Picture(s) of the day....

[Gibbo2286]

You like roses Steve?

[bobins]

Feeding time this morning... actually the second of three feeds as they're greedy
Bryant (the dad) at the back and 6 cygnets - of which 2 I think are cobs and 4 pens. Mum, called May, is just out of shot to the left.

Bryant and the cygnets - own work

[mickthemaverick]

You like roses Steve?

I never used to,but they grow on you!

[mickthemaverick]

Shouldn't that be entitled Bryant and the Matches?

[bobins]

Shouldn't that be entitled Bryant and the Matches?

I was going to call Mum and Dad - Swan and Vesta..... but I thought that's a bit obvious

[NewcastleFalcon]

Surprisingly this is a decent shot of a butterfly, with plenty of ID clues

So can anyone Identify it?

What butterfly is this then?

REgards neil

[Hell Razor5543]

Wild Brown Spotted Butterfly?

[bobins]

My guess would be an Aphantopus hyperantus - or a Ringlet to you and me

[NewcastleFalcon]

My guess would be an Aphantopus hyperantus - or a Ringlet to you and me

I think that's it Bobins, and the habitat was perfect in accordance with this from wiki "There is a strong degree of attachment to woodland edges and blackberry bushes."

Now there were a lot of these flitting around, more in a heathland setting, i suspect its a moth but a colourful little thing....any ideas?

whatsthismoth?

Regards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

I have an invading plant in my dahlia trough (ignore the plastic decoration at the back) and it is definitely limiting the progress of the dahlias! Anyone know what it is?

Own work

[NewcastleFalcon]

I popped your pic into identify.plantnet and first out was this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura_stramonium

Regards Neil

[bobins]

I have an invading plant in my dahlia trough (ignore the plastic decoration at the back) and it is definitely limiting the progress of the dahlias! Anyone know what it is?

Almost certainly a Datura, probably a Datura Stramonium. It can be used as a hallucinogen but can be toxic.... so you need to do your own research before you go any further It's actually not that bad a plant though, but can be a bit invasive. It belongs to the family Solanaceae, which also contains spuds, tomatoes, chillies, and various other common plants - so don't dig it up too hastily

Edit: I see Neil beat me to it.

[mickthemaverick]

Thanks for that chaps, I found this paragraph about it:

All parts of Datura plants contain dangerous levels of the tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine, which are classified as deliriants, or anticholinergics.[2][7] The risk of fatal overdose is high among uninformed users, and many hospitalizations occur among recreational users who ingest the plant for its psychoactive effects.[7][19][25] Deliberate or inadvertent poisoning resulting from smoking jimsonweed and other related species has been reported

and decided to remove it lock stock and half the compost in my trough. It is now in the brown bin where I feel it belongs! Hopefully the dahlias will get going again!!

[bobins]

Victorian ladies used to make sure they grew Daturas. A quote from the Duchess of Northumberland sums it up quite well.....

"Datura is an incredible poison, but an amazing aphrodisiac, too, and you see it everywhere. In Argentina, even nowadays, some people put a bell of datura like this one (pictured) on a baby’s pillow at night, then take it away after five minutes and the baby has gone to sleep. If it were left all night the baby would be dead in the morning. Victorian ladies used to sit around a table with a datura plant in the middle and play cards or have tea. They’d pop their cup under a bell, tap it, and pollen would fall into the cup. They would experience similar effects to that of LSD."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/7 ... arden.html

[NewcastleFalcon]

Plenty of this stuff around the riverbanks and streams/ponds. I always thought it was Wild Celery, but it turns out its

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_dropwort

It has been referred to as the most poisonous of all British plants, and is considered particularly dangerous because of its similarity to several edible plants.

water dropwort flowers

water dropwort stem and leaves

Regards Neil