Southern Sunshine

Tuesday again, not a single post over the weekend to tell you what I've been up to, oh dear oh dear oh dear....

Mostly I have been working.

::Gasp::

Indeed, it was only on Sunday when stuff of a non-work nature was done.

::Double gasp::

'Gungy mist around the coast, blazing sunshine inland, light SE winds' said the forecast. Well, right except for one particular word...

I talked the parents into going looking for damselflies - specifically Southern, Scarce Blue-tailed and Small Red - as it was going to be too hot for a proper walk and Tilly wouldn't put up with sitting around somewhere with shade and a view [when she could be barking at anything that moved or that she thought might move if she barked at it enough.... She's a sweet little dog, but she bores easily when out. At home she'll lie in the sun for hours. Yes, a sweet little dog and nuttier than a tree full of fruitbats.].

We'd been to Prewley Moor once before, seeking an alternative way up towards Great Links Tor, though this was in winter [ish] when the impressive bogs with their deep little runnels were at their gribbliest. Also we missed the big obvious path [its a family tradition]. This time, though still interestingly boggy, it wasn't quite such interesting going. Prewley is on the BDS website for the three damsels above, and the habitat there is certainly very good-looking for them. Unfortunately, at this point we get to the one word the weather gits got very very wrong. Can you guess what it was?

'Light'. 6mph was shown on the map, I remember quite clearly. Force 6 was closer to the reality. Hats were being blown off, and as for damselflies, well, apart from a bit near the road where there was some shelter, they were all cowering out of sight... That bit was a pretty good bit though, with Southern Damselflies present in numbers, showing well enough to get me to try a photo or two and to try to sound all knowledgeable as I explained the difference between male Southern and Azure [we found a single Azure to be a comparison]. Fortunately, a couple posed really nicely. Mum and Dad got on a male Small Red, but I was too slow getting over to them and it went with the wind. More obliging was an immature male Golden-ringed Dragonfly, which gave us two very close examinations as we sat having lunch, at one point hovering a foot behind Dad's head! [Later, I saw a House Sparrow trying to catch what was probably the same Golden-ringed - the dragon evading the sparrow with contemptuous ease]

Large Red Damselflies were also around, with a few Black-tailed Skimmers and what might have been a Keeled [too quick, though]. It was family groups of birds that stood out - Wheatears, [of course!] with three juveniles in a row on a rock looking adorable, a party of Mistle Thrushes flying over and a whole heap of juvenile Pied Wagtails by the waterworks. Tilbury had a whole heap of fun as there were sheep everywhere. Oh dear. She also did her best to help find damselflies by jumping into all the muddiest bits she could, ending up a little black and brown dog. She was happy anyway.

Wandering up onto Sourton Tor, we admired the view ranging from Brent Tor to Exmoor - no kites, let alone storks hove into view, needless to say - with the usual superlatives coming to mind. The wind coming off the Moor meant that for once there was no drone of traffic [though the wind tried its best] to intrude upon the moment. Sourton is one of the 'other' Tors, not granite but marine volcanic and sedimentary rocks [albeit thermally metamorphosed by the adjacent batholith], giving it a unique character. Spikier outcrops in two huge steps rise out of the bracken, clad in lush grasses and flowers not gorse and heather. Its a little out of the way, despite being on the very edge of the Moor and whichever way you approach, there's always more of it than you expect - its a roomy place.

Finally, yesterday I got a surprise when I arrived home from work and sat down here - a Small Tortoiseshell had found its way in and was resting on the wall just over there. ::Points:: When the rain stopped I let it out, though it was a little unwilling 'What? Go out? It might rain again!'

PS I don't know about 'everyone' talking about it - I had no idea until I heard it on the local news - but we had a tsunami yesterday here in the south west! Only about 8" high, it seems, but I'm most vexed to have missed it and I may have more to say on the subject. May. You have been warned.. ;)