You have to laugh....

So, here I am, looking for moth related things - as you do - and I come across these photographs of dead flies by Martin Muhr. Not just any old dead flies mind you. I laughed so much. I defy you not to do the same.

Long day. Short walk.

You can't go very far in Wales without bumping into a castle or two. We have three within a twenty mile radius of us, the closest being at Carew, about 10 minutes drive away. It is a place we often go to for a short walk and it is lovely at any time of the day or any time of the year.

Yesterday's beautiful weather made us decide to get down there after dinner for a stroll around the castle and its tidal mill,the only restored one in Wales. The tide was out in the main part of the millpond and it was a wonderful evening. The air was still and warm and there was not a single soul there to share it with. It is a very special feeling when you know you have a place all to yourselves isn't it?

The castle started as a Norman fortification and was altered by Sir John Perrot in the 16th century into part-Elizabethan mansion. He didn't finish the job though as he ended his days in the Tower of London. In its time it's been painted by many artists, even Turner in his heyday, and they should have been there last night to capture the millpond looking just like glass.

Along with the usual seagulls we saw a couple of herons but no sign of the Little Egret that's been there recently. We also saw the millpond's resident pair of swans. There are never any more than the one pair in evidence and they have been there for years. They are two males who build a nest every year and fill it with flotsam and jetsam which they seem to hope will hatch into a family. Apparently it is not unusual to find gay swans although I've never heard of it anywhere else.

The circular walk around the castle is only a mile. Last night we strolled around it. Sometimes I come down early in the morning and walk around it when the mist is rolling off the water. It is a lovely place, but like everywhere in Pembrokeshire, never crowded. We never tire of coming here and looking at the view. What a great summer we're having. Long may it continue.

Shadow Puppetry

Beautiful shadow puppetry from Stephen Munshin. So clever.

Nearly Midsummer

I don't often pick flowers, much preferring to see them in situ, but yesterday I couldn't resist all that froth from the alchemillas and astrantias. The colours just remind me that Midsummer is less than a week away. I'm not much of an arranger, having gone to the 'plonk them in a vase' school but they cheer up a corner of my kitchen no end. Lovely.

Moth trap

It's been a busy week enjoying the better weather and getting out in the garden. Last week I saw the great tits fledge from the nest box close to the house but I've not seen them around the garden which is a bit of a worry. What I have seen are plenty of baby blue tits and goldfinches as well as fledgeling robins and a juvenile song thrush. The air is full of the rich and throaty calls of blackbirds going on well into the evening. These light nights mean I can be in bed about 10.15 (as I am an early riser) still in relative daylight and listening to the blackbirds singing outside the open window. The warmer weather also means more moths so we set out our trap last night. These are just a few of the species we saw when we opened it this morning. They are now under cover awaiting release tonight. I'm still trawling through my photos and notes to send our results to the County Recorder but the trap has one of my favourite moths in it. The photo above is of the Privet Hawk Moth which is about the size of a small bird. Having one on your hand getting ready to take off is a privilege. I love their colouring. Here are a few others from last night that might help show the diversity of these beautiful things.

The Peppered Moth

A Buff-Tip and a Scorched Wing

A White Ermine and a Flame Shoulder

The Bloodvein

The Shell House Hermitage

I don't know about your part of the world but down here in West Wales it is not uncommon for people who are born and bred here to stay pretty close to home. Our farming neighbour, Trevor, has never been to Tenby - only 5 miles away - because 'he's never seen the need to go'. Likewise, he's only seen the new (10 year old) Severn Crossing once. That was last year, when it also afforded him his first sighting of the 'old' Severn Bridge opened in the 1960's. It makes you realise that we don't explore the place we live in enough and last year I was completely surprised to find out about the Shell House at Cilwendeg, a place about 35 minutes from me. I resolved to go this year knowing it was only open on Thursdays during the summer months. Yesterday, all my 'jobs to do' finished earlier than expected so I decided to take off and find it.

The Shell House is at a place called Cilwendeg and you drive onto the park and leave your car for a short walk to a gateway which leads up to it. It is a magical walk through overhanging trees and dappled shade and the house can be seen ahead of you, tantalising you and making you want to walk faster but you will also want to walk slower, enjoy the atmosphere and take in the sheer peace of the place. When you get there you find this restored Shell House, the most beautiful ornamental grotto, full of Gothic detailing and rustic ornament.

The Shell House was built in the late 1820's for Morgan Jones the Younger as a tribute to an uncle but in addition to serving as a memorial it was also used by his family for cool amusement in the summer months and a contemplative reading room in the depths of winter. It was a wreck until restored about eight years ago by The Temple Trust, a charity that seeks to preserve historic garden buildings and monuments.

The Shell House is quite small and you can only just open the door and stand in a little gated porch. Photos were a bit hit and miss because of the light (my excuse) but the interior is so elaborately decorated with native seashells that it is hard to know what to look at first. There are also minerals and coloured glass fragments amongst the shellwork and the only exotic shells are the large Queen Conch shells which form a centrepiece in each of the wall panels.

There is something magical in the design of the Shell House and the restorers have helped bring a feeling of enchantment to the place by placing some ornately decorated owls in the house as Genus Loci.

I was not surprised to find myself the sole visitor on a glorious day and I was secretly glad of it. It was a rare place and the feeling of calm it induced was very, very special. I stayed about 45 minutes but as I walked away there were another couple of visitors walking up the path who stopped and told me about the local church, also open only on Thursdays, which was intrinsically linked to the Shell House. They were both born and bred locally they told me but had never been to Cilwendeg. I told them that was exactly what had brought me there too. Don't you just love coincidences like that?

I walked off and found the nearby Capel Colman Church, down the end of a dead end road, something you'd never know was there. It was lovely inside and again, recently resored. Morgan Jones the Younger's esteemed uncle was the first to restore what was originally a medieval chapel on the estate in 1721. The church was so remote and forgotten that , at that time, it had been singled out as being fit 'only for the solitary habitation of Owles and Jackdaws'. Morgan Jones then restored it again in the current style in 1833. Such fascinating history - and on my doorstep. There are places around us that we take for granted because of their proximity. I shall go back again to the Shell House and Capel Colman this summer but with a sketchbook instead of a camera and explore other local places too. You never know what wonderful surprises are within your reach.

Poppy Love

It's that wonderful time of year when the garden throws up surprises day after day. I spent the day in Cardiff with a friend yesterday and came home to these two beauties, apt as they are called 'Beauty of Livermere'.They were covered up in the morning and then out in their full blowsy glory by the time I took this photo last night. This morning there are four of them in bloom. Just like ruffled silk. I wonder what secrets the garden will share today?