tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post1271329703251315687..comments2024-03-29T00:28:38.155+00:00Comments on Nigeness: Butter-flyNigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314891387515045404noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-72870322141008335232008-06-11T17:43:00.000+01:002008-06-11T17:43:00.000+01:00Yes Selena, I fear it's all those neat little gard...Yes Selena, I fear it's all those neat little garden ponds - a gift to herons, magpies, crows etc, but not so good for frogs, especialy with all those herons, magpies etc around. Round here, I've seen magpies fly off with frogs dangling from their bills - but the frogs are hanging on, and managed to breed again in a tiny pond in a front garden round the corner. When I was a child round here, though, frogs and frog spawn were indeed everywhere. We also had newts,oddly, in our garden air-raid shelter. And toads were quite common...<BR/>And Randy, thanks for the Timothy Richards link - I've seen his work, but didn't know his name till now.Nigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13314891387515045404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-41548987455757575052008-06-10T11:47:00.000+01:002008-06-10T11:47:00.000+01:00Thanks for the link, Nige. Quote: “...increasing l...Thanks for the link, Nige. <BR/><BR/>Quote: “...increasing losses of suitable breeding ponds has severely reduced the size of populations in the wider British countryside.”<BR/><BR/>And that would seem to apply to Herts as well. There’s no shortage of low-lying meadows and waterways. And yet, I still have to find my first frog. Let alone frog-spawn, which was abundant when I was a child. Intensive farming, I suppose, fertilizers etc. are at fault. Killing off insects in the first place. Followed by swifts and swallows. Then the frogs go. Followed by herons etc. Though, I dare say, the Kingfisher is still about...Selena Dreamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11629908887644614404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-72807946623095799032008-06-09T22:05:00.000+01:002008-06-09T22:05:00.000+01:00Nige, Your bug link is much appreciated, this litt...Nige, Your bug link is much appreciated, <A HREF="http://foolthatiamforasking.blogspot.com/2008/06/pyrrhosoma-nymphula-large-red-damselfly.html" REL="nofollow">this little chap</A><BR/>has been mating around the pond all week in large numbers, I wondered which damselfly it was.maltyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02936465848907794425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-1576694649362508802008-06-09T20:48:00.000+01:002008-06-09T20:48:00.000+01:00It was a delightfully sunny day here in Bath. A bi...It was a delightfully sunny day here in Bath. A bit too sunny, in fact, on the walk back up to the B&B. But even that turned out alright: I discovered the workshop of <A HREF="http://www.timothyrichards.co.uk/" REL="nofollow">Timothy Richards</A>. He was most gracious, spending a great deal of time showing us works-in-progress.Randyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03071928294799081845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-67162462296767412262008-06-09T20:47:00.000+01:002008-06-09T20:47:00.000+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Randyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03071928294799081845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-42885221255460433262008-06-09T18:11:00.000+01:002008-06-09T18:11:00.000+01:00Ah yes Vince - an army of butterflies, there's an ...Ah yes Vince - an army of butterflies, there's an image... <BR/>And Susan, the gorgeous Purple Emperor is one of the grossest eaters, very fond of horse dung and rotting carrion. <BR/>Selena - Hertfrogshire seems to be blessed with much aquatic life - see <A HREF="http://www.hertsheritage.org.uk/naturalhistory/wetlands.html" REL="nofollow">this</A> - and the frogs there are busy making more. Or maybe one of them's a prince...Nigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13314891387515045404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-61115287164980528742008-06-09T15:23:00.000+01:002008-06-09T15:23:00.000+01:00A description by Homer has the armies milling befo...A description by Homer has the armies milling before Troy likened to flies over a pail of milk.Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442327549417743472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-62924635406020765032008-06-09T15:12:00.000+01:002008-06-09T15:12:00.000+01:00Nige, you must admit that butterflies, for all the...Nige, you must admit that butterflies, for all their beauty, have some pretty nasty habits. At any rate, I have seen them dining on some pretty disgusting things while gracefully twitching their wings. This explains to me the buttermilk story -- they were looking for something sour and fluttering aesthetically around it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-78096473626626942662008-06-09T14:30:00.000+01:002008-06-09T14:30:00.000+01:00Very interesting Nige, we see a lot of butterflies...Very interesting Nige, we see a lot of butterflies in the fields on the south side of the Taunus, dairy herds graze there, on the north side, not so many, possibly there may be some truth in that theory, or there again it may just be those fiendish Germans at work again. Selina, try the garden of the Three Horse Shoes in Letchworth, by 11.0 PM every Friday I used to see frogs, large spiders, fire breathing dragons, blue lights flashing, barred windows, them were the days.maltyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02936465848907794425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-14570044942368700302008-06-09T14:11:00.000+01:002008-06-09T14:11:00.000+01:00Selena, perhaps Nige has already turned them all i...Selena, perhaps Nige has already turned them all into princes?Uncle Dick Madeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01124053234469634414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-49552531706785465992008-06-09T12:07:00.000+01:002008-06-09T12:07:00.000+01:00an alternative theory suggests that the word might...<I>an alternative theory suggests that the word might go back to a very ancient root and be essentially meaningless.</I> <BR/><BR/><BR/>...rather, and seeing that Germans are not on the whole entirely trustworthy, I, too, incline to this theory. As I do to the following: <BR/><BR/><I>“When der Hahn kräht auf dem Mist,<BR/> dann ändert sich das Wetter, <BR/> oder - es bleibt wie es ist!"</I><BR/><BR/>meaning: <I>if the cockerel crows on a pile of shit, <BR/> the weather might change or -<BR/> that is it...!</I><BR/><BR/>A rule which I have never known to fail. <BR/><BR/>But on a different topic, Nige. Seriously: Why aren’t there any frogs in Hertfordshire....? (I intend to go out and look for frogs - hoping that one might turn into a Prince).<BR/><BR/>DreamySelena Dreamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11629908887644614404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2526736757651414061.post-53772233440735443092008-06-09T11:33:00.000+01:002008-06-09T11:33:00.000+01:00I much prefer to use the spoonerism, flutterby.I much prefer to use the spoonerism, flutterby.Ian russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11106519805045337505noreply@blogger.com