Knapweed

It was such a nice day that, after the shopping, we went to the Bush estate for a walk and to catch me a blip. We aimed to park in the dog walkers' carpark.

The sight of the entire grass area opposite covered with travellers' vehicles came as a shock; I do know that other areas of the estate are targeted for their temporary camps but this is right in front of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the main campus, among several important research establishments. Noting as we drove by that, besides the vans, lorries and trailers, there were two horse boxes and two horses, which put me in mind of those seen recently in Staffordshire. To keep out of their way we drove further and parked nearer the southern part of the estate.

The walk was along a mown path in the meadow area, popular with dog walkers and full of attractive grasses with hogweed and wild angelica and a large stand of knapweed. The bonus was wild raspberries on a midden area but the fruit too small to consider picking in bulk.

My blip for Flower Friday is of a knapweed head (Centaurea nigra), with the addition of the obligatory insect, which just happens to be a Ringlet butterfly (Aphantopus hyperantus), one of two that obliged by remaining in position for the phone to detect.