Starfish and sunshine

another glorious weekend on the South Devon coast-with thanks to dad & Joan

Frankie was enchanted by these rather endearing lambs on the next door farm which were having to be hand reared

Snakeslock anemone,beautifully vibrant

more anemones looking like globs of chocolate as they wait for the tide to come back in

in the 10 years that we have been visiting this part of the English coastline we have never come across starfish-so to fall upon these was a real find.The girls who were thrilled.

Ems even managed to pick one up..no mean feat when you are a complete princess about all things that might move,bend,squirm or wave an arm or two

a beautiful cliff top walk down to one of Devon's best kept secrets..

I still have a few more to add but they'll have to wait.

a sunny Sunday in spring

Dandelion clock

I have a headache from attempting to identify the woodland and meadow flowers that are now out in abundance- I have an overwhelming feeling of ignorance and frustration..

Marsh-marigold

for some reason these geese amused me no end  planted as they were in the middle of a field..

not a particularly good picture and I wish I'd got a telephoto lens to capture this nesting swan serenely tucked away on the bank of the lake

given the unseasonally dry weather these fungi were a real find on a tree stump.Of course I have absolutely no idea what they are.Frankie poked them with a stick to find they were gelatinous and almost like puffballs (although are not) . I will return in a couple of weeks to see what becomes of them. UPDATE 24/5/11-have just found out these are Enteridium lycoperdan or False puffballs and are in fact slime mould and not fungi at all (which would explain why there was no trace of them on revisiting the spot a couple of weeks later-mystery over!)

this specimen was on the side of an Ash tree and was the size and consistancy of a hard boiled egg..?

update on 24/5/11 -have just found out these are not fungi but slime mould Enteridium lycoperdon or false puff ball

Spring bursts forth

the sunshine of recent days seems to have encouraged new growth everywhere

even the common Dandelion has eager visitors-if you look closely you will see the tiny green insects within the petals

common Dog-violet

of course the Daisy-it's beauty is it's simplicity

Red Dead-nettle (I think)

as yet unfurled Periwinkle

the following are the buds from my last post-the leaves literally bursting out in the sunshine,fascinating close up to see the finer detail as the leaves unfurl 

the sticky buds of previously giving way of course to the Horse-chestnut leaves (thank you Joannie for your observation)

May blossom