May Bank Holiday - the first of the season' potatoes

The first handful of potatoes - Premiere, living up to their name.
The potatoes are doing their best in spite of a lack of rain. Enough for a meal for us - another week and there will some to sell. So far Vales Emerald and Premier are the clear winners, with Premier a good even size. Best for flavour though were the Red Duke of York babies, snatched from the plants and hardly big enough for a mouthful.

Bank Holiday butterflies - we walked through Painted Lady butterflies in the garden and farm. Usually we see a few, and later in the summer. Must ask the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeological Society for comments on this! http://www.iwnhas.org/

Caterpillars, moths and butterflies

Actually, one butterfly - an orange tip, on the charlock in the vegetable garden, - and the caterpillars of 2 moths, the hairy one wandering in the greenhouse, the other sliding down the side of the plastic trug.
May is the month when some caterpillars emerge from hibernation, ready to eat their way to a suitable size for pupating. As neither has had time to hatch from eggs and grow to this size, both have presumably overwintered. A short spell with the Oxford Book of Insects should mean we can guess which moths they will turn into, assuming the voracious blackbird and blue tits in the garden, haven't already eaten them.

May Day Bank holiday weekend in Yarmouth

Low tide , Yarmouth Green, with the new Wightlink ferry heading for Lymington.
One of Wightlink's new ferries at Yarmouth. The red roof is Yarmouth Castle - surely the only one of Henry VIII's castles against which ferries moor.
Perfect weather for the weekend - and Wightlink's new ferries brought all our visitors on time.



Yarmouth harbour in the weekend sun - the water busier than the roads whilst the bridge is shut for repairs. Could we book this sort of weather for every spring holiday?

Lapwings and predators

There are lapwings in this shot, and in this field too! (Camera with better lens required)
We have 3 pairs of lapwings which return to nest each year in the same fields. This year they are back, and as usual, being harried by sea gulls. Two years ago Steve found a nest and when we went back for a second look, the eggs were just hatching - an amazing privilege to watch.
Exposed as they are on a crop of spring cereal, it's extraordinary that any survive. We see the parents engaged in aerial acrobatics to draw predators away from the nest. Can this be enough to ensure chicks survive?

Fortunately, the fields are away from footpaths but sadly, dog walkers rarely see any need to keep their dogs on leads. Our heifers have suffered from being chased and worried by dogs, resulting in premature labour and lost calves - and they would appear to be better equipped to deal with dogs.

There is an abundance of raptors too. It was great when the first buzzards arrived, but now, with 3 or 4 pairs regularly patrolling the farm, we cant help feeling that some links in the food chain must have altered. The sparrowhawks and kestrels, wonderful to watch and so much more elegant than the buzzards, are presumably keeping the small bird population well in hand, beak and claw. Did the small bird population increase when the small hawks declined after DDT affected their eggs?

Early potatoes

April ended with a couple of heavy showers of rain, enough to soak into the ground and do some good. The potatoes responded, and several varieties of earlies are through.

'Red Duke of York' - a family favourite for its flavour and versatility - showing its red leaves.
'Arran Pilot' showing strongly in rows.