Starting with a many plumed moth I found in the bathroom late last Sunday night...
I did two full days of Wildplay for Staffordshire Wildlife Trust this week.
Monday was a really nice day, a small group of children who got along well and were so easy to entertain! The first hour was spent walking around a lake with binoculars looking at birds and then they were happy making rope swings and den building in the woods for a while.
Toasting marshmallows after lunch was supposed to be a fairly quick activity in the meadow before heading back into the woods but the group loved the fire so much that it ate up the rest of the afternoon as the children got to grips with the flint and steel fire lighters and had good fun setting fire (safely) to cotton wool.
Just a note on the fire - it looks like the tray is on the ground here but it was on a double protective layer of wood so once the fire was out, the ashes disposed off and the trays removed, there was no damage done to the grass or soil beneath. We do teach responsible fire practice at Wildplay too!
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| The garden pond on Tuesday |
Wednesday was a day in the woods for two of my favourite Wildplay sessions. In the morning we have children left with us (no parents required) and in the afternoon we do family drop in Wildplay. It wasn't the busiest of days but it was a lovely day - the kind where we really make a difference and everyone has a good time. This afternoon we even had a grandma on the rope swing and toasting marshmallows, asking if she could come to the next kids only wildplay!
It just happened to be my birthday on Wednesday too and Katie had brought along some veggie marshmallows for me! I've not had a toasted marshmallow for over 20 years so I was a bit excited. They were very good. I thought these vegan marshmallows might not be great but they were pretty much how I remembered a toasted marshmallow being (though it has been a very long time since I last tasted one!). I'm definitely going to buy some for whenever I next go camping or sit around a fire!
I was stuck at home all day on Thursday waiting in for a delivery (which didn't turn up until 4:30!) and I spent some time looking for bugs in the garden...
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| common field grasshopper |
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| I think this hoverfly is Myathropa florae...could be wrong! |
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| Volucella pellucens |
In the evening, I went out for a wander...
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| I ate my first few bilberries of the year - very tasty! |
I've been out with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust for a good chunk of the weekend. Saturday was spent at the headquarters - as a paying customer! - attending an insect ID course. I knew when I booked it that the course was for beginners but thought it would be worth going anyway as there's always something to be learned. I'm no expert but I definitely know more about insects than a lot of people. The course really was quite basic - there were people there happy to just learn the difference between bees and hoverflies or dragonflies and damselflies, so I didn't learn a huge amount but it was worth going as I did learn that crickets have now made it this far north (I've never seen a cricket locally, only ever further south). I did learn a couple of other things too and had a happy hour or so finding insects at Rose End Meadows. I didn't take many photos as I didn't see anything terribly exciting.
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| 22 spot ladybird larva |
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| common groundhoppers |
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| I think these are the eggs of a large yellow underwing moth |
Today I ran a bushcraft party for 16 children aged between 2 and 6. The birthday boy is a regular at Forest School so I already knew him and a couple of his friends. He had a brilliant wild birthday party and the sun was shining for it too today. John, one of the Carsington rangers, told me that every time anyone wearing DWT uniform has set foot on site this summer it has rained so he was impressed that I hadn't brought the rain and we had a sunny day for the party. Hopefully the weather will stay dry for the next Wild Wednesdays now!
When I got home, an insect caught my eye on the hedge. It's a blood bee, Sphecodes ephippius I think.
I've not done badly for time outdoors over the last week :) but we're now half way through the summer holiday, only three weeks remaining and there's still so much to do before I move house. I had hoped to be much further ahead than I am by this point! Next week definitely won't be so wild but I'm sure I'll squeeze something outdoors in.
Belated Happy Birthday! :) I think I saw a Volucella pellucens somewhere last week, i'll have to check my photos, I haven't had chance to yet. I noticed it because it had quite a rounded (stumpy!) body. It looks like you've been having a fantastic time with the wildplays!
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