My walk this week takes a further look at wildflowers, this time they are around the lake at The Waterside. I admit I do not know either the common names or the Latin of most of the flowers, but that does not spoil my enjoyment of them one tiny little bit.
Their beauty and the ecology associated with them is something I appreciate without knowing the details. I suspect the house martins speed-flying low across the surface of the lake, darting left, right, up and down to catch insects in every direction, instinctively know the importance of the interconnections between water and wildflowers and everything else in this Welsh valley.
It is enough for me to enjoy their colours and patterns, textures and forms but I wouldn’t mind knowing more of their names in one form or another.
The Waterside Summer Soundscape
The sounds of this peaceful haven in the hills also play an important part in the ecology of the valley or perhaps it is the lack of human or mechanical intervention that allows the birds and insects to fly with such apparent abandon, going about their daily business of survival and soaking up the benefits of a warm Summer day.
The Silent Valley in the Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland, was given its name after the intervention of man’s machinery and explosives. Used to create the dam and reservoir there, they frightened off all the birds (or so it is said) and although the wildlife may now have returned, it is a good reminder that the aural environment is as interconnected to the ecology of a location as every other aspect from the smallest but to the largest tree.
So click the play button above for a listen and then the first image below to see the full images in sequence (not available like this on the mobile WordPress Reader in which case click the Visit button via the … menu or open in your mobile’s internet browser).
