Strangled hawthorn and small beasties

The weight of the ivy on this hawthorn tree has snapped its trunk

But it lives on, weighed down

Strangled even, by an ivy trunk as thick as its own

even unto flowering

well... nearly. Tomorrow maybe

Elsewhere on the boggy brae Pyramidal Bugle is standing proud and attracting

mating micro-moths.

I love the gold and the ruby shoulders of these tinies

and the yellow pollen 'eyes' of the flower itself

There's nothing like looking closely for making one appreciate natural beauty.

I was sitting on the companionway steps to take these bugle pictures and when I got up I very nearly trod on a minute frog, less than an inch long. Fortunately it jumped away in time and hid between stones of the dry stone holding wall

Another flower (London Pride) and another tiny beastie