Blooming dog gave us another worry this morning when she wouldnt put her back leg down, holding it up as high as she could and trying to walk on three legs. Was this another trip to the vets and another drain on the purse ? It almost came to a phone call to a Burton vet until Ian had the brainwave of asking me if she could have had something in her paw. I thought it unlikely as she had returned from going out this morning on all four legs. It was only after she had had a rest that the problem occured. But to keep him happy I agreed to have a look and low and behold, the biggest thorn was sticking out from one of her pads. No wonder she didnt want to walk on that foot! Jade is right as ninepence now and we are soooooooo glad we didn't take her to the vets!
I have come to the conclusion that yesterdays episode with Jade when she was in her belligerent mood was because of a bird scarer in the field opposite. It goes off in threes every 30 minutes or so. It could be something to do with the low frequency of the bang that makes her susceptible to the noise. Anyway it all seems a bit pointless really. These geese were in the same field as the bird scarer and never batted an eyelid when it went off.
I wish this mixed weather would make up it's mind. No sooner does the sun appear and pumps 6amps into the batteries from the solar panels, then its all change when the heavens open and we get a voltage discharge instead!. Still we have only had to run the engine for 1 hour today and that was because I needed to get the washing machine underway. Comes to something when you start running out of undies! Seems that the solar panels are doing the job nicely in keeping the diesel cost down even in these mixed weather conditions. Imagine what we will get into the batteries if the sun stays out all day.
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| Ominous skies once again |
It has been very busy today with loads of boats coming past. Doesnt do my fishing much good but I do so enjoy watching the antics of the hirers. Brings me right back to my hire days and my first attempts at steering. Ian reckons I'm not that much better now, blooming cheek!!
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| A small Chub |
And now to my second rescue mission. A Mayfly had not managed to break free from the surface water so placing my pole in it's path managed to scoop it out. After 5 minutes of drying off away it went to do what it has to do. Mayflies are famed for their short adult life. Some species have under an hour to mate and lay their eggs before they die. So I like to think that at least this one will have its moment of pleasure!
I have included this photo of a bug found on my walk today. I would normally post it on my
wildlife blog but it's one bug I have never seen before and have no idea what it is. I'm still trying to find a reference book on bugs so that I can name the hundreds of variety's I post. If anyone has any knowledge of such a book please let me know.
3 comments:
Hi Irene,
You'll probably find this site useful for butterflies and day-flying moths - http://butterfly-conservation.org/51/1/identify-a-day-flying-moth.html.
I had a look at my Collins Insects field guide (Michael Chinery) and found a frog-hopper that had similar patterning called Cercopis vulnerata. It is about 12mm long. Frog-hoppers do jump, but the one we are used to is the cuckoo-spit bug whose nymph lives in the bubbles. The adult is brown. This jolly one's nymph lives underground though.
Hope this is helpful!
Best wishes
Debby
Oh I have seen one of those. I think when I posted about it on my blog.. years ago probably someone said it was a sort of wasp, but maybe looking again it didn't quite look like that?
Hi Sue, It doesnt look like a wasp but more research is obviously needed. I need a bug book!!!! Xxx
Hi Dave and Debby, Your right we only expect frog hoppers to live in cuckoo spit so I'm intrigued to see if you are right. The Collins insect field guide book looks useful so it's on my must get list. Thanks for the info. Xxx
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