Howletts

We were taken to Howletts today, and Philip borrowed my camera - again it's best to let the pictures speak both for themselves and for his photography skills

Life's sooo tough, isn't it?

This Snow Leopard was ever so difficult to find and then this pic was all we could get



Some moths is all

Coo-er it's quiet, and the weather don't help, I'm beginning to think the second butterfly count at Sutton ain't going to happen. Interestingly there were moths on the wing last night in spite of the early rain, and they are all I have to blog about just now

Common Wainscot

Large Yellow Underwing, becoming very numerous now

This, I think, is a Square Spot Rustic, not a common moth in my garden this year and this first one relatively late

These next two are micro moths, and they were indeed very micro, think 5 pence piece - if you can identify them I would be interested, if not just enjoy the beauty of nature

Eastbourne Airshow, and a moth

We went to the airshow at Eastbourne last Sunday, smashing day out and the flying very spectacular. I'll let the photos speak for themselves, starting with the Red Arrows

  Didn't notice this one in the foreground emitting coloured smoke at all during the display

Is this a Red Arrows goodbye?

Apparently this is a T2 Texan

  And we all know a Spit and a Hurricane, don't we - I wish I could attach a sound file

Tornado next, noisy and fast

A Super - Sabre, I remember these!

I know I shouldn't, because of the effort and skill involved, but these wing walkers were hilariously funny because of the affected way they kept striking poses as they were thundering round the sky

This was a bit special, an F14 and a Spitfire in formation - magic

I was completely unable to catch the F16 in fast flight, but a slow-speed flyby was ideal, what a machine!

And as a finale, if you're in difficulty at sea and need help, what must it feel like to see these guys turning up in a craft like this

 

In the moth trap Tuesday morning was this, I think, Ingrailed (or is it Engrailed) Clay - the Oxford English uses an E, Waring and Townsend an I - anyway, I'm fairly certain that's what is was, last trapped one in June 2009

Also in the trap was a Dark Sword-grass, a migrant, but it declined to stay and be photographed, sorry!

Odds and sods again

 Moths first, I had 2 of these Orange Swifts in the trap this morning, although moths generally few and far between as Tony Morris has said in his blog. This is a super little moth tho'

 

and the first Flounced Rustic of the autumn - whoever thought that name up!

Forgot to put this Speckled Wood in the last blog, pretty, isn't it

An Oak Eggar from last week

Ditto this Lime Speck Pug, tiny little creature and so delicate

Some sort of Sedge Fly I assume

This White Point is a migrant according to my book, but I get enough to suggest they breed in this corner, I wonder if they do? Ignore the date, its an old pic, the one trapped this morning didn't stay to be pictured

 

And finally, as the weather been so 'orrible and not much needing doing in the garden, I been repainting this Hornby model from Southern Railway green to BR dirty black as I remeber them up and down the Hastings line at Crowhurst



Never saw any type 2 diesels there tho' - too big for the tunnels

and finally, the main contractor for the resurfacing of our patio in action, Nancy's Groundworks!