Flies

Spring In Photos 2022

/ Laura Tuke / 1 Comment

Spring this year has been a joyful and colourful experience. In 2020, spring was a lifeline during lockdown. In 2021, spring was a turbulent and unpredictable season, with some real wonderous moments to behold. This year though, I have simply enjoyed every moment that spring had to offer, watching as the season swelled into being and slipped out once again with the heat of the summer sun.

This spring the season began slower, but reached its peak quickly once it got going. In Dorset, from blossom and bursting leaves to nesting birds and breeding mammals, spring bloomed spectacularly, with so much new life on offer. During this time I made lots of adventures out with my camera and took many, many photos. Here are just a few of my favourites from spring 2022.

Spring 2022: In Photos

Sunset Damson Blossom – This year the blossom of fruiting trees was fantastic. Our damson tree blossomed without being bitten by frost or hit by strong winds, so hopefully it will be a good year for damsons

Lambing at Home – My mum has her own mini flock of Lleyn ewes, a Lleyn ram, and a Charolais ram, and for us spring would not be spring without lambs springing around the fields!

Horse Chestnut Flowers – Often tree flowers are simple, green and unassuming, but not those of horse chestnut trees. Horse chestnut flowers form a candelabra of fantastic white flowers with dots of pink and yellow, towering high in the boughs of the trees

Woodland Minibeasts – This year during the bluebell bloom, I focused on exploring the hidden life amongst the bluebells (check out my previous post for more). One of my finds during my hunts was this fly which looks to be a St. Mark’s fly. This fly gets its name due to emerging around St. Mark’s Day in April each year

Oak Flowers – Though horse chestnut flowers are showy, some tree flowers are fantastic in a subtler way. The flowers of English oak trees hang down in green streamers from their branches, looking pretty swaying softly in gentle spring breezes

Up Close With Stitchwort Flowers – Stitchwort flowers or ‘Shirt-buttons’ are white stars spotting the countryside throughout spring. Taking a closer look, this particular flower looks weird and wonderful with stamens that curl around each other

Super Snail – This white-lipped snail is a simple, but colourful individual amongst the green of spring. Their swirling shells are a great subject to photograph

Wild Cherry Blossom – Every year one of my favourite flowering trees is the Wild Cherry. There’s nothing like banches covered in blankets of white set against a bright green backdrop of new leaves

Fabulous First Frogspawn – In 2020, we started digging a pond in our own mini nature reserve at home on our farm. This year we were excited to find our very first frogspawn! It was amazing to watch the tadpoles change and transform over time

1 O’Clock, 2 O’Clock, Dandelion Clock – All children find magic and wonderment in dandelion clocks and their parachute seeds. Even as an adult I still find inspiration in their fragile globe-like forms

Majestic Beasts – My mum has her own herd of beef cross suckler cows and an Aberdeen angus bull that are free range and raise their own calves. We especially enjoy watching the calves grow up and grow into themselves over their very first year of life

Apple Blossom – As a family we have always enjoyed growing and foraging for our own food in our local area. Though last year was not a very good year for fruit, this year looks to be a better year, apples included

Woodland Spider – Just like the St. Mark’s fly, whilst exploring a woodland of bluebells, I found this species of orb-weaver spider. The bluebells were home to many, many of these little arachnids all weaving their webs between flowers, waiting to catch a meal

Beautiful Blackthorn Blossom – Every year one of my favourite parts of spring is blackthorn. The snow white flowers of blackthorn winter bring colour to the landscape at a time when things are still grey and spring is only just trickling in

Portland Pets – This year I spent some time photographing my neighbour’s pedigree Portland flock. These small sheep, topped off with curling horns, have a great character and warm colour to them which make it a joy to take their portraits again and again

Life Amongst the Bluebells

/ Laura Tuke / 2 Comments

‘When you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise’, and in late April to early May, this surprise comes in the form of a fantastic mass event! During this time, our woodlands are blanketed with a sweeping carpet of colour; a rich mass of violet-blue, made up of thousands of nodding heads. This popular spring spectacle is a heady treat for the senses, epitomising the beauty of British springtime. This is not all that our woodlands have to offer at this time though, with the Bluebells making us overlook some humbler stars of the show.

So when walking through the Bluebells, why not stop and look around you for a moment. ‘Daddy’s-shirt-buttons’ or Greater Stitchwort can be found dotted throughout the woodland carpet, white star-shaped flowers on slender stems. In thicker patches of green, clusters of green-centred stars can also be found on sturdy stems, their pungent scent giving them away as the flowers of Wild Garlic. These are joined closer to the ground by the white-cupped faces of the Wood Anemone, heads turned to the sun, merging into the galaxy of colour.

The palette is added to by splashes of pink and yellow. Shining yellow stars of Lesser Celandine float above heart-shaped leaves. The green-spiked Yellow Archangel, like a nettle, adorned with rings of butter-yellow flowers, each with their own hood. You can also find Early Purple Orchids beneath the trees, pink spikes growing from purple-splattered green leaves. Closer to the ground, the glittering pink faces of Herb Robert add to the show.

Amongst the Bluebells, there is not just a colourful backdrop of flowers to be found, but a hidden world to be discovered. Down at Bluebell level, the woodland floor comes alive. Spiders spin webs from Bluebell to Bluebell hoping to catch a meal, whilst Bumblebees fly from flower to flower collecting nectar and pollen for their colonies. They are joined by a fantastic array of flies, varying in size, shape, and colour.

If you take an even closer look at the flowers, you might even find some more hidden characters that capture your mind and inspire your imagination. Camouflaged spiders, weird and wonderful weevils, colourful shield bugs, fascinating beetles, and even patchwork snails are waiting to be found. Minibeasts and their tiny worlds can create a sense of calm and simple joy, an easy example being a graceful Butterfly gently flitting by through dappled spring sunshine.

Walking through the Bluebells is a wonderful visual experience, but if you open your ears, then another world can also be added to this. The fluting notes of the Song Thrush, the onomatopoeic song of the Chiffchaff, the melodic Robin, or the powerful trilling song of the Wren. All flow together to create a symphony of bird song, a soundtrack fit for the spectacle that is the blooming of the Bluebells.

‘When you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise’, and in spring this might just be bigger than you expect. Next time the Bluebells are blooming, why not stop and see what you might find amongst those nodding heads.