Blogs, Harlequins and a Letter Box

 My Blogs

There is about to be a major revolution as regards my blogs. I have decided that some of them are to be discontinued.

 Firstly, Project 355 is well behind hand and I’m not sure I want to be bothered updating it while life is so busy. Yes, I’m on holiday but one can be busy enjoying oneself as well as busy busy. Then there is My Pensby Garden. I think I can fit any photos that would have gone there into Rambles from my Chair without boring folk too much. In fact, it would widen the scope of Rambles. The same applies to Salmagundi – my recipe blog. And I have hardly put any recipes on there for ages.

 I’m not going to close down any of the blogs and ones like CJE’s Wildlife will have additions made to the lists in the sidebar so I can quickly refer to what birds have nested in the garden or what Ladybirds I have seen.

 A Book Every Six Days is another that is well behind. I am going to keep it and add the occasional list of books I’ve read (with my rating) and an annual summary as well as quotations from some of the better books. But any that really press all my buttons I shall blog about on Rambles.

 My Exeter and Hebridean Blogs I am not so sure about. I think I shall reserve judgement but for the moment I’m not adding anything to the Exeter one, despite being here. Anything exciting will probably get a mention on Rambles instead. Again, the old blogs will still be there for reference for anyone who wants them.

Words, words, words (and phrases) has more followers than most and is probably one of my more useful blogs so I shall keep that but only update it as and when I find a new word rather than go hunting for things to put in there. That’s basically how I’ve been treating it the last year or so.

 It’s a couple of years since some of the others, like Memories are Made of This, were updated so if I find anything I want to mention I shall just put it on Rambles.

All of which is a rather long-winded way of saying ‘Watch this space’ but don’t expect any of the others to be posted regularly.


 Queens and Harlequins 

 Her Majesty the Queen was visiting Exeter on Wednesday so it seemed wisest to stay at ‘home’ again. A decision that was justified by both sunshine and another new species of insect for me – the Harlequin Ladybird which has invaded Southern England in recent years.

The Harlequin Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, a native of Asia, is a hugely invasive beetle species. It was introduced to mainland Europe as a form of aphid pest control and in 2004 it was seen in very large numbers and it migrated across the Channel / North Sea into Britain, avoiding passport control at both airports and ferry terminals The first Harlequin Ladybird seen in England was in North Essex on the 19th September 2004. The Harlequin Ladybird can grow up to 8-9mm long, larger than most other of the UK’s 46 ladybird species, apart from perhaps the Eyed Ladybird. Its colouration and patterning are highly variable.

These are some of the patterns seen at Frog End on Wednesday.

‘We have lift off’.

Making more Harlequin Ladybirds.

Not to be outdone some Seven Spot Ladybirds were also making more ladybirds.

And so were some of ther tiny Two Spot Ladybirds.


A Letter Box 

A holiday wouldn’t be a holiday without photographing a letter box. I have photographed this one before. It was the first one of this new style that I ever saw.

But this strange (incomprehensible) dial is a new feature to me.  Have the Royal Mail decided there are only eight hours in a day? 

On Thursday  the honeymooners left for The Maldives and I had a leisurely day.  Today I have been down into the city centre but that will be a story for another post...

(My apologies  to the Friday My Town Shoot-out team for missing this week.  I think that and Alphabet Wednesday will be postponed until my return to The Wirral.)