St Mark's Fly (Bibio marci)

Two different images in slightly different focus, because they bring out different details of the feet, legs and body.

Spring is in the air

Spring is in the air at last! Here a pisaura mirabilis (nursery web spider) is bothering a 7-spot ladybird. It doesn't harm it - the black beetles behind it (probably chrysoline oricalcia) ran up and hit its rear legs, annoying it enough to run off.

Timberland Ortholite update 3

670 km in, and we have the first signs of wear and tear - a strip between the sole and the upper is tearing and coming off the upper on one boot, and it is looking at doing something similar on the other. There is slight wear on the heels, but nothing huge - they are very robust boots. I just wish they were properly waterproof!

Osmia bicornis - male and female

Temperature extremes in 2022

The weather for 2022 was reported as being the warmest yet, and here are a couple of graphs based on the local temperature data which highlight just this.

The first graph shows the temeperature range over the entire year, i.e. the difference between the highest maximum and the lowest minimum, and compares this to an average value. It can be seen that the temperature range for 2022 was by far higher than any of the years compared.

Now look at the year 2022 month by month, again looking at the extremes compared to the average extremes. It can be seen that the minimum temperatures were generally warmer on average, and it was the sudden cold snap in December coupled with the mid-summer highs that gave the much larger extremes.

Timberland Ortholite update 2

Four months and 346 km in, and still very little sign of wear in them. They are still pants for letting in water, but I am impressed with their ruggedness and how little they have worn compared to the Mountain Warehouse boots.

On the Rhines - Whirligig Beetles

A group of whirligig beetles darting about while grouping.