Frog End Nursery & Nature Reserve

I spent the day at

The weather was warm with intermittent sunshine.


As well as taking lots of plant photos I had plenty of time to search for eggs laid by the Southern Hawker yesterday. I found what could possibly have been one but the majority seem to have been laid under the surface of the wood in tiny holes and cracks.


A fully grown Common Frog put in an appearance by the pond in the morning.


The Slow Worm was basking on the fence again.


When I looked for more Slow Worms in the undergrowth I found a Smooth Newt. Back in Pensby the adults usually leave the pond around this time of year and it looks as though they do the same here.


A Corn Marigold in the wild flower border.


And what I think is Feverfew, in the same location.

The hoverflies in the garden included

the very common Episyrphus balteatus


and the rarer Xanthogramma pedissequum.




Sitting on the back step I was visited by a female Lesser Stag Beetle (Dorcus parallelipipedus).



This is a piece of flint from Buddleigh Salterton that I knapped to make a couple of small and exceedingly sharp blades.