Clare and myself visited the
Avalon Marshes today, a wetland nature reserve close to Glastonbury. The signs said there were otters: Clare's eyes took on that thousand-yard stare as she scanned expanses of water looking for evidence. Other signs also warned of ticks bearing Lyme disease: after carefully tucking my trousers into my socks, my eyes took on that cross-eyed look as they scanned the foliage for spherical bloated creatures with sharp, hangy-on claws.
What we did see were dragonflies, in red and blue, and of a
size not seen since the Carboniferous.
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| Clare takes in 'nature' |
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| Your author: ".. WiFi .. please .. soon .. ." |
As a memento of the day, Clare bought a new plant, a kind of super-Christmas-tree for the upcoming season. Here's a picture of the new plant and another of the toiling worker.
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| The New Plant - Xmas lights to come |
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| The new plant needs good earth |
Shame about the
old plant, the Xmas tree from last year. With its sparse, straggly branches it has failed to pass muster. It now languishes, derooted and waiting to die, in a space just behind where the worker toils above.
