Ireland

I'm back and have had quite a wildlife week: but the indoors type. First there was the Brecknock Wildlife trust AGM with excellent presentations from all staff and then on Friday a full day discussing the next five years at the Trust's strategic planning meeting. Next year will be the BWT's 50th year so there will be many special event but put a note in your diary now for the 50th AGM next November - it really is well worth coming to hear what they have been up to and meet the staff and other members. The planning meeting was ably led by Phil Sutton, BWT CEO, and there was no option to sit at the back and not take part - excellent!

 As for botany here is a picture of Luma apicilata (Chilean Myrtle) which is well established between Bantry and Glengarriff on the roadsides:

- it probably came from the Ardnagashel estate nearby which has mature trees with this lovely bark:

I also photographed Purple Moor Grass for the first time for me in the wild - I thought it was looking quite nice ! (And there is a LOT of it in south-west Cork...)

But that was it for outdoor botany (apart from noting a few interesting plants I could identify in November). Some of these were beside this lovely lake:

I was walking on an old road way above the current coast road from Bantry to Glengarriff. There were splendid views including this of Sugarloaf on Beara, which my wife and I climbed a long time ago (when family and locals thought it a mad thing to do).

Another view this time from the Kerry side of the Caha range - I just liked the colours and for once the photograph just about worked.