Delta Ged, Volunteer Ranger @ National Trust Lyme Park : Week 69 27/05/2015

Photo Blog Week 69 - Wed 27 May 2015

The Park is really full of growth now with the oaks joining the canopy with there slightly brown new leaves. The brilliant spring green, largely from the early Beech is now fading as it is joined by other textures and colours. On the ground, the woodland floors are full of new thick undergrowth which is filled with lots of wild flower including the remaining bluebells. The Moors are turning green and the meadows are speckled with highlights of yellow, white and blue petals among the grasses.
I had the company of Mrs Delta-Ged as it is half term. This is the third time she has accompanied me on patrol and the first decent day so her perseverance was at last rewarded with leaving the waterproofs in the car. That said, it poured down as we drove out at the end of the day.

Camera

I finally decided it was time for the problem camera to be replaced this week so today involved getting used to a new camera. If you are curious, the new camera is a Panasonic LUMIX FZ200 Bridge camera and it has replaced a Fuji Finepix S2400 which was only 2.5 years old.

See you in 2 weeks

Delta Ged taking a break next week so, see you in two weeks on or after Wed 10th June.

route: North Face; East Lodge Drive to Deer Sanctuary; Coalpit Wood; The Cage; Elmerhurst Bridge

inside the courtyard at the House

Red Deer stags above Coalpit Wood

a good view of their developing antlers

and here are some of the hinds

dropping down the hill, the small group of hinds in the previous photo proved to the the top of a large grouping of hinds and year old calves together with a few young stags and hinds

rhododendron coming into flower at the end of Coalpit Wood

Common Speedwell is a beautiful little flower appearing in the grasses on the rear of Cage Hill

Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys)

OR?

Persian Speedwell (Veronica persica)

Precise identification between Germander and Persian is not easy however may be possible once the plant bears fruit.

According to Wikipedia,"V. persica can be distinguished from similar species by its heart-shaped fruit with two widely-separated lobes"

Pink Hawthorn blossom

each blossom flower has a white star centre

This oak take 'hollow tree' to a whole new level

bridge on the track out to Elmerhurst Cottage

'Stinking Bob' or Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) in a crevice on the bridge parapet

route: Elmerhurst Bridge; Elmerhurst Wood; Crow Wood; Timber Yard

a bed of white Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea) backed by bluebells

The bluebells are still in good condition but the other undergrowth is now growing up through them weakening the display and diluting the blue haze

footbridge on the woodland path through Elmerhurst Wood

Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)

Bluebells in Crow Wood

Overlapping leaf elements on horse chestnut create patterns from how much light pass through

lots of new vegetation along the waterways

Horse Chestnut blossom

*not identified

route: Timber Yard; Drinkwater Meadow; Knightslow Wood; Park Moor; Middle Moor Wall; Park Moor Boundary wall; Bowstonegate Farm entrance

Tadpoles in the Millpond by the footbridge over the race

Half term bringing many cars in and the matted overflow area is in use

Beautiful greens along the track in Knightslow Wood

Lime green glow in distance where the sky opens above the meadow

Southern boundary and Spond's Hill

Tormentil (Potentilla erecta)

looking across the Moor, Paddock Cottage in from left and The Cage a dot about same distance from the right edge

Stag House

Stag House is marked on OS maps high on the moorland boundary of the Park. Knocked down long ago, all that remains is the foundations. The original building had high features which could be seen via a line of sight along Lime Avenue and through Knightslow Wood.