Nature on your farm.

Birdnuts · 05-10-2019 8:55pm

ganmo wrote: »

Ye lucky sods ours only produce during the summer. Now they get no TLC and were planted well before I was born so they have nothing working for them

Pruning out old growth is very important to re vitalise these bushes every year I've found

Buford T. Justice XIX · 06-10-2019 7:33pm

Good thread on dung beetles
https://twitter.com/SmallholdersUK/status/1180563957259624453?s=19

Say my name · 06-10-2019 8:32pm

Here's another excellent thread on Dung beetles.

https://twitter.com/ZwartblesIE/status/1166326145727565824?s=20

ganmo · 06-10-2019 9:14pm

Stumbled onto this lad earlier

Birdnuts · 06-10-2019 9:25pm

ganmo wrote: »

Stumbled onto this lad earlier

Looks like a Small Tortoiseshell caterpillar

Buford T. Justice XIX · 06-10-2019 9:43pm

A bit more Honeysuckle.

And is this the fruit from the Honeysuckle?

Base price · 06-10-2019 10:01pm

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

A bit more Honeysuckle.

And is this the fruit from the Honeysuckle?

Yes, but don't eat them they are poisonous.

ganmo · 06-10-2019 10:13pm

Birdnuts wrote: »

Looks like a Small Tortoiseshell caterpillar

http://www.irishmoths.net/pages-moth/m-1638.html
I think it's closer to this one

Lady Haywire · 06-10-2019 11:00pm

ganmo wrote: »

Stumbled onto this lad earlier

Some poor chap lost his moustache

MickeyShtyles · 07-10-2019 12:50am

Came home from a wedding on Tuesday to find this chap had moved in. Garden was and still is fairly waterlogged.
It’s only the second one I’ve seen here at home on the right side if the Dublin Meath border.

forgottenhills · 07-10-2019 3:44pm

Birdnuts wrote: »

Pruning out old growth is very important to re vitalise these bushes every year I've found

Yes I cut back my raspberries to 6 inches or so off the ground every year around this time or later and every Spring and Summer they grow back stronger and more productive than ever. Well they are related to briars after all and we all know how hardy those feckers are. A bit of compost and some watering during the dryest part of the summer doesn't seem to do them any harm. Although I think I will stop feeding and watering my blackcurrants as they grew a big crop of sour berries this year.

Buford T. Justice XIX · 07-10-2019 7:56pm

The BRIDE project are doing some interesting work in conservation in Cork.
https://www.thebrideproject.ie/bride-project-newsletter-september-2019

Capercaillie · 07-10-2019 8:50pm

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

The BRIDE project are doing some interesting work in conservation in Cork.
https://www.thebrideproject.ie/bride-project-newsletter-september-2019

Great project, needs to be rolled out nationwide to farmers who have the interest!

visatorro · 09-10-2019 9:21pm

Seen three frog's today. I don't ever remember seeing frogs before. Big lumps of yokes too.

SmartinMartin · 16-10-2019 1:53am

The lane is full on right now. Just finished the blackberries, and the hazelnuts, sloe and Rose hips are mental this year, as are the hawthorn and Holly. Amazing, there wasn't a red Berry last season.

blue5000 · 16-10-2019 8:00pm

I saw two tortiseshell butterflies today, don't think I've ever seen them this late in the year before.

Capercaillie · 16-10-2019 9:12pm

https://youtu.be/oyOwqQTkbXQ
0.3 acre nettle/hogweed early cover patch for corncrake

Lime Tree Farm · 29-10-2019 12:04am

Gold Crest.jpg
Gold Crest Zoom.jpg
Gold Crest Zoom1.jpg

A group of Gold Crests came twittering onto this hedge as I was on chatting on the phone. I managed to, as quietly as I could, get some photos. Most were out of focus as I hadn't time to check the settings.

Absolutely tiny and very colourful, this is a female, the males have a red crest. Zoom in on the first pic to note the bird's size in comparison to the nearby ivy leaves.

https://birdwatchireland.ie/birds/goldcrest/

Lime Tree Farm · 29-10-2019 12:18am

Honey fungus.jpg

I thought these were absolutely beautiful when I came across them; I discovered that they were deadly honey fungus, which dissolved into a pungent ugly mess within days.

uck51js9zml2yt · 29-10-2019 12:52am

Wife saw a stoat last week on our road. Also had a pheasant in the garden

Lime Tree Farm · 29-10-2019 2:06am

american mink.jpg

This is the nearest likeness to an animal I observed near a dry stone wall, except I didn't see any white under his chin. It was about the size of a small cat.

I watched it as it ran along the base of the wall, oblivious to my presence. It then darted in between the stones to pounce on some unfortunate creature it was tracking, who squealed a while, then deathly silence.

Base price · 29-10-2019 10:01am

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

american mink.jpg

This is the nearest likeness to an animal I observed near a dry stone wall, except I didn't see any white under his chin. It was about the size of a small cat.

I watched it as it ran along the base of the wall, oblivious to my presence. It then darted in between the stones to pounce on some unfortunate creature it was tracking, who squealed a while, then deathly silence.

I have seen them around here over the years and some don't have white under their chin/throat, their coats are glossy/shiny.

SmartinMartin · 29-10-2019 11:58am

Anyone know what plant this is? It's new here. Beautiful, but probably lethal.

Lime Tree Farm · 29-10-2019 4:47pm

SmartinMartin wrote: »

Anyone know what plant this is? It's new here. Beautiful, but probably lethal.

Could it be a guelder rose ? Some references say that the berries cannot be eaten raw but safe when cooked !!

Compare your leaves with the leaves on the attached link -

https://www.alamy.com/guelder-rose-viburnum-opulus-with-berries-in-late-summer-schleswig-holstein-germany-image279973824.html

SmartinMartin · 29-10-2019 6:40pm

That's it LTF, thanks.

Lime Tree Farm · 29-10-2019 8:00pm

Guelder Rose - with very distinctive and very pretty flowers - found growing in the wild around Lough Bunny, north Co Clare - this website is requesting sightings.

http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/plant_detail.php?id_flower=398&wildflower=Guelder-rose

Thargor · 29-10-2019 9:50pm

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

Honey fungus.jpg

I thought these were absolutely beautiful when I came across them; I discovered that they were deadly honey fungus, which dissolved into a pungent ugly mess within days.

Seeing them everywhere this year, all the dead wood and a lot of live trees on Bray Head covered in the stuff.

Buford T. Justice XIX · 31-10-2019 10:58pm

I came across this little guy today and have no idea what he is, only that he appears to be from Kilkenny.

aphextwit · 31-10-2019 11:36pm

In an oak woodpile

Lime Tree Farm · 01-11-2019 8:49am

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

I came across this little guy today and have no idea what he is, only that he appears to be from Kilkenny.

Could it be a dethroned Wasp Queen - which is larger than a normal sized wasp.

Wasp Anatomy.jpg

Nature on your farm.

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