Golden Gorse

Gorse

Gorse is a native shrub with dense, dark green shoots with very sharp spines . It can flower all year round.... but most around here seem to flower in either March to May or late summer. The blooms are fragrant pea-like bright yellow flowers.

Its habit makes it a great refuge for small birds and mammals, and its flowers are a good source of nectar for bees and butterflies. It is also a food plant for several moth and butterfly larvae.

This group of Gorse was alive with bird life when I stopped here and rested... I saw Gold Finches, Green Finches... Sparrows, Blue Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Robins, and some kind of Warbler. It is also home to a Rabbit Warren... which over the last few years seem to be doing well.

I love seeing this in bloom, it can really light the hillside up when in flower, this is a shrub that as been used in hedgerows in the past... now it is not in favour. Luckily a lot of farmers leave it to grow as in winter it offers a wind break and shelter.



Not the kind of plant you would like to fall in, those spikes are why many birds choose to nest in it as it helps to keep predators from getting at their eggs and young.

Ringa Ding Ding

Resting With The Bluebells

Can you see the Greenfly?

Tree Trunk & Bells

Enjoy

Common Daisy

Daisy Daisy, give me your answer do

I'm half crazy, crazy in love with you

The daisy flower is considered a friendly one. It has white petals with yellow centers. Sometimes, the flowers are a rose or pink color. The daisy symbolizes purity and innocence, and it can also stand for new beginnings. The meaning of the flower is "loyal love."

Despite their appearance, daisies are not one flower. They have two types of flowers--petal-like white ray florets and disc florets. The disc florets are located at the flower's center and the ray florets are on the outside, coming from the disc. Together, they look like one flower.

Daisy chains should always have their ends joined when finished as they represent the sun, the earth, and the circle of life. It was once believed that dressing a child in a daisy chain would protect them from being stolen by the fairies, and in the Middle Ages the daisy was used to treat battle wounds; bandages containing crushed daisies were thought to give relief from pain and aid healing. The young leaves, flowerbuds and petals can be added to salads.

Peaceful Pathways

Early Bank Hillside

My all your Pathways be as Peaceful as these.

Header Challenge 34

Up in the Sky

Face

Hands

Join the Head Bangers as we go 'Head 2 Head' in this weeks Header Challenge. The theme this week was picked by Darla and is Up In The Sky.

Darla
Fishing Guy
Gailsman
Imac

Big Peter & The Swallows

All the pictures here are taken not by me but Big Pete, regular visitors to here might have seen his pictures before. He did have is own blog for a while as well.

He was out walking the tracks and out of the way trails of Derbyshire when he came across a number of Swallows collecting mud from these puddles.

To see them land on the ground is a rare sight, but to see them collecting mud for the nest and having a camera on hand to capture it is rarer still... Great pictures again Peter... thanks for sharing.