Saturday 3 September 2011

Saturday Safari


The flutters are still with us… Albeit in much lower numbers… I haven’t seen a Gatekeeper for a few days now so am afraid they’ve left us… I have seen a Red Admiral hanging around the Buddlejas though, taking advantage of the very last blooms. I just hope now, that the Asters in my and next door’s garden begin blooming soon; they often attract Commas, Red Admirals and Small Tortoiseshells.

Today I saw a Small Tortoiseshell, it’s looking very tatty indeed and I fear it’s not long for this world.






Sedum is slowly getting its colour…

And an update on the caterpillar
Sadly I didn’t get to see it turning; last time I checked it was exactly the same as before, just hanging in situ and then today it’s finally in its chrysalis. I can’t see any more in the nettles, but I don’t want to disturb them too much in case I damage one, but I’m hopeful there are another couple at least.


I’ve handed in my dissertation now; and was all set for some celebrating and a bit of a break relaxing for the next week or so… But then I began to panic about getting a job so I’ve started writing my CV and cover letters. I didn’t even manage 24 hours just relaxing! Haha. Typical of me.
I don’t actually know what to do with myself any more… All this spare time… I was sat very bored yesterday trying to work out what to do, eventually I remembered I have a pile of books that I had to put off reading. I also find myself regularly walking into the kitchen to sit at the table to do my work… Then realise I don’t need to be in there anymore! Disoriented, oh yes.

Copyright 2011 Liz.
All rights reserved. Content created by Liz for Gwirrel’s Garden.

13 comments:

Rohrerbot said...

Try to take a moment and enjoy life:) I know it's hectic and lots of work...and the stress that goes along with it. Good luck. Lovely pictures.

Kyna said...

Thank goodness you have my blog to read, to take away some of that stress! :)

:P

Good luck!

Cheryl said...

Hi Liz,

Firstly well done. I can understand you feel a little lost.
All that pressure and suddenly it is over. I expect over the next few weeks you will get into a different routine. Good luck with the job hunting :)

Loved seeing your tatty butterfly, poor thing. Always feel a little sad when I see them like that.

I saw a Red Admiral pass through the garden yesterday.
Although I have Asters, Sedums, Butterfly weed all in flower, there are no takers. I have a lot of birds in the garden at the moment and I am beginning to wonder if that is the problem ?? What do you think?

Love your images.....but then, I always do. You must tire of me saying it.

Liz said...

Hi Chris,

Normally I try to; way too lazy for my own good. It's just taking a bit of time getting used to no longer being tied down to doing work all the time.

Liz said...

Hi Kyna,

Haha, thanks Kyna. Indeed; I look forward to reading your blogs and hearing the latest crazy stuff - especially where you work. No doubt you're beginning to gear up for Christmas; at least our shops are, with the first christmas items arriving in now.

Liz said...

Hi Cheryl,

I was intitially quite confident that I'd find something; but yesterday I just had a bit of a panic attack when the reality of it hit me. I've enough training and experience to find basic office jobs quite easily... But clearly that relies on people wanting me.
And I don't actually want to be in a general office job, but that's the reality until the construction industry is back again and there's more of a need for planners.

Hrm, I can't imagine the number of birds is your problem.. We have many here and yet I still also have plenty of insects around. The Sparrows alone are at around the 100 mark - I took a photo of them all and there were 57 on it, and I know that wasn't all of the Sparrows as they fly in and out of the garden in waves.

However if you have a lot of tits and wrens then potentially they're catching the caterpillars. We do have lots of tits, but fewer Wrens and generally I find the tits don't often rifle through the plants at this time of year as generally they go for the feeders. But they do occasionally do it, as do the Sparrows. Dunnocks are generally ground-feeding but will obviously venture into shrubs and trees.
Tits pretty much feed only live food to their chicks and caterpillars will form a large portion of that; however they only have one brood a year so by May or June their chicks have fledged.

Pauline said...

Lovely photos, well done on following through with your caterpillar/chrysalis, nature is amazing. We still have lots of butterflies here in Devon fighting over the Eupatorium atropurpureum. Good luck with the job hunting !

Liz said...

Hi Pauline,

I really hope I get to see it emerging, I think it's supposed to take a couple of weeks so I will begin checking regularly once we've past a week.
We only really have the larges ones here now; most common are the whites, but I'm hopeful to have another late visit from the Small Copper like last year.

debsgarden said...

Major changes/ transitions are always stressful, but like the caterpillar, you are bound to emerge into a world full of new experiences and possibilities. Good luck, and take time to enjoy life!

Liz said...

Hi Deb,

In this situation it's a case of sitting the recession out and waiting for things to get back on track; once it is, then jobs should be relatively easy to come by as they predict a massive shortfall of jobs in my area. It's just a bit annoying that I'm back at square one after having attempted to improve my options... Anyway, such is life!

Laura Bloomsbury said...

well done Liz. Dissertation withdrawal is not quickly recovered from - the end of a long period of time-filled, goal orientated fixation. The answer lies in the chrysalis! Those sedums are like ice cream deserts for the late summer feeders but this wind and rain is hazardous for tattered wings.

Lona said...

It must seem strange to finally be able to relax after all of the work and stress. I am sure you will get use to it real soon. LOL! Gorgeous shots today.

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

Ha! You sound like me, I tried to take half a day off yesterday, and was bored senseless. I had this urge to go do something productive! Congrats on getting your dissertation turned in though, that's a huge milestone!

I saw a similarly tattered butterfly (Fritillary I think) yesterday on a Rudbeckia. It was missing 2/3rds of its right wing, and the edges were all frayed. I think it's Nature's subtle way of letting us know that summer is almost over. I rather wished I could ask that butterfly where it had been, which flowers it had seen, and whether there was a story behind it's frayed wings.