Sunday and still breezy but fine so there are lots of people heading for Dell Quay, leaving early is preferred!

At the start of Salterns Way the blackberry bushes there are developing well with a few berries now
turning black. Naturally they’re not sweet yet but soon will be, looks like a good year for them so a return visit in a week or two will be called for.

In various places around the harbour the invasive Horsetail (sometimes incorrectly called mares tail) has got established and at this time of the year is making its presence known. Gardeners hate it as its rhizomes go down up to two metres making it difficult to eradicate. It’s not too bad here but has formed dense patches in other parts of the harbour.

Plenty of butterflies around today, nothing special, just plenty of Large Whites and Meadow Browns. Some of the Whites were kind enough to sit still so we could appreciate their black wing tips. The browns were in constant motion; I’m confident one or two of them were a different species but it was difficult to be sure. Some were definitely lighter so maybe there were a few Gatekeepers about; also know as Hedge Browns that mix with Meadow Browns.

On the margins of a field we saw this rather colourful blue flower that’s apparently from America and Mexico. It’s a Phacelia and is particularly attractive to butterflies; perhaps it had been included in a mix for some cover crop.  It’s not in my flower books so I can only assume its a more recent import.