Of Fledglings and Flowers

In the dying light, life shows itself resilient in the insistent chirps and cries of fledglings. A pair of blue tit parents flit frantically from one fledgling to another, feeding them up for their first night alone. 

Fed to bursting, this fledgling can't keep its eyes open. 

Until it hears the mechanical click of the camera shutter.

And then it sleeps again.

In another tree, sparrow fledglings are given their freedom. A little less insistent than their blue tit cousins, they explore the trees, the grass, and the dusty driveway without fear. No dogs or cats roam the gardens today. The ravens and crows have yet to visit. 

The sparrow parents can rest, for a moment, content that their fledglings are happy.

Another type of "bird's nest", meanwhile, dances in the evening breeze. Nigella, beautiful in its daintiness seems to wear a tutu like a fairy ballerina disguised as a flower.

The irises are like flamboyant flamenco dancers, showing off their hidden colours for the bees before night falls.

And with one last burst, the light dies in sepia tones on another lockdown day.  

Spring Cottage The Second

What do you do when in lockdown on a beautiful sunny day at the cottage? Spend 2 hours taking photos of flowers apparently. It all started with this strange spider and her web. 

                                                    

From the BAS (British Arachnological Society):

"Cyclosa Conica - the Trashline Spider- is a garden spider relative and aptly named. Its scientific name reflects the odd, conical shape of the abdomen & its common name describes the silk decoration (stabilimentum) with added food debris, across its web...The trash is thought to provide a background against which the waiting spider is camouflaged - and the conical abdomen & legs-pulled-in posture make the spider look like a piece of 'trash' itself." - @BritishSpiders

The spider shown here out of her trashline for identification purposes.
  
This one spider sighting led me to see some small flowers dappled in the sunlight shining through the leaves of a tree. And so I made my way around the garden, trying to capture the flowers in a different light, from a different angle and finding some my landlady had pointed out that I had missed in the first blog.

Photographers can often be seen lying on the ground to get a different angle on the world.

Lying down, looking up. 

And down...

Spanish Bluebells. They're prolific in the garden. A pretty but unwanted alien.

The ants doing their job keeping aphids away from the peonies.

The blue garden with more life than all the others.

Orange Tip butterfly

The Comma butterfly casting strange shadows. 

Africa anyone?

Beautiful bleeding hearts at the front of the house.

   

Later in the day, this little wren showed up in the blue garden and spent a good 20 minutes picking off the bugs while I photographed him through the kitchen window.