![]() ![]() It took slightly longer to realise they were there to roost for the night. It took less than a minute of being there to spot that a good number of Meadow Brown butterflies were flitting about amongst the grass stems and settling there. ![]() So a brisk walk to the cliff edge, an about turn and a concerted effort to get to the top of Rabbit Hill with minimum stops to catch breath, back down again and home ought to do it.Ī group of people with two dogs was heading toward me, so to avoid them momentarily I stepped off the main path onto a narrow track that leads around the cliff, skirting what is currently a large patch of long grass. I quickly judged that this was not a scenario I would normally enter into if hoping to spot any wildlife and on that basis decided this outing would be for the purpose of exercise. There were quite a few people about too dog walkers of course, some holidaymakers dressed up for the evening, maybe taking an evening constitutional before dinner & a couple of groups of teenagers, one lot jumping, diving, shouting and laughing from a rocky ledge into the sea. I knew before I arrived that by this time in the evening most of the area on this most accessible side of the headland would be in the shadow of its bulk, as the late sun slips down and slides around it to set just about behind its tip. I almost ignored it, then gave in, grabbed my camera, put on walking shoes and headed out with no real idea where I was heading for.Īt around seven I arrived at the Little Orme. Luckily I finally acknowledged the little nagging voice in the back of my mind that was insisting I got out for some fresh air. Some days the intention of a walk is at the forefront of my mind, then ‘stuff’ crops up and before I know it the day is almost over and the momentum needed to get me out of the door is fading fast. This was almost one of those days, when at six thirty-something I was still preoccupied with getting things done in the house. Some of the insects feasting on the flowers today were Sulphur beetles, including dozens of tiny ‘baby’ ones Hogweed works at another level and is an invaluable food source for a whole host of insects from beetles to butterflies. There’s a Cat’s Ear plant near that spot too, which nicely demonstrates both the flowers and the seedhead ‘clocks’ simultaneously. There are some lovely wildflowers in bloom in the meadow amongst the grass, my current favourite are the delicate-looking harebells,Īlthough I have always been fond of the sunshine yellow Lady’s Bedstrawīut then there’s the Wild Thyme that is looking spectacular this year where a large patch of it cascades down the limestone rocks. More used to seeing this species web ‘tents’ on the ground in the grass, I wouldn’t have realised who had built this one if I hadn’t seen her guarding it. In the meadow, the Nursery-web spider would probably have escaped my notice too if I hadn’t been trying to get closer to a butterfly in the brambles. Keeled garlic, whose flowers attract Common Blue butterflies and the long stand of Hemp Agrimony on the woodland edge are in bud. In herbal medicine it was claimed the herb was a remedy for for urinary diseases, epilepsy and gout. Lady’s Bedstraw contains the chemical coumarin, used in the drug dicouramol, which will prevent the blood clotting. The leaves and stems yield a yellow dye and the roots a red dye it was said that when cattle feed on it, it reddens their bones. In the north of England the yellow flowers were once used to curdle milk, giving rise to several associated names such as cheese rennet and cheese renning. Lady’s Bedstraw was once one of the most useful of the meadow flowers it was commonly used as a ‘strewing herb’, a natural form of air-freshening and for stuffing mattresses. ![]() Lady’s bedstraw is a food source for the huge Elephant hawk-moth caterpillar, then is favoured by the adult moths as a rich source of nectar. The migrant Humming-bird Hawk Moths are attracted to it too. On warm sunny days the air surrounding the frothy yellow flowerheads is deliciously fragranced with the scent of lightly perfumed fresh hay. Lady’s Bedstraw is a plant of dry grassland, dry banks, downs and old established sand-dunes. It is from this legend that the common name for the plant was taken, and also led to the belief that a woman lying on Lady’s Bedstraw would have a safe and easy childbirth. Medieval legend has it that the Virgin Mary lay on a bed of Lady’s Bedstraw in the stable of the inn in Bethlehem, as the donkeys had eaten all the other fodder. ![]() Lady’s Bedstraw- Galium verum Welsh- Briwydd felen Frothy sunshine-yellow Lady’s Bedstraw brightens the grass and on this warm sunny day scents the air with the delicate fragrance of fresh-cut hay. ![]()
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