Caterpillar & Cloud Spotting.

Recently, we all went for a walk with our dog Poppy. My reasons for going out were for fresh air, a change of scenery and to take photographs of interesting finds.

Along our walk we came across many interesting plants from purple grasses to the dying thistles. We were also fortunate enough to spot a few insects in front of my wheels. I wasn’t quick enough to capture them all, but here are a few photos from the walk we had that sparked my mind off.

We have seen a lot of these caterpillars over the years. With loving horses, there is inevitably a lot of ragwort to be moved out. The ragwort seems to be their favourite place. I had never thought about what they metamorphosed into before now. It turns out they are the cinnabar moth caterpillar. On our first visit to this same area, Miss A spotted a cinnabar moth hiding from the rain.

Lots of information can be found about their habitat, and the moth they become on the Wildlife trust website.

A little further along the path I was brought to a stop again. At first I had thought there was a twig on the path, but then it moved. As I got closer, I could clearly see it was a caterpillar wiggling its way across the path to safety. It was massive compared to the cinnabar caterpillar, and it turns out it is an elephant hawk moth caterpillar. I have never seen one of these moths, but they look very pretty in the photos here.

As we continued on, we reached the small waterfall area I had wanted to show the children. When I was last there it had been a sunny, warm day and there were children playing in the water. This was not a day to do that, but it was still beautiful.

The path is a circular walk around a mound with a viewing point on the peak. I have ventured up there once, but will not do so again. The paths are not made for a wheelchair, but the view from up there included this area with the waterfall, and the fishing lake it flows down to. This point is around a quarter of the walk. Continuing from there, slightly uphill the path continued with trees on each side. On the left of the path were lower plants with higher trees to our right. I was so surprised to see this sight, I called everyone over to see. I had never seen so many beetles in one spot before, and so much destruction to one plant. On looking them up I found they are Alder leaf beetles. Along the side of the path were plant after plant, all covered in these shiny blue beetles, munching away merrily, leaves peppered with holes all over. From looking this up on the RHS it seems that this doesn’t actually harm the plant.

Continuing from here, we rounded the corner to the last half of the walk which let us view the old colliery building, the path up to the viewing point and a landscaped area between the two.

As I waited for the others to return, I tried spotting more insects and flowers, but also remembered that several years ago, we took the children with us and camped over at a literature festival in the Welsh countryside. It was held at a national trust house and grounds, filled with tents housing authors, workshops and refreshments. One of the talks we attended was by a man who had started a cloud appreciation society for a bit of fun. He had been amazed at how popular it had become and was there to encourage us all to look up and notice what can be found above us (mouths firmly closed). Ever since, we have, as a family, looked to the skies and commented on the shapes, faces and animals we can spot up there in nature’s lava lamp. I think this looks like a stereotypical UFO with the ring in the centre as the light. Hubby thinks it looks more like a snail. What do you see?

I returned to the starting spot, waiting for the loud return of the four children, hubby and Poppy. Long grasses line the path and mark the start of the decline to a picturesque but inaccessible stream. These last two photos, I think are interesting, not only because they show the grasses as being huge, but also because they were taken in the same place, consecutively, yet look so different. It makes me think of the instagram photos you see of smiling children, all looking at the camera at the same timer with clean faces and no debris surrounding them, or the perfectly posed shots showing no fat, rolls or blemishes. That simply isn’t real life. Reality has its imperfections and that is what makes life. Which of the two do you think would make the instagram cut?

What do you see?

On our last walk outdoors we visited a local garden that has reopened to the public following closure due to coronavirus. Outdoor attractions seem to have the current advantage with the pandemic and rules over face masks. I certainly feel safer going outdoors than indoors anywhere at the moment, regardless of how much PPE people are covered in.

Things were slightly different to pre-covid19, we had to pre book before arriving at our designated time slot and then social distancing was advised throughout the area, although not always adhered to. There were arrows on the ground in an attempt at a one way system and most of the park area was closed for the children. Nothing felt awkward or over done.

We took hundreds of photographs along the way of beautiful plants, fairies, water birds and wooden sculptures. Here are just a couple of examples:

Not even the ferocious mosquitoes and gnats could put us off hiding under a tree to have our sandwiches, crisps and warm drinks whilst overlooking the lake and watching others, sitting at tables trying to pretend the rain wasn’t bothering them. 

Towards the end of our time there we meandered through the flower gardens where there are maze-like paths through different coloured plants. Many were so overgrown I had no chance of getting my wheelchair through them, but Miss G was an excellent assistant when it came to getting photographs of flowers out of my reach.

One particular area caught my attention. There was a bush full of these flowers (see above). They were in various stages of bloom and reminded me of dandelion clocks. (that reminds me- I must look into whether a dandelion clock becomes a yellow dandelion flower).

Each flower was protected by the seed ball which then peeled open to further its species, revealing this awesome sight. Seeing the petals curled up like this reminded me of nests, mother animals creating a safe and sheltered environment for their young, scaring off predators or interfering guests (don’t pretend you don’t understand that one). The bold and uninviting looking ‘spikes’ to keep potential danger away until they are ready to fend for themselves and accept visitors not dissimilar to a bitch growling, a snake hissing or a mother ignoring the front door and telephone.

It also made me think of the safety people feel within their own cocoon, be that alone or with friends and/or family. When the shit hits the fan, we all want to retreat to that cocoon of safety where we can count on support and rest to recuperate, gain strength and emerge when we are ready. 

I was brought up to hide the pieces of broken up shit under the legs of the fan, to keep it all inside and always think about what the outside perception would be. The favourite sentences uttered would be “What will people think?” and “Oh, it can’t be that bad really...it always happens to you doesn’t it" in a condescending, disbelieving tone.

I learned very young to not bother trying to seek support within the family home, to keep everything hidden and try my best to just carry on. As I have navigated through a rough and bumpy life i have come to see that is a very unhealthy way of trying to manage problems, and i do not recommend it. It is very difficult to undo years of being told one way of coping though. The one person I could go to sadly passed away 12 years ago now. I have a good friend who is feeling this pain now after suddenly losing her safety net too. There is no age limit on how this can have a devastating effect on us, but asa with everythin in life, it is how we manage to get through and cope with everything that is thown at us that makes us stronger. (I keep telling myself that- maybe one day it will work haha). As a family unit we are alone in the world. We have friends, but no family we can chat to or rely on. We can't call on a mum for support or help, can't pop over for a cup of tea and a natter or ask them to pick the kids up. Having children I think makes that safety net of a wider network more important for us all. Friends become family and we all find our way into support and understanding.

Once this flower has bloomed and gone out into the world, it will be alone, watching others still in their cocoon, others fighting for survival in the same position they are in and being admired by people like me, who probably think way too far into a simple flower blooming in the summer sun.