Day 21 - Solstice Gloaming

It was a joy to be out in the cooler air of the evening tonight around Barrington in Somerset for an evening stroll and enjoy the twilight song of the Blackbird and Song Thrush. Even Red Admirals were still flying around 8 pm! The longest day of the year and I still haven't achieved my aim of walking through the night on this night - maybe next year! At any rate the soft evening light was delightful.

Day 16 - Large Blue at Collard Hill

What a wonderful day to spend on day 16 of 30 Days Wild! This was my fourth year of going to see these creatures which have an incredible success story. Once extinct in Britain, they are now thriving in several British locations, the most accessible being on the National Trust's property at Collard Hill near Street in Somerset. this year we had by far the best views we've yet had of these butterflies and I wish I'd worn blue in their honour!

Day 11 - Green Scythe Fair, Muchelney

I think this was the 13th annual Green Scythe Fair, but the MC's PA system worked only every second word so I may have got that wrong. Anyway, what a way to celebrate Day 11 of 30 Days Wild. There was certainly lots of wildness about today. We did the environmentally friendly thing and walked to the Fair, at least we walked from Kingsbury Episcopi a couple of miles away from the fair ground. This way we got some exercise and saved £5!

The walk takes you along the River Parrett where we saw Kingfisher, Small Tortoiseshell and Banded Demoiselle as well as lots of water lilies and the delightfully named Thorney Silent Mill.

The fair was apparently busier than ever with lots of colours, sounds, stalls, cakes, ciders and, of course, scythes! Close up you can hear that wonderful swooshing noise the scythes make, but from our distance with the general hubbub of the crowd, that sound was lost. It was wonderful to see children playing in the cut grass and building a hay lady and then the fun of building a haystack and deciding which was the most stable (yes, this is a genuine competition). We watched all sorts of traditional crafts - bodgering, leather making, music making, withy weaving, forging, sawyering, apple juice making, tool sharpening . . .

The scything competition was great fun. We watched from a distance and admired the almost dance-like movements of the scythers as they moved gracefully with the grass.

A wonderful day out celebrating crafts and trades which embrace wildness.

Banded Demoiselle, River Parrett

Creating electricity by pedalling - I made bubbles!