I make no apology for the fact that some weeks, all my little joys are found in nature. It really is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving, season after season after season after season, and I believe our ability to find joy in it is key to a happy life.
“After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on – have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear – what remains? Nature remains…”
Walt Whitman
Woodland walk.
This eye-catching plant is a new one on me. I presumed it was some kind of hydrangea, but it’s viburnum sargentii.
Lovely climbing actinidia kolomikta.
Love the neon green of this hop!
Impressive male zebra spider.
I’ve enjoyed a lot of May flowers this week. It’s lovely to see the lilac out.
And weigela is one of my favourites this time of year.
Always love a clematis montana.
Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve‘. I have mixed feelings about them as they tend to get leggy and weak after a couple of years, but when they’re thriving they’re a joy!
Cow parsley!
Love this little sea of shiny horse chestnut seedlings at a local car park.
I’ve been a bit addicted lately to the peregrine falcon nest-cam on our local cathedral. The three chicks hatched this week!
Radishes at the community garden.
The community garden is buzzing with mining bees – I counted at least four types! This is an ashy mining bee…
An orange-tailed mining bee…
A buffish mining bee…
And this is a Gooden’s nomad bee, which lays its eggs in the nests of mining bees!
A scarce fungus weevil, or cramp-ball fungus weevil. Found it on the pavement, with no fungus in sight.
Cat friend sleeping on my water butt.
Pleased with my herb tub. The thyme was very straggly and bare after winter so I popped a new one in this week.
The squashes are growing rapidly! Hopefully I’ll plant some out this week.
This week we’re also planning a quick camping trip and mini-adventure at Knepp Wildland, and immersing ourselves in lots more of nature’s joys! We’re only staying one night so we’re going minimalist with the equipment…
