Hidden treasure

The second day of our eyebright hunt, and Pete and I set off early to a site in Stamford where they'd been recorded in the past. But this little Wildlife Trust nature reserve was a bit of a disappointment, with rather rank grassland which had all been mown, destroying all the important nectar sources.

I was just about to give up, when Pete suggested having a look at the centre of a nearby roundabout adjacent to the A1. As we walked down the road leading to it, there were more and more limestone grassland species in the verge, so I began to be a bot more optimistic. The roundabout was surrounded by a bank full of tall weeds, but once we climbed over this we were presented with a large area of species-rich grassland full of flowering marjoram, wild basil and eyebrights! And it was all being maintained for free by a large population of rabbits :) 

In the afternoon we went over to see Pete's Mum, who was on good form. We were a bit late leaving as we nearly forgot to put our dinner in the oven - pulled firecracker brisket - which needed to be cooked slowly for five hours. Luckily Chris, Lizzy and I prepared it super-fast!