Really Wild

Still sad about the death of Terry Nutkins this week. Growing up, The Really Wild Show was one of my favourite programmes. I also used to have a big compilation of Johnny Morris stories, which Dad used to read me at bedtime. The article above has a video clip of both Johnny Morris and Terry Nutkins together. Vintage.

Anyway, in tribute, I thought I'd post some pictures of the really wildlife I've seen recently. It involves a lot of crickets.

Click to enlarge any of them.

6:30 sunrise on a misty morning, from my bedroom window.

Moon's still up.

Heading off down a sun-dappled country lane (you may remember this from All Souls' Day).

Spider in the garden.

Mushroom in the grass.

Grasshopper in the grass.

Slug in the grass.

Fox hole, or badger set?

Got back home to find this little guy clinging to a milk bottle. Obligingly, he posed for pictures before wandering off across the lawn. My new friend Jiminy.

Something a little less native. Our greenhouse is not quite what it seems. More of a vivarium.

These Pond Slider terrapins became popular pets in the early 90s, round about the time Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hit the screens. Actually, more-or-less as a direct result of.

When we first got these fellas, they were the size of a 50p piece. You could hold them in the palm of your hand.

Now, you need two hands to lift them and they're approaching the size of a dinner plate. We had four originally, and later adopted one. They occasionally lay eggs, but thankfully none have hatched. I think we're at full capacity and one of the biggest problems is that a lot of people ditch them in local ponds and reservoirs. There's concern they may do damage to native fish and duck populations.

Our guys are well fed and safely ensconced, though.

Summer Flowers

That one, bottom right, is Feverfew - very good for headaches, tastes awful. Whilst up in Scotland, Paul pointed out Meadowsweet: 

Salicin is a pharmaceutical drug used as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent which is found mostly in the bark of the tree "White Willow" (Salix alba) (from which it is commercially extracted), but was first found in Meadowsweet. It has a bitter taste similar to "quinine". - (source)

Actually, it tastes exactly like TCP. There's no mistaking it. Chew the flowers. Good stuff.

Wonders of nature, eh?