Why hello June

A month to celebrate the bio-diversity ( #30DaysWild) and diversity ( #PrideMonth ) that surrounds us and sustains us.

A time to look around, take notice and fill your world with colour, community and random acts of wildness and kindness

I am very grateful for our garden.

We share it with birds, bees, bats, bugs, badgers, squirrels, frogs, mice, shrews and the occasional mole.

Today’s visitor was this gorgeous little frog. They live in the cracks and crevices around our patio, pots and raised beds.

#30DaysWild

Today’s visitor is this lovely bee seeking nourishment from the salvia we planted at the start of lockdown.

Life is resilient. It renews, replenishes, adapts and thrives, as will we.

#30DaysWild

Today’s visitor. I went out trying to capture the damsel fly that was dancing around the oxeye daisies but found this hover fly lounging around instead.

#30DaysWild

“What would the world be once bereft of wet and wildness?

Let them be left. O let them be left, wildness and wet; long live the weeds and the wilderness yet”

- Gerard Manley Hopkins (inscribed into the walls of the Scottish Parliament)

#30DaysWild

It’s less wet but still wild today. Picking out the pinks and purples in the garden today. As are the bees

#30DaysWild

Here they come!



These caterpillars will quickly munch through the nasturtiums I grow to keep them away from things I want to eat



They’ll strip them completely but when they turn into butterflies the nasturtiums will soon grow back and flower again



#30DaysWild

Self-seeding corner. The wheat, oats, rapeseed and canary seed uneaten by birds and squirrels grows into a haven for insects and nourishment for bees.

#30DaysWild

Today was rather glum and grey. Wind swept and rain sluiced but full of movement.

So today’s #30DaysWild random act of wildness was finding solace and stillness in watching the meadows dance.

Enjoying the sway of grasses against the sky ...

... and the jostle of eager daisies ...

... mindful of the frogs that may also be enjoying some meadow bathing ...

Today is a day of sunshine and showers, of tiny eyes and really long legs ...

#30DaysWild

Ventured out of my garden today. Wild!

Went down the greenway and around our local SANG. Hard to believe this used to be an army garrison. Now it uses sustainable urban design to provide habitats for people and wildlife.

#30DaysWild

Love these mighty teasels waving their arms around tickling the sky #30DaysWild

Today for #30DaysWild a tour of the corners and creases in our garden that provide sanctuary for wildlife. A bug mansion from old bricks and tiles, a barrel pond with stone steps, a hibernarium topped with old pots and tree prunings and frog alley filled with soil and leaf litter

The blackberries are in full blossom and they smell amazing.

#30DaysWild

The emerging cornflower #30DaysWild

The edge lands are the seams in the landscape, not quite managed, not quite wild.

I love this spontaneous pond that squeezed itself into existence betwixt path and field and now provides a habitat for marginals and amphibians

#30DaysWild

Track and trace #30DaysWild

An earlier city edition... (Edinburgh, Feb 2020)

In the dull light and patter of rain it is again the bright green tree leaves that catch the eye, slick and glistening with droplets and laden with flowers and fruits.

#30DaysWild

Fallen trees don’t die, they fill again with life, each one an intricate and vibrant ecosystem housing multitudes of tiny, tenacious organisms.

They also make pretty good forts, dens and hammocks ...

#30DaysWild

Ivy. Glossy emerald green.

Hugger of trees, provider of food and shelter for wildlife, symbol of fidelity

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/wild-flowers/ivy/

#30DaysWild

In the hot weather a small pond is an oasis. A host of small elegant flowers and lugubrious snails inhabit this refreshing source water source for all kinds of creatures.

#30DaysWild

Toad made me jump again. Seems to have moved their toad abode from salad strip to courgette corner, blending into the wall

#30DaysWild

Aperitif time!

SanBitter and soda paired with coordinating cardinal beetle

#30DaysWild

Cornflower. In the wind and the sky ...

#30DaysWild

Horse chestnuts in full bloom (as is my hay fever consequently) #30DaysWild

A fly resting on ragwort #30DaysWild

Finishing this thread as it started with the healthy happy people, healthy happy planet crates we planted at the start of lockdown. A reminder of the renewal, diversity and beauty that surrounds us

Let’s keep exploring, appreciating and caring for our world

#30DaysWild