Category Archives: Flora/Fauna

Feb 15 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Golden fungus farm

Friday 14th February 2025, 2.10pm (day 4,922)

Golden fungus, 14/2/25

The afternoon greatly benefited from the appearance of something that has not been seen in at least a week, namely the sun. Once it came out the idea of working through until 5pm was rapidly abandoned and I went out on a walk. I know fungi don’t need the sun directly, but this little clump shone in an agreeably golden fashion as a result of it. I like the little one on its own at the top — is it making a break for independence, or being shunned by its fellow gang members?

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Feb 13 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Cooking with truffles

Wednesday 12th February 2025, 5.50pm (day 4,920)

Truffles, 12/2/25

Truffles have a marvellous flavour and I like cooking with them. But they’re also expensive, of course, so only tend to appear in the kitchen at certain points in the year — like, not long after Christmas, when the pot pictured here was one of my gifts. The grand opening has just taken place. Expect several truffle-flavoured meals in the next few days.

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Feb 09 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Bird and stonework

Sunday 9th February 2025, 11:05am (day 4,917)

C said she liked both the bird (‘magnificent’, she put it) and the stonework. I, myself, can see no other reasons to like the shot. So these things will do as a title.

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Feb 05 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Pigeon patrol

Wednesday 5th February 2025, 9.25am (day 4,913)

Pigeon patrol, 5/2/25

My first Hebden Bridge picture in one whole month. It doesn’t seem like the pigeons have changed their behaviour much since I’ve been away: still the group callisthenics, tight circles around a carefully-chosen patch of town. They look impressive enough in black-and-white. Except for the one who’s broken formation, to the lower left.

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Jan 27 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Cobweb and fingers

Monday 27th January 2025, 6.05pm (day 4,904)

Cobweb and fingers, 27/1/25

Yep, still here. And for another 48 hours, at least. This shot pleases me, though. The third one in a row to depict a creature in some kind of repose, but that is how I feel right now.

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Jan 26 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Stoicism

Sunday 26th January 2025, 2.20pm (day 4,903)

Stoic bull, 26/1/25

There are worse places to be stuck, that is true. And I’ve not been turfed out of my accommodation, I’m not running out of money, and so on. But this has now become my life’s longest-ever flight delay, or indeed travel delay of any kind, and I may not even be halfway through it yet. I am trying to develop a stoic outlook on life — as this guy appears to have done.

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Jan 26 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

You’re still here, then?

Saturday 25th January 2025, 4.55pm (day 4,902)

Lucky again, 25/1/25

Oh yes, Lucky, I am still here. It seems I will be here for at least a little while longer yet. You don’t have to look at me with such disdain, though. I know you don’t like me, and I have tried.

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Jan 23 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Elephant head plant

Wednesday 22nd January 2025, 1.50pm (day 4,899)

Elephant heads, 22/1/25

I have no idea about the actual identity of this species — and I think these are buds rather than the mature plant — but tell me you don’t think the name is appropriate. Look at the one third from the right on the stalk, it even has an eye in the right place.

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Jan 21 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Invasive species: two for the price of one

Tuesday 21st January 2025, 2.30pm (day 4,898)

Flax and chicken, 21/1/25

St Helena has been subjected to many invasive species since humanity first arrived here five centuries ago, some deliberately planted or otherwise introduced, some accidentally so. In the background, New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax), which a while back someone decided would be a good cash crop, it being the basis of things like rope and mailbags. The cash for it stopped flowing fifty years ago, but that doesn’t mean it all decided to stop growing. In the foreground, well, you know what bird that is (Gallus gallus domesticus, according to the biologists): much the same thing happened, but as a chicken is for life and not just for Sunday dinner, when there stopped being much economic point in people looking after them, out into the environment they went. There are now large numbers of feral chickens on the island.

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Jan 18 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

(Very) Red fody

Friday 17th January 2025, 4.25pm (day 4,894)

Red fody, 17/1/25

Another bird, yes, but I’ve been trying to get a decent shot of a red fody, a.k.a. common fody (Foudia madagascariensis) since my first visit here. He — and this is definitely a male — really is that red: I’ve not tweaked the colour settings at all on this one. As the species’ Latin name suggests, they are originally from Madagascar, but have made it over to the other side of Africa by one means or another down the centuries.

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