Strider Longshanks

When you step outside in the morning and see beauties like this, the day is made 😁
#auvergne
#puydedome
#livradoisforez
#France
#mothstodon
#mothsofthefediverse
#greatprominent
#latimide
#perideaanceps

Featuring as one of the nerdier sides of my personality, I've always been fascinated at trying to map the snaps I manage to take out of aircraft windows to actual places on the ground, so this picture was more of a challenge for me, due to the broken cloud cover, and my relative lack of knowledge of the area. The effort was obviously made easier by roughly knowing the flight path of the aircraft, an #atr72 , from Kerry airport in Ireland to Brive in France.
I believe that what you can see is the coastline from Robert's Cove (bottom left) to somewhere in the region of Inch beach (top right), across the mouth of the entrance to Cork harbour.
#ireland
#kerry
#brivelagaillarde
#chalair
#corkfromtheair
#aerialphotography

Hiding from the overnight rain under the roller blinds this morning was this very fragile-looking, almost transparent creature, which might be Siona lineata, or a Black-veined moth.
When I first noticed it, its wings were fully spread out, and I could almost see right through them.
Most of the white butterflies or moths around here that I've previously seen rarely seem to perch anywhere for long, making most of my photographic efforts to capture them so far pretty rubbish. For once, I'm rather pleased with this one!
#SionaLineata
#BlackVeinedMoth
#auvergne
#livradoisforez
#France
#mothsofthefediverse
#mothstadon

After trimming the laurel hedge, which seems to grow at an indecent speed here, and may well lead to total removal at some stage, I was picking up the cut leaves and stems, when this fell into my hand - a ghost moth. They're supposed to be quite common, although I've never come across one in France, and don't remember them either from my childhood. One thing it was though, was lightning fast on takeoff, once I opened my hand. My wife managed to extract these still images from a video she made as it disappeared back to another safe hiding place, hence the blurriness.
#mothsofthefediverse
#mothphotography
#ghostMoth
#ireland
#kerry
#mothsofeurope

As it's hot, we have the doors and windows open, and we're currently being serenaded, if squealing every 30 seconds is a serenade, from the top of the oak tree just outside the house, by a long eared owl.

It's all a little bit surreal because the TV is also on, the toads are going"peep peep", and the crickets are doing their nut as the background chorus to this wildlife orchestra.

#notsosilentsaturday
#owlsofmastodon
#longearedowl
#auvergne
#livradoisforez

"The be(e)st of good fortune to ye", said the carder bee to meself as I was about to get in the car and head off to work. The allium was totally nonplussed at yet another visitor trying to prise some prize nectar out of it, under the watchful eye of me other half hopping with impatience to finally see the flowerheads floof.
#kerry
#ireland
#alliumsphaerocephalon
#commoncarderbee
#beesofmastodon
#beesofthefediverse

Well it is 27 degrees Celsius here today in Kerry, and as yesterday had been particularly gruelling on the psyche, with 10 hours of writing down the tube due in large part to MS word failing to make any sort of auto recovery when not connected to the Internet (reasons for another day), even when the option has been activated since forever, I decided that after retyping everything this morning and into the early afternoon, it was time for some R&R. Off I headed to Ballybunnion and, wait for it, dipped more than a toe in the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. Glorious! I'd really forgotten how much I love swimming in the sea, what with being landlocked in the middle of France.

#ireland
#kerry
#ballybunnion
#seaswimming
#beaches
#atlanticocean

Opened the barn to get the mower out this morning, and I come back to find this pair hovering around the entrance and trying to barge their way in. Much as I love swallows and can appreciate that they're suffering from widespread habitat loss due to the knocking down of old buildings and replacement by unfriendly urban structures, they already have a nest (small, but effective) in the woodshed, so they can jolly well stay there. I mean, I know there's a housing crisis in Ireland, but come on! Even the birds are at it. 😏
#Swallows
#kerry
#ireland
#nestbuilding
#birdsofmastodon
#birdsofthefediverse

Well, I sort of, kind of, almost managed to not mow the back field / meadow, but I needed a way into the compost bin, so that's my excuse!
In the end, I cut paths two mower widths wide, all around the perimeter, and two diagonals the same width, similar to what we do in France. The result is that I've managed to keep almost all of the amazing buttercup display that we have this year, and most of the tall grasses which are currently also in full bloom. It'll play havoc with my hay fever, but I'll be damned if I'm turning it into a sterile pristine lawn like so many of the neighbours along our road. The wagtails, swallows and willow warblers are suitably impressed, judging by their activity, but now I need butterflies and grasshoppers (wait, are there any grasshoppers in Ireland?) I note with some disappointment, that the farmer has already mowed the field behind us to put his rearing calves on it 😕. When he saw we'd arrived, he moved them to the field below over the road, which has also been cut. We had a falling out over some land he was trying to sell for backland housing development, and now he avoids us like the plague.
#NoMowMay
#springmeadow
#kerry
#ireland

Standing outside the front door this morning before heading off to work and noticed these two flowers. The purple one might be an actual native bluebell (although I remain sceptical). It has chosen a very strange place to set up camp, against the wall of what was originally a garage, amongst a clump of very stingy nettles. I usually chop these down very aggressively, as I have vivid childhood memories of falling off a wall into a nettle patch in my shorts and T-shirt as a kid and not enjoying the experience. Almost invisible next to the bluebell, what appears to be a Lady's Smock, or Cuckoo Flower, another now allegedly"native" Irish wildflower (well, "nativised" over the course of 300 years after importation from the Mediterranean basin).
Sometimes, plants choose the strangest places to appear.

#kerry
#ireland
#wildflowers
#ladyssmock
#bluebells

Our watering hole yesterday evening was the Nelson Room at the #TrafalgarArms, a pub set right on the river Thames near Greenwich, and a stone's throw from the #CuttySark. Fantastic views up river, as shown here, and across to Canary Wharf and the O2 / Millennium Dome.
#Greenwich
#london
#inta2026
#inta
#docklands
#intellectualproperty

After watching what appears to be an adult anm a bit disappointed to discover that in Ireland, there doesn't appear to be anywhere to report a badger set, you know, as part of a statistical, evidence-based, fact gathering exercise for the casual civilian that might some day contribute to informing public policy. Neither BadgerWatch, nor biodiversity.ie seem remotely interested in collecting my data submissions, more's the pity. If anyone does know of anything, please drop me a DM.

#ireland
#badgerwatch
#kerry
#badgers

My mower uncovered this #moth tonight in the long grass, which an internet search indicates that it is probably a male fox moth (Macrothylacia rubi). I thought I might have injured it, as it was vibrating its wings like there was no tomorrow. Turns out, it might well have been warming up and preparing to take flight. Learned something new again.
#auvergne
#livradoisforez
#France
#mothstodon
#butterfliesandmoths
#macrothylaciarubi

After being rather noisy this morning with the mower, I thought it was time to stop, breathe, and take in my surroundings. I don't honestly think I've ever seen so many buttercups in one place, even from when I was a kid growing up in the countryside. Only 10 seconds, as the nearby road ruins the tranquility at an annoying rate, but here it is. Sound up.
#kerry
#ireland
#soundsofnature
#wind
#wildgrasses
#buttercups
#meadow

From the mountains to the sea is today's view into our world. In the first picture, the mountains of the Puy de Sancy range, after very recent, late spring, snow. In the second, approaching the coastline of County Wicklow this morning, not far from the now partially decommissioned Arklow Bank Phase 1.
Transitioning from one to the other using a mode of transport that by any measure could be described as slow. I would be interested in being able to calculate the carbon emissions of an in total 11.5 hour 2-person car journey in a hybrid vehicle, plus the 19 hour ferry (way under capacity), compared to a 5 hour drive and a 2 hour flight on a full capacity scheduled airline. Even with the wait at the airport, the second mode is doable in a day, the first mode requires nearly 2 full days.
#France
#ireland
#wicklowmountains
#sancy
#mountainsandsea

Yesterday, I briefly tagged the #cuttysark in a post. Not to be outdone by one of my British colleagues who was hosting the event last night and who nipped off for a sneaky picture, only to come back victorious with their beautifully framed photos, I snapped this one of her on the way back to our hotel, all lit up with nowhere to go (the ship, not the colleague).
#navalhistory
#UnitedKingdom
#docklands

There's nothing more disheartening than getting to your fixer upper and finding the back garden has reverted to the equivalent of the Paleoarctic rainforest while you've been away, and your 2 year old strimmer just out of warranty dies permanently on its first outing between the rain showers after less than 5 minutes.
#joysofspring
#gardeningfailure
#kerry
#ireland

I've mentioned before that we have hares in the garden. This one is a lucky survivor - when it was still being cared for by its mother, i.e. left during the day in my neighbour's long grass in the early spring, the neighbour's dog caught it and it nearly ended up not being here at all. My quick thinking neighbour rescued it, and it has been nurtured back to health and released a few weeks ago back into the "wild". It seems to like our clover quite a lot. For some strange reason, it also seems to avoid our neighbour's garden, can't think why 🤣🤣. Hopefully, it will survive being hunted by raptors and humans alike.
#harestodon
#haresofmastodon
#auvergne
#livradoisforez
#france

She sells sea shells on the sea shore. Apparently, the old tongue twister is still as relevant today as ever, having just learned that the smaller Truncate Donax below the cockle (if Google Lens is to be believed) can fetch between 2 and 4 USD!
These two were found cosying up to each other on Camber Sands beach at low tide.
#seashells
#bivalves
#molluscs
#cockles
#CamberSands

Having left the hustle and bustle of London, we've stopped on our way back to France on the south coast, at #Eastbourne .
I'd never been here before, but knew it was a little similar to Brighton. In the end, I preferred it to its bigger cousin, much more relaxed and a nice transition to our calmer rural lifestyle.
#southcoastengland
#UnitedKingdom
#pierphotography
#pebblebeachuk

In London for probably what is the largest gathering of IP professionals in our yearly calendar, allegedly more than 10,000 of us, reminding me why I both love and hate London all in the same breath. I'd say the balance still tips towards the hate end of the scale though, as the noise, the constant business, and not terribly reliable transport system do not put it in a favorable light. The main event is out on the eastern desert, I mean, revamped quarter of the old Thames docklands, of the ExCel building, which would be fine if public transport was working - which it wasn't over the weekend. Something to be said to the conference organisers there. Receptions and drinks dos are planned for the next 3 days along the river, or at various places dotted around central London, some of which require a Masters in calendar scheduling to sort out. Meanwhile, we were out with some Canadian lawyer friends on Saturday night and on the way back, snapped this shot of Tower Bridge lit up at night.
#london
#inta2026
#urbanarchitecture

On #SilentSunday , when the place feels more like a scene out of "Gorillas in the Mist", there are no gorillas here, merely a few birds vying for attention.
Sound up.
#goldenoriole
#cuckoo
#BlackBird
#auvergne
#livradoisforez
#France

Today's stop and discovery point was #CamberSands, near #Rye, at the estuary mouth of the River Rother. On a day like today, warm, cloudless, and a slight south-easterly wind blowing, it was fabulous. Added bonus - almost empty.👍
A first again for both of us, the only stretch of pure sandy beach along the south coast until #TheWitterings, near #Chichester

A further bonus was being able to spot a common tern, a little tern, and a sandwich tern between the dunes and the water's edge.
#southcoastengland
#terns
#birdsofmastodon
#CommonTern
#littletern
#sandwichtern

Rant mode on
Thanks to #brexshit and the #brexshitters who managed to convince a gullible majority of the benefits of #takingbackcontrol , the queue at #ukborderforce in Coquelles Eurotunnel took more than an hour to clear this afternoon, with the UK side only having 2 booths open, whereas the French exit border police had 6 booths open. As explained to me by a #Eurotunnel agent, if someone hasn't actually filled out the newly required ETA correctly to enter the UK for non-UK passport holders, #ukborderforce shut the queue in question with everyone else in it and accompany said person to a building located away from the booths to do the necessary. In the meantime, everything backs up.
#omnishambles
#canonlygetworse
#notevensummeryet

The #ROI broke it's own record again for the hottest temperature ever recorded in the month of May, with 30.5°C measured at Shannon airport weather station today. That's twice in one week. The humidity today in North Kerry is reported by my weather app at 77% with a "feels like" of 27°C. And to think I moved here in part to avoid the heat🥵 in France (and they've had it bad there too).
#heatspike
#climateconcerns
#kerry
#ireland