Category Archives: Flora/Fauna

Dec 11 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Hard at work, in the wrong place

Wednesday 10th December 2025, 9.55am (day 5,221)

Spider at work, 10/12/25

This spider was not a big one, but its web was expansive enough, and as you can see, it’s still hard at work with the building. What marvellous creatures these are: there are many species which build some kind of dwelling, of course, but can’t manage it purely with goo extruded out from their bodies.

However, you can see that it’s working on the outside of a rather grubby window (the kitchen one, as it happens). By the evening, evidence (like, a bill on the doormat) then suggested our window cleaner had been round on one of his seasonal visits and all this was nowhere to be seen. I bet the spider was substantially pissed off, I know I would have been.

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Dec 09 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

The old millpond

Monday 8th December 2025, 1.50pm (day 5,219)

Old millpond, 8/12/25

Looking at the record allowed by the Nutclough Woods tag, my time in the woodland across the road has fluctuated down the years. While I know my tagging is not 100% reliable, it seems like I was not there (or, at least, not taking decent pictures) throughout the whole of 2024. On the other hand — during spring 2020 (you remember) I seem to have been there very frequently. I wonder why. I do think the old millpond up there has recovered some of its water level in the last few months, not necessarily to do with recent rainfall.

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Dec 04 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna, Urban scene

Pampas on campus

Wednesday 3rd December 2025, 11.10am (day 5,214)

Campus pampas, 3/12/25

Another well-lit shot of flora on campus, taken within a few yards of yesterday’s shot. At least the sun is shining at the moment and we have not yet quite hit the usual early December gloom. And look, people! There haven’t been many of them in the last three weeks… And no I don’t care about the asymmetry.

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Dec 03 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Firethorn berries

Tuesday 2nd December 2025, 12.30pm (day 5,213)

Firethorn berries, 2/12/25

I believe these clusters of bright and, definitely, orange berries are firethorn [genus Pyracantha] — doubtless someone will correct me if I am wrong. A whole slew of them have grown to cover the fence outside the Ellen Wilkinson Building, anyway. Valuable winter bird food, apparently.

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Nov 30 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Horses ponder existence

Saturday 29th November 2025, 1.15pm (day 5,210)

Stoic horses, 29/11/25

On a day of almost constant rain these two made a stoic but attractive couple. The one on the left is certainly thinking a) why he has been so carefully groomed, almost like an anatomical diagram and b) why, unlike his mate, he wasn’t deemed worthy of a coat.

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Nov 29 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Trixie

Friday 28th November 2025, 4.40pm (day 5,209)

Trixie by fire, 28/11/25

Mulling over the choices for today’s photo I said to Clare, “Is this one a bit too pathetic?”, and she replied, “maybe, but it sums her up quite well, it’s Trixie’s role to look neurotic and a bit pathetic”. This is true — except when a strange dog dares to approach her, then she turns very territorial. She hogs the fire, too. But of course we know all these things about her because she’s part of the pack.

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Nov 23 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Rose hip

Saturday 22nd November 2025, 2.35pm (day 5,203)

Rose hip, 22/11/25

There have been a couple of exceptions — namely 2018, when I was in Germany, and 2021 on St Helena (and in 2019 I was about to go to Indonesia but not quite yet on my way) — but the 22nd November is not usually a date on which much happens. I find this a depressing, enervating time of year to be honest. Everything’s in decline yet we are still weeks from the turnaround point at the solstice. This rose hip (and feel free to correct me if I’ve got the botany wrong) is still putting in an effort, I guess, but most of the rest of nature has kinda given up. I know how it feels.

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Nov 19 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Poison dart frog

Tuesday 18th November 2025, 3.05pm (day 5,199)

Poison dart frog, 18/11/25

This little feller is, at most, two inches long but what does he care? In the wild these kinds of frog accumulate enough poison in their skin to kill a dozen people. But apparently they acquire it by eating certain types of ant and other insects, and when fed a different diet in captivity, the toxicity is lost. Maybe he doesn’t know. If he did, would he care? (Taken in the Manchester Museum’s vivarium, where saw some of his cousins before, in 2014.)

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Nov 12 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna, Transport

Between platforms

Tuesday 11th November 2025, 12.15pm (day 5,192)

Platforms 4 and 5 of Manchester Victoria station, to be precise (making this, incidentally, the 900th shot taken in Manchester). The sign is meaningless in context, but the pigeon seems to be wilfully defying it anyway. On the left (4), the 12:15 to Redcar Central and on the right, the 12:15 to Blackburn, both punctual. But was I on my way into work late, or coming home early?

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Oct 29 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Spotted near town

Wednesday 29th October 2025, 1.40pm (day 5,179)

Hurst Road deer, 29/10/25

Yes guys — you’ve been spotted. Then again with those bright buttocks you might as well paint a target on your behinds: I have relatives who will get itchy trigger fingers just looking at this photo.

This is not the nearest to the centre of Hebden Bridge that I’ve ever seen deer — that award is still held by the one spotted at the railway station in April 2019 — but let’s say it’s the second-closest: 15 minutes’ walk from the market square, at most, and with houses just yards away.

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