Heath Flowers

 Craig and I had a great time inspecting every speck of color in the landscape, and we found these treasures.

Sedum anglicum, English stonecrop

Photographing this next exquisite specimen in its natural habitat necessitated getting my shoes and socks soaked. The deep, spongey vegetation and substrate holds a LOT of water - very deceptive!

Bog asphodel, Narthecium ossifragum

This display tank at Lake Vrynwy illustrates how deeply soggy the heath can be, whilst looking like dry land to our feet. When you put your weight on it, the top sinks down into the wet below.

Common cottongrass, Eriophorum angustifolium

Round-leaved sundew, Drosifera rotundiflora

Tormentil, Potentilla erecta

Sightseeing

 A visit from Dale's friend of 55 years prompted a scenic trip with interesting stop-offs along our favorite, dramatic route nearby. This time, with botanizing, birdwatching, butterfly-gazing (and some grub) on the agenda, we spent 6 hours doing the 52 mile route (equivalent distance from Manchester, NH to Boston, MA).

The heath had changed color schemes since our visit last month! Fascinating, and so incredibly beautiful. 

It's hard to believe that the vivid greens are not low groundcovers, but gorse shrubs and bracken that stand about a metre or more above the soil surface, creating a microhabitat beneath.

The orange/red tinge to the heathlands was laid on by the European blueberry (or bilberry) amidst the  swathe of green.

 

Lilac flowered heather added yet another layer of colour to the slopes and hillsides.

I can't get enough of this scenery

It's thrilling when the only sound around is wind

Evening Birds

An evening outdoors -

Rooks and swifts on chimney tops -

And a Nightjar stout.

Coppery Beauty

I was lucky enough to snap a picture of a live slow worm whilst gardening before it scuttled away. What a beautiful creature!

Neither worm (despite its common name), nor snake, this is the non-venomous, legless lizard, Anguis fragilis. They help keep the slug population down.