Nature Switched On - 2011 May 8 to 14

Practical Ecology

Nature Switched On

in the Pyrenees the first 10 years

introduction
floristic catalogue
faunistic catalogue
contact
index
gallery 1: 2006-2012
gallery 2: 2012-
map
>> 2011 May 22
<< 2011 Apr 4

Cornus sanguinea and Lonicera etrusca flowering abundantly, filling the air with their perfume.
14 May 9:13

a S T A M M E R project

2011 May 8 to 14

The right amount of rain, a lot of sun and maximum temperatures around 23º: the ideal spring weather and plants show it.

Swirling clouds on a stormy spring evening.
Looking north-west
12 May 20:39

Plantago lanceolata covers big areas.
10 May 9:51

Close-up of Lonicera etrusca.
12 May 9:53

Cistus albidus on the higher terrace.
13 May 9:43

Silene vulgaris, not yet attacked by its beetle.
Looking north.
13 May 9:15

______________

In the upper pond almost all Yellow flags (Iris pseudacorus) are flowering , in contrast with last year when there were no flowers to be seen, perhaps as a result of the less vigorous growth of the macro alga (Chara sp) with its allelopathy weapon.
Dragonflies abound in several different stadia of their life cycle.

An Aeshna dragonfly positioning its eggs on a dead Sparganium leaf among the Chara.
13 May 19:50

Iris pseudacorus in the upper pond.
8 May 18:56

Libellula depressa coming out of its old skin. On the left the remains of an Aeshna larva.
11 May 9:19

______________

On a fresh cloudy morning I was able to capture this Melitaea species which was still somewhat groggy and waiting for the sun.

The Melitaea butterfly on a flower of Helianthemum violaceum.
13 May 9:30

Melitaea sp. trying to wake and warm up in the morning.
13 May 9:26

______________

Our suspicions about the affair between 'el Camarero' and 'la Frisona' were right: four beautiful kittens have been the result. The mother is quite tame and sweet but it is impossible to get hold of the foursome as they hide among the stones and brambles.

' Frisona', the mother, with a smaller version of 'Camarero'.
13 May 10:35

The only entirely black one of the four.
13 May 11:20

______________

Recently I have been busy composing and uploading some video clips to YouTube. Actually they are a kind of photo-sequence with my own music. One of them is dedicated to the building of our straw bale house and gives a nice overview of the whole process in 10 minutes. Have a look here and distribute copies as much as you like (as long as you don't ask money for them).

Another clip is dedicated to LeRoy's Ecocathedral in the north of the Netherlands and might be of your interest too.

introduction
floristic catalogue
faunistic catalogue
contact
index
gallery 1: 2006-2012
gallery 2: 2012-
map
>> 2011 May 22
<< 2011 Apr 4