There are so many Robin pictures in this post that I decided to link it to Robin’s blog Witlessdatingafterfifty 🙂 Please visit and follow!
So, I met this handsome little Robin, distracted him with a small talk and took out my camera. I kept talking and shooting, and he didn’t mind much and didn’t fly away because he was in his mid-moult at that time. It takes energy to build new feathers…
… and it is itchy too.
Robin changed his position and turned back to see if I still was there.
I still was. He looked at me disapprovingly, and I quietly retired blowing him a kiss for a ‘thank you’.
Here is another example of moulting – a grasshopper ‘skin’ we found in the backyard.
It is not a skin, of course, but his exoskeleton. To know more about grasshopper moulting, watch this short video accompanied by romantic music. 🙂
I saw this colorful piece of land in my car window and made a note to visit it on my way back. It wasn’t easy to find it again but after the series of U-turns I finally parked on the opposite side of the road and took many photographs for a future use.
In this meadow, there are three weeds in bloom: Meadowsweet, Purple Loosestrife and unwelcome Ragwort.
This is Meadowsweet, a very popular herb of many uses I wrote about in my blog in 2014.
The other plant is Purple Loosestrife. This is a closer look. Loosestrife is a very effective cure in case of chronic diarrhea and dysentery.
From a distance, Loosestrife looks very similar to Rosebay, another great herb. If you struggle to put a name to a plant, here is a very good website Irish Plants by Color.
The Ragwort seems like being good for nothing since it is toxic for the cattle and horses. Yet, Ragwort provides food and home for at least 77 species of insects, including Cinnabar moth.
Cinnabar moth’s larvae absorb toxic and bitter tasting alkaloids from Ragwort, and predators don’t eat them.
Another two little creatures I want to share – a funnel weaver spider…
… and a hunting wasp Ammophila.
Both insects are great builders. Ammophila wasps even use small pebbles to hammer the earth when they make their nests. They hold the pebbles in their jaws.
Some creatures and plants are so amazing, that they get immortalized in mythology. Like Fern. Or, rather, Fern Flower. This magic flower from Finnish, Baltic and Slavic mythology can be found around the Summer Solstice. According to different myths, it can either give you an access to earthly riches and hidden treasures, or be a symbol of fertility and relationship, and searching for the fern flower in the dark of the shortest night of the year is a big part of celebration.
In fact, ferns are not flowering plants. However the clusters of sporangia of Royal Fern do resemble flowers. Especially in the dark 🙂
Such fern grows in the Carey Castle woods, where I took this photograph. It wasn’t exactly the Summer Solstice night though 🙂
James Herriot, the most famous veterinary surgeon, was born 100 years ago, on October 3rd 1916. If you didn’t read his books yet, please do! I celebrated his birthday by rereading All Creatures Great And Small.
Thank you for stopping by ! 🙂
Have a wonderful weekend!
Making memories 
I remember in the middle of the summer I was sitting on the front steps
And a butterfly landed on my hand and just stayed there for the longest time
nature does speak if you take the time to listen
As always Sheldon
She does, Sheldon. Thank you for your kind comment!
A great selection. Thank you. A robin would be a “rouge-gorge”, then? 😉
Yes, it is him 🙂
What beauty you show us! I love the robin, I love the plants and you even convince me to love the insects! Well done & TY!!!
Thank you for loving the insects, Resa. I am trying hard to keep my mouth shut about politics 😉
I never knew you could eat nettles like spinach! Yum, I’m gonna tell Popeye. 😀
I’d never seen such a striking moth in red and black! Such stunning photographs as always, Inese. The fern sounds fascinating, and I’ll be doing more research on that plant. You’re a walking encyclopedia, dear friend. xo
Thank you Rose 🙂 I find a lot of stuff in the internet, but I do know herbs, and Summer Solstice celebration is imprinted in my genes 🙂 The moth looks striking. I have seen them only a few times in Ireland and once in the US. This picture is not clear because it was taken in windy conditions on Saltee Island. Cinnabar moth caterpillar is a common sight on ragwort plants.
Thank you again for your lovely comment! xxxx
Just have to hold them in boiling water for a minute. I usually add them to soups in the very end.
wonderful pictures as always!!
Thank you so much! 🙂
So many wonderful creatures, insects, and herbs! Have to say those robins were just too cute!
Thank you so much, Marje! Cute little bird indeed.
Such beauty here…even the spider. What a great shot!
Thank you so much!
Inese, your wee robin is lovely. You even make insects I don’t really like look gorgeous. How do you do it? You are an amazing AMAZING lady xxxxxx
Oh I was on your blog, reading, and re-reading, and admiring the photographs. I just cannot tell how happy I am for all of you. I too have a daughter and I know what it means to worry about your daughter’s future. Sending my love and huge hugs xxxxxxx
I did really worry about her. I got beyond sad for her. I guess you just want the best for your daughters that way. One of the reasons I wanted a house with a spare room when we moved two years back was that she had no-one at her back at that point. If anything had gone wrong with her job or her health she could not have kept on her rented flat. I am so happy for her. he is such a great guy. I could not ask for better for her.
Thank you for your hugs my darling. They mean so much to me xxxxx
She deserves all the happiness. These two have come a long way to be together 🙂 xxxxxx
Oh they have indeed Inese. I guess they had to be together at the right time xxx
True. It makes me think about the mystery of life. Again 🙂 xxxx
Great pictures Inese – I love your little robin who looks like a cheeky young thing and the insect images are amazing – that exoskeleton is fascinating.
Thank you so much, Andrea! I was so excited to find that grasshopper exoskeleton.
Great photos as always …. and interesting info on the Cinnabar larvae.
Thank you so much!
Beautiful images – loved the robin and moth especially. The moth has such beautiful color!
Thank you so much! The moth picture is a little bit blurred – I took it on Saltee Island, and it was quite windy at that time. The caterpillar picture is taken somewhere in Co Waterford. Have never seen them together 🙂
Quite marvellous, Inese. Fun text and your trademark beautiful photography, with recognition for Robin.
Thank you so much for stopping by, Derrick! It was a harvest day – I have never got so many pictures of Robin before 🙂
Lovely photos! I never have much luck with birds and insects, they keep flying off or crawling away 🙂
Same here 🙂 It was my lucky day.
Such incredible photographs, such a beautiful post.
Thank you so much!
I just love your nature walks, Inese, and am amazed at your wonderful findings and observations. The robin in Ireland is quite different from our robins here in New England, in size, shape and coloration…but he’s just adorable, as you have presented him…and what a find is that exoskeleton! Loosestrife is abundant here, and I remember how it practically clogged some of the waterways where I used to go canoeing. As for All Creatures Great and Small, I came to know that through the British TV series that ran on Public Television here in the States. It used to come on every Saturday night, and I would never, ever miss it!
Thank you so much, Cynthia! It is amazing how these two visually different birds go by the same name ‘Robin’.
My granddaughters an I found that grasshopper skin in the backyard. Grasshoppers are not welcome here at all, but the chickens love them and chase with passion.
It is so wonderful that you know the TV series. I don’t know if any of his books are available in your local library, but you would enjoy the illustrations and the explanations to them.
Beautiful images and a lovely post. Thanks you sharing this glimpse into the natural world around you 🙂
Thank you so much! Sometimes we need to recharge our batteries, and a minute in a company of a little critter does this job for us 🙂
Stunning pictures, especially the robin. What a gorgeous little chap!
Thank you so much! European robin is the only bird in Ireland that lets you that close. Even sparrows would fly away.
Inese, thanks for your beautiful photos and lessons of Nature. Even the toxic plant has its place in a healthy ecosystem. Can we say the same for toxic individuals? Perhaps such individuals serve as reminders of the dangers of self-indulgence.
Thank you so much! Everything has its place. Sometimes a toxic individual fulfills his or her function that we have no idea about 🙂 You know how it is – we can only see one side of the picture 🙂 Just make sure the toxins don’t get under your skin 🙂
The robin is so cute and the way he poses to you. It looks like just love having you taking pictures of him and your captures of him are wonderful!
Other creatures are intriguing, I love the view that peek into the spider web. That is so cool.
Lovely post!
Thank you so much! I am afraid I made the spider angry taking all these pictures 🙂
Have a wonderful weekend! xx
Please do the same 🙂
The robin photos are beautiful and do make me smile 🙂 I’ll head over to Robin’s blog now for a visit too. Raising my cup of coffee to say “cheers” for the weekend xx
Cheers, Christy, and thank you so much for loving the Robin 🙂