Day 12: A day out at Brockholes

Day 12 and a day off for me. With the weather promising to be warm and sunny, I really wanted to get out and visit somewhere. We picked up Chickpea's boyfriend and headed to Brockholes, a nature reserve near Preston. It is on the site of an old quarry and has 250 acres of wetland and woodland. The river Ribble runs around the outskirts of the site.

Common Blue

 We'd barely left the car park before we started seeing the wildlife.

There were hundreds of these blue damselflies around the reserve.

The visitor village floats on the lake and includes an information centre, cafe and shops.

The M6 motorway is just behind the trees but you hardly notice it as you move further into the reserve.

Alder fly

There are several trails of varying length and around different habitats: we chose to follow the meadow trail.

It wasn't long before we came across two areas which were obviously part of the educational activities. First was the Deep Dark Wood where the Gruffalo lives.

Next door was an area devoted to the Wind in the Willows.

Back out onto the meadow trail, it headed down towards the river.

Small white

Scorpion fly

Banded demoiselle

Painted lady

Crosswort

Banded demoiselle

Oystercatchers

Heron

The best part of going out during the week is that the playgrounds are child-free!

We had a great time at Brockholes and will definitely go back to explore more of the trails.

Apologies for the lack of commentary but it's late. I haven't had time to identify all of the bugs and flowers so will add the info tomorrow when I've had a chance to look them up. Any help appreciated!

For now though, I'm off to bed! x

Days 8-11: Snails, dogs, damselflies and daisies

I might have been taking a break from posting daily updates but the 30 days challenge has been continuing in the background. Here's what I've been up to.

Day 8: Snail race

Monday was a damp day which meant snails in evidence in the garden. Chickpea suggested a snail race. We chose 2 likely competitors, placed them gently on the paving and waited. I've made you a video of all the excitement...

Warning: this video can cause severe sleepiness!

Mine is the snail who stayed firmly in his shell. I should have chosen this one who I saw later motoring his way up one of my pots. Having always found snails very annoying, I've spent quite a bit of time watching them this month and have developed a mild affection for them. What is 30 days wild doing to me?!

Day 9: Yoga on the grass

On Tuesday I was struggling to find any time as I was too busy at work to squeeze anything in at lunchtime and I had my yoga class in the evening. I decided to do a few more poses when I arrived home.

Adho Mukha Svanasana: Head-down dog. A rubbish one too - my yoga teacher would be telling me off for having my hands and feet too close.

Garudasana: the Eagle pose.

Then a few cartwheels just to round things off. I showed these photos to a friend at work. 'You're mad', she said, 'but in a good way'.

Day 10: A tale of three ponds

On Wednesday, I was making my way through a building and noticed a small courtyard through one of the windows. On investigation it turned out there were two small ponds. They didn't look particularly healthy but there were still plants growing and some wildlife.

I think these are a male and female blue-tailed damselfly but let me know if you know better.

Bogbean

Wildlife is in the most surprising places.

Later that evening, it was so warm and sunny that I dragged Chickpea out for a walk through the fields.

We made friends with the locals.

And admired the plantlife. Another one I'm not 100% sure of - the colour was much darker purple in reality.

Finally, we came across a real pond. Gorgeous.

Day 11: Daisy art

I went for a walk at lunchtime but no random acts of wildness were to be had. This evening I didn't have long as we were desperate to catch up with the final episode of Springwatch and the saga of Spineless Si.

So, a quick bit of daisy art which I left at the side of a path. I wonder if anyone will notice it and if it will still be there in the morning.

Depending on how tired I feel later, we might do a bit of stargazing.

Before I go though, an update. On Day 1, I sowed some radish seeds in the hope that they would be ready to harvest on Day 30. Well, look at them now! This was taken earlier this evening and the seedlings are strong and sturdy. It's all looking very hopeful :-)

Tomorrow I have a well-earned day off and we're off to visit a nature reserve. x