Yesterday morning’s walk with Bert turned into a bit of a wildflower photography extravaganza. It started on the way up the drive, with birdsfoot trefoil, dog rose, and a mass of vetch, buttercups and purple-topped grass – and a rather wonderful hairy caterpillar on his way up a buttercup stem…
Up the lane, more grasses were out, these ones with bright red tops, and foxgloves stretched up to the increasingly blue sky. I liked the way one dropped flower had been caught in a leaf, as if it were stretched out on a perfectly-sized hammock. Our lovely spiraea hedges – a bit of a peculiarity of this area, and where we saw a host of newly hatched green hairstreak butterflies a couple of weeks ago – are also beginning to flower.
Just before turning the corner towards Rhyd Uchaf, we came upon a fellow traveller on the road, though he was going in the opposite direction to us and was far too intent on continuing his journey – at some speed – to stop for a chat. Not exactly a wildflower, but equally as lovely, and possibly a relation of the hairy fella we saw on the buttercups earlier. What sounded like hundreds of tiny bumblebees were busy on the wild raspberries, while further along, the verges were stuffed with pink campion and more buttercups. Lower down near the ground, tiny herb robert flowers poked their faces out, and even the nettles were looking gloriously bedecked with jewels…
The last stretch of the walk takes us through fields, some being left for hay meadow, with grasses tall and buttercups and ladies smock rampant, and more dog roses growing in the high hedges. It was here I saw the highlight of the walk – not a flower, but a sudden tiny spark of bright, deep orange flitting across the grass in front of me. I gave chase and finally he stopped long enough for me to get a picture – a beautiful small copper, a form known as ‘caeruleopunctata’ on account of the blue dots.
Olivia Abbott 
Stunning photos – especially the butterfly, the Herb Robert, the nettle (an unusual choice for a subject but a really great shot and makes a nice change) and the red-headed grasses. You can’t beat a lovely wild-flower walk on quiet lanes. That’s what I miss living in the Dales – there aren’t any quiet lanes – they’re full of smoggy 4x4s. But when I go to my caravan in North Cumbria, all the lanes there make wonderful walking 🙂
Carol.
Thanks Carol. We are really lucky to have these quiet lanes and public footpaths through the fields.
Beautiful post, amazingly gorgeous shots of flowers. Maybe you could help me name this one, please? 🙂
http://psychosomaticallyinlove.wordpress.com/2014/09/30/cees-photo-challenge-yellow/
Thank you! 😀