Spear Thistle and Marmalade Hoverfly

(At least I think they are.). The hoverfly approached just as I was about to take the thistle portrait - how fortuitous is that!

I’ve done the section of the Mill Moor walk that I didn’t have time for yesterday and have to confess that I drove up the hill as it looked as though the light was changing quickly.  I got interested in the thistles today as there wasn’t much happening on the butterfly front - a cool wind was blowing and it was fairly dark.  However, I did spot feeding Ringlett butterflies on the edge of the wood, where surprisingly it was much calmer.  We don’t usually get winds from the west.  I got very interested in the thistles today.  I have to confess I haven’t looked very closely before and I’ve discovered that the Creeping Thistle appears in a purple, mauve and white form.  Perhaps I’ve always though that anything white on the thistle was actually the seed head and not the flower.

I’ve also got a photo to add to my collection of `how people have changed/ made use of the woodland over the years’.  Someone has constructed a play den out of branches.  It won’t keep the weather out but I’m sure the people who created it had fun.