What's outside

Sea lice on the back of a salmon (eog). This fish is fresh in on the tide as the lice drop off after a couple of days in fresh water. I think the long strands are eggs ond dwi ddim yn siwr.

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Ja, ja … you are posting flowers and all kinds of beings … BUT. … here we go … a few days back we’ve had this pair of turtle-doves (colomennod)

and I could put some lilac (lelog) from our garden on the table

but today we’ve got

SNOW! (EIRA)

So, well, this is outside right now by us … and it’s still snowing …

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Mae bwrw eira 'na eto!
We don’t have lilac blooming yet. Well, we don’t actually have any in the garden, but nobody has it in bloom. We are further north than you, but the sea should warm us! (Nobody has told the Atlantic yet!). :grinning:
I see your turtle doves are grey like our collared ones, but ours are much smoother!

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I see them the first time here. They were many years ago more then one pair but they were more dark grey.

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Must go now, but just to say, our collared doves are quite pale with darker grey collars! We are currently having the bird feeding area re-done. Concrete instead of slabs, to be easier to clean. Also we stopped feeding seeds and nuts because we had a lot of sick birds and didn’t want to spread infection. We are only feeding meal worms at the moment, in case anyone has chicks, but I suspect the adult blackbirds scoff the lot!

Umm, well, in our area there’s a lot of food for them so we don’t need to feed them … They have made their nest in one of our birch trees however this cold and snow might drive them away. …

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We have had three days that started with a frost followed by sunshine then rain later, the insect number seen is very small and nothing new.

Derwen heddiw - oak today (ymhen, dan ni’n weld dail newydd, at last we are seeing new leaves).

Bysedd y cwn - Foxglove .

Telor yr helyg - Willow warbler (i think).
(awkward trying to film these with a hand held camera and there just had to be an aircraft in the background on one of those rare occasions the bird didn’t fly).

Ermin llwydfelyn - Buff ermine.
(one of last autumns caterpillars emerged over night, i could take this as a sign of better weather as wildlife often senses better than us. from the antenna i think this is a male).

Cheers J.P.

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Wow! The difference a few miles makes!! Our derwen bach is still as leafless as ever. The only new leaves are trying to come to our Victoria plum which always starts first and will have blossom soon, hopefully after the frost and snow as I would like some plums later!!
Our foxgloves will no doubt appear eventually!

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My plum tree is flowering too, but we’ve had hail, sleet, snow and now high winds so it’s not looking good!
I’m staring to fall in love with moths after seeing so many amazing photos of them. That ermin llwydfelyn looks like it’s dressed for our mad weather!
What is it about the antenna that identifies a moth as male or female?

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Tatyana, I used to take bunches of lilac to school when I was little. I love it.

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In simple terms, if the antenna looks like it has a lot of cross bars It’s (often) a male.
These cross bars act as channels for the pheromones the female releases to attract male/s.
In effect the pheromones (perfume) interacts in those channels and acts as a guidance system for the male, ie: stronger smell on the left antenna, male turns left etc etc until he finds the female.
(it’s amazing to sit outside with a freshly emerged female (from pupae or cocoon) and see how
quickly a male appears). (will try for some comparative photos when i get the opportunity).

I have just returned from plas tan a bwlch where to say i had a great time with a find band of welsh learners would be an understatement.

Saturday - dydd sadwrn.

Heading uphill (inland from Harlech).

Looking towards snowdon, the tops where white.

People were carrying some interesting friends who came out a snack breaks (apparently, Elephant has his own facebook page).

Plenty of cute lambs.

We were shown and given some insight into many ancient ruins.

Approaching a crown of stones.

Llus - Billberry.

Cheers J.P.

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This was available at PTYB & I’m happy to say, the first of the list of ingredients shown here was evident everywhere!

@ramblingjohn with the yellow back pack making sure we cross this steep path safely.

& he found us some tadpoles! Penbyliaid.

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dydd sul - Sunday.

Inscription on old stone gate post.

I have not found a conclusive identity for this fly sat on a stone by me at lunch break.

Public path sign.

Chwilen - beetle.

Castell conwy - Conwy castle.

Clochdar y cerrig - Stonechat.

Deugredyn gwallt y forwyn - Maidenhair spleenwort.

Cheers J.P.

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Great picture in tricksy conditions. Well done @steadyhandsjohn.

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All your pics are great, but that one was best!!
To @pippapritchard
I loved the tadpole pic and the lonely trail a-winding!

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I loved finding and holding the tadpoles, would have liked to take them home.
Grow your own welsh frog could be a skype subject.

I should add that @pippapritchard was busy spotting things of interest all weekend as well.
The winding trail is apparently known as the finger nail trail as many feel like they are clinging on the edge.

At last our weather looks like it is improving so i am rather looking forward to the weekend.

Cheers J.P.

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You just broke my heart, John, by giving me this idea I won’t be able to realize… At least post the photos of your Welsh frog if you really decide to grow it:)

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The sun was shining today. This brought pili palaod. Gwyn gwythiennau gwrddion - green veined white perhaps.

Aderyn y to - House sparrow.

& this poor iâr ji binc with bad legs. It’s hard to imagine how she might grip onto branches ac ati.

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Many years ago, my ‘Auntie’ and I went to an Astronomy weekend given by her extramural group run by Swansea University (possibly still Uni. Coll. Swansea) in mid-Wales, There were lakes nearby and we gathered zillions of huge tadpoles to take back to her little pond. I took a few back to London and raised them in a bowl. After a time, I became aware that one was ‘a bit odd’. The others all had clear signs of losing their tails as their legs developed. Eventually, I realised that the remaining one was a perfectly normal newt!
I didn’t know about certain species of newt being rare. I just put them all in my tiny city pond, to go their separate ways!
I do hope he wasn’t Great Crested!
to @seren I’m sure that SSiWers would be more careful and better informed than I was!
To @pippapritchard Yet more great pics! But I fear that poor little bird is not long for this world!

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Oh, now I want to raise a newt too:) People here just keep giving me ideas.

Vitebsk in bloom: a tree (crab-apple, possibly - afal sur)

and some tulips (tiwlip?:slight_smile: of a particularly pretty colour

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