Sunshine on Sycamore

At last! A day when thermals could be cast aside. Sunny AND with warm air. I was tempted to cut the bottoms of my work trousers off and create shorts.

The day went well with one of my superb volunteers swopping the SD cards on the red squirrel camera traps and walking the WOW trail. Then I decided I'd had enough of indoors, struggling to get my lap-top to co-operate, and so we went together to set up another monitoring site and check out Hallgarth ponds. They were still full of water with a good flow going down the waterfall, unlike many other watercourses. Cumbria is back on Amber fire alert today. 
 It was very peaceful with a couple of mallard splashing clouds of glittering water diamonds, a few minnows darting away from our shadows and a swarm of whirligig beetles turning silver and black in turn as they gyrated near the weedy bit. 

So many leaves and flowers are coming out, and in such colours it is difficult not to flit, like the butterflies, and try to visit them all. This cockade  of sycamore leaves looked as if it could not contain its exuberance in being alive. It's a fitting photo for today too as it is the first day of the Sycamore Gap tree felling trial. 
Daniel Graham 39 and Adam Curruthers 32 (sadly, of Cumbria) are charged with causing £622,921 worth of criminal damage to the ancient and iconic tree and an additional £1,144  to the Roman Wall. 

At home I watered the bedding plants, and prepared some pots to put geranium cuttings in. The compost bag had been lying half empty on its side in the shade of the wall and I scooped out the damp brown soil with my hands, breaking up the lumps. One such soft lump turned out to be a toad, golden-eyed and swelled up with fear and outrage. Its beautifully cool day quarters were ruined. I put it in a large plant pot with a bit of compost which it promptly buried itself in. I hadn't the heart to pull it out again to photograph. I'd like to think it would continue to live in my garden and eat slugs and snails but I'm afraid it will have been too frightened and move on tonight.