Full Circle

Wild West Yorkshire nature diary
Thursday 26th August 1999

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small copper drone fly A SMALL COPPER, a butterfly no larger than one of my finger nails, feeds on the fading Dog Daisies. The cooler spell has ended in warm, muggy weather; Hoverflies and Drone Flies are again busy around the Marigolds. A Large Aeshna flies along its usual beat over the garden, but we also see a slightly smaller, clear-winged dragonfly, which has some blue on it.

fairy ring champignons on lawn Fairy Ring Champignons grow on a lawn at the end of the road. The fungus breaks down organic matter in the soil, releasing nitrogen. As it spreads in an ever expanding circle, it at first produces a ring where the grass is thinner and the soil shows through. Then, as it continues to spread onwards and outwards, it leaves the soil behind it enriched with nitrogen, so that the ring of bare soil is followed by a flush of taller, deeper green grass.

Even when the mushrooms themselves aren't visible the ring of darker green grass marks the progress of the fungi's mycelium through the soil. I once saw lots of these grassy circles in a park in Cambridge and at first assumed that they were the remains of circles marked out for some sport such as shot putting or rounders.

bed for a millenium tree Constructed at one end of this lawn is a neat circle of stone. During its construction we've guessed that our neighbour might be building a summer house, a garden pool or a raised bed. Now he has added a stone with the inscription 'MILLENIUM TREE'.

crow A pair of Crows flap at cruising speed over the river and canal, as if on the look out for next opportunity.

A bright Full Moon rises into a clear, dark starry sky. It has orbited to the opposite side of the Earth since we saw it pass in front of the Sun two weeks ago yesterday.

Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator

E-mail; 'richard@daelnet.co.uk'
  
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