Snapshots of the day: Footway find

Little man on the pavement, about two inches tall…

I am always looking down at the pavement – partly so that I don’t trip over anything. But I also like to spot unusual things. I wondered what this little plastic person was and when I passed it a second time I flipped it over…

…it looked like a Christmas elf decoration of some sort

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Snapshots of the day: Moths

Brimstone moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) in the bathroom at night

Sadly I don’t see many moths these days but the other night I noticed this medium-sized yellow moth perched on the bathroom tiles. I caught it in a glass and tried to make it go out through the window but of course it came straight back, attracted by the bright light. It soon disappeared behind a light fitting and I have not seen it since. I looked it up and it is a common British moth, the brimstone moth (Opisthograptis luteolata).

This reminded me that I saw another moth back in the heady days of July but forgot to blog about it at the time…

Mystery moth viewed through the bathroom window…

…view from outside the bathroom window – the moth stayed on the glass in bright sunlight for several hours

The medium-sized moth was spectacular but turned out to be an invasive species accidentally imported from south-east Asia. It is known as the box-tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis) and was first seen in Kent in 2007. It has now spread through southern Britain. The larvae feed on box-tree foliage.

I did encounter a third moth over the last month, but was so keen to remove it from the house that I did not take a photo. It was a very dark shadow on the curtain net one night and turned out to be a large Mormo maura, the old lady moth or black underwing, It looked very sinister. I caught it in a glass and released it under a street light.

Although I didn’t snap it this time, I found that I had taken this picture of an old lady moth on an outside wall on July 18, 2011…

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Snapshots of the day: Young woodpecker

Juvenile great spotted woodpecker [Dendrocopos major] in the garden, its beak messy with fat from the feeder

I thought our great spotted woodpeckers had failed to breed this year as for a long time all I saw was a solitary male. But a couple of weeks ago this young one appeared – although the top of its head is now fading from bright orange to red. The adult female has no red on its head and the adult male a red patch on the nape.

The other young birds are also growing up now…

Young blackbird [Turdus merula] on the bird bath

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Snapshots of the day: Missing letters

I probably wouldn’t have bothered snapping these in my local shopping street in Canton, Cardiff, but for the fact that there were three of them together. Someone needs to get their signs sorted. Sorry the missing letters don’t make them humorous…

Canton Discounts

Square Foot estate agents

Custom Cutz hair stylists

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Snapshots of the day: One for Ukraine

I saw this in someone’s hedge today – a mass of blue lights with a bunch of yellow daffodils – the colours of the flag of Ukraine, to show solidarity in these terrible times…

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Introducing Snapshots of the Day

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) in my Cardiff garden today – slightly out of focus but at last I caught it on camera…

I had considered posting an image every day in 2022 but that’s never going to happen. So I have decided on an occasional item as often as I can manage it. I have missed my chance over the last couple of hectic weeks so before I start this project properly, here is a catch-up of pictures I would have published one-by-one, had I not been too busy…

January 6, 2022: A red dawn today before a cold rain began

January 5, 2022: Frosted moss on the roof

New Year’s Eve, 2021: A festive snowman decoration

Boxing Day, 2021: Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) in the garden

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2021 Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt – September

Something That Makes You Laugh or Happy: This tiny teddy bear among the ivy on top of a wall beside the street amused me for weeks, although it has disappeared now – I hope it has found its owner or gone to a good home

At last I think I have cracked this year’s Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt hosted by Mary-Lou at Patio Postcards. I skipped August as I had so little to report but here, belatedly, is my final round-up to complete the list of challenges…

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2021 Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt – July

Something from the 2000s: A Cylon Centurion model from my Battlestar Galactica boxed set

It’s the second month for the Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt hosted by Mary-Lou at Patio Postcards – the next link-up will be on August 9.

I am still struggling to find many of these scavenger subjects but here are my latest efforts…

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2021 Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt – June

A local landmark #1: The Conway Road Methodist Church, built in 1871

Once again I am signing up for the Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt hosted by Mary-Lou at Patio Postcards – the first monthly link-up is here.

I am still working from home and have no need to travel more than a mile or two, so my scope is again rather limited. I am also lacking in imagination at the moment so have not made a particularly good start to the hunt in June, but here are my offerings…

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Winter Photography Scavenger Hunt – March

Round and round: Attractive ivy berries in a garden beside the street

As spring arrives we come to the end of the Winter Photography Scavenger Hunt hosted by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days – details here. I hope I have now found something for every category, although I am limited by not leaving the house much, what with the Covid pandemic and working from home. But here goes with my last offerings.

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