to change now and today is very cool compared to how it has been of late. x

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    1. I've been using a really old reference book on Wild Flowers to find out what some of the plants are. It has just started raining here:)

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  2. your 6th picture is something in the sage/mint family, I think. Resolution is too low for me to be sure but the stem looks square and the flowers aren't emerging near the leaf nodes as they would be on nettle.

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    1. Thanks for leaving a comment, Guy! I think the plant is probably hedge woundwort:)

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  3. Love the photo of the Damsel Fly. It has been a shock to the system this week adapting to the extreme heat again. Bet you felt as if you were back in South Yorkshire again!!! xxxxx

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    1. Lol Diane - that was the hottest day this year, I'm sure:)

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  4. PS I have a pal who illustrated some Wild Flowers in the readers Digest book of Wild Flowers if that is where you are getting your info from. His name is Derek Rodgers - see if you can find him. xxxx

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    1. The book is 'A field guide to British Wildflowers' by Maurice Burton published by M&S in 1982. We do have a Reader's Digest book of houseplants that belonged to Paul's father who used to have books from them. I look up your friend:)

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  5. Hi Rosie, how lucky to take a walk under the trees to escape from the heat...Have spent my weekend stuck indoor, cannot wait to wear my coat, scarf and boots :)
    Love the shot with red Nasturtium!
    x

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    1. Michela, I so sorry you are suffering from the heat which must be far more intense than anything we experience over here. It was lovely to walk in such a peaceful, sheltered place:)

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  6. It has certainly been sweltering - I don't do very well in hot weather and stay indoors - but walking through shady woods would have been preferable. Lovely post.

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    1. elaine, I know what you mean - we've put off walking because of the rain then again because it was so hot but we finally decided we must get some exercise:)

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  7. How lovely, I love your shot of the nasturtiums in the pots.

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    1. It was very pretty and eye catching on the side of the canal to tempt visitors to the pottery:)

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  8. A lovely shaded walk. Love the photo of the damselfly.
    June

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    1. Thank you June I'm so glad it stayed still long enough to get a photo of it:)

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  9. It's hard for me to picture England as sweltering when we get up to 100 and 103 degrees F here in Utah.

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    1. Ruth, I'm sure it must be. Our heat doesn't come anywhere near as intense as yours but we aren't used to it so when it happens it takes time to adjust - it's gone again now - we are back to heavy showers and cool breezes:)

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  10. even when I can't get outside myself, I can through you. Love Helen, Darcy and Bingley xxx

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