Cabbage White

When I hike the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in sunny weather I am frequently accompanied by two of these butterflies, circling around each other and me in a joyful dance.  Sometimes I think I must exude pheromones attractive to them and wonder if they will discover their mistake before the end of their brief lives.

The Joys of Hiking

I love hiking - or at least in good weather I believe I do. Yet all too often I struggle along, wet outside from the rain and damp inside from condensation with that inevitable blister developing within the first half hour.

The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path

The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path dips and rises for approximately 200 miles through fascinating scenery, dropping down to coves and lifting to amazing viewpoints.  Little buses take you, your baggage and your well-behaved dog down to the beach all summer long. Nearly at one end is Tenby with its busy harbour and ancient town walls.

The centipede's dilemma

 

 

 

Cyril Centipede wonders if the monocycle is, after all, the mode of commuting best suited to his personal needs.

 

The snake in the garden

The image of the serpent in the Garden of Eden is a strong evocation of nastiness lurking in paradise. I have wondered what kind of reptile it might be and decided it would be flamboyant yet urbane, like this leopard snake.

POPPY

The poppy is marvellous to look at but has also become profoundly symbolic. Who can forget the final episode of Blackadder where this flower added such poignancy to a comedy series?

Chameleon

 

Do they really turn bright red if they sit on something crimson? Perhaps it is just a gentle blush.

FOXGLOVES

Nothing my size and not much choice of colour.

Black Point lighthouse, Anglesey

 

A lighthouse looks unnecessary on a summer's day which is when we normally see it as tourists. Yet the rocks underneath suggest the dangers to seamen and ships in winter if gales howl and the mountainous waves lash.

European Goldfinch

 

The Latin name for this beautiful bird is Carduelis carduelis. He was a real challenge to my new miniature brushes - sable of course!

Mousy misunderstanding

 

The Linnaean term for the common house mouse is Mus musculus, the second word meaning merely (and redundantly) "little mouse". Yet mice are not renowned Latin scholars and this family has mistranslated the phrase, determined to keep up their reputation for muscularity.

 

Clouded Yellow Butterfly

 

 

Such colours!