Finding myself with more free time than I expected to have today, I took myself off to my personal nature reserve (well, it isn't mine, but I'm the warden and I like to think of it as mine 
), and took advantage of the good weather and late spring to do some serious wanderings off the path.
I started by walking around the outside of the reserve, seeing what I could spot
Not my first butterfly of the year, but the first one that stayed still long enough to photograph. I saw six or seven of these.
Some blossom on a plum tree in the orchard. I've never seen this tree in flower before.
In the walled garden there was no wind, and the only sounds were birdsong and insect hum. I was lucky enough to get a shot of a bee feeding.
Eventually I made my way into the old arboretum and landscaped gardens that make up part of the reserve. Here I went seriously off-piste, wading through brambles and fallen trees to see what I could find.
Anyone for tennis? This was a tennis court back in 1950. There's a link to the site historical archive here which includes a picture of the tennis court.
I spotted some daffodils. The plants in this woodland are quite interesting, and several have historical importance, being varieties planted in the late 1800s. I some cases these varieties don't occur any more, and I know CADW, the Welsh historical society, are very interested in several of the trees, rhododendrons and magnolias on the site. These daffs looked like they might be worth a closer look, and I will pass the photos on to the relevant organisations.
Then I found a wild bee's nest in a dead tree.
There were several very large cherry trees in the woodland
Nicest day of the year so far.
), and took advantage of the good weather and late spring to do some serious wanderings off the path.I started by walking around the outside of the reserve, seeing what I could spot
Not my first butterfly of the year, but the first one that stayed still long enough to photograph. I saw six or seven of these.
Some blossom on a plum tree in the orchard. I've never seen this tree in flower before.
In the walled garden there was no wind, and the only sounds were birdsong and insect hum. I was lucky enough to get a shot of a bee feeding.
Eventually I made my way into the old arboretum and landscaped gardens that make up part of the reserve. Here I went seriously off-piste, wading through brambles and fallen trees to see what I could find.
Anyone for tennis? This was a tennis court back in 1950. There's a link to the site historical archive here which includes a picture of the tennis court.
I spotted some daffodils. The plants in this woodland are quite interesting, and several have historical importance, being varieties planted in the late 1800s. I some cases these varieties don't occur any more, and I know CADW, the Welsh historical society, are very interested in several of the trees, rhododendrons and magnolias on the site. These daffs looked like they might be worth a closer look, and I will pass the photos on to the relevant organisations.
Then I found a wild bee's nest in a dead tree.
There were several very large cherry trees in the woodland
Nicest day of the year so far.
Last edited by a moderator:
