My walk today – beauty and the trashed verges!!

Posted on by Opher

A walk of up and down!!

First there was the beauty – the wildflowers, the cranesbill, cornflower and wild orchids. The nectar for butterflies and the seeds for birds.

Then there are the fabulous views over the farms, the rolling wolds, out to the sea.

Then there was the devastation. The fucking farmers flattening the whole place, mowing it flat, destroying the flowers, killing the insects and displacing all the wildlife. Leaving behind a desolate wasteland. It make me so angry. There is so little natural habitat to start with – only the hedgerows and verges remain – and they come along and ravage. How are the birds and creatures meant to survive>

Awe and Wonder – The most beautiful Insects Imaginable

Posted on by Opher

The insect world is a marvel. These aren’t just bugs they are works of art:

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We have to look after our natural world. It is awesome.

Anthropocene Apocalypse – My screen was splattered in Devon!

Posted on by Opher

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I’ve just returned from a great trip to Cornwall and Devon. It was great catching up with good friends. It was also great to see that my windscreen was splattered with insects! Not quite as many as there used to be but welcome just the same.

I have got used to driving around through most other parts of Britain and finding not a single bug splatter. That is really worrying.

Insects are the basis for many food webs. Our birds and animals depend on them. They pollinate our flowers and crops. We need to cherish them.

I was wondering why there were more insects in Devon and Cornwall. I was sitting around in the fields, climbing up cliffs, sitting next to rivers, walking up coast paths and seeing lots of beetles, flies, bees and butterflies. They buzzed around in numbers I could remember from my youth.

My friend Pete postulated that it was because Devon was not a crop growing county; it was mainly beef and dairy. That made sense to me. The bugs were there because the farmers were not spraying crops.

We need to do something. Our insects re in a desperate state. Our swallows, bats, shrews, lizards, slow worms and hosts of others animals and birds will decline unless we take this seriously.

I love the hum of insects. They signal summer to me. Give me a splattered screen any day!