... at home in Cheshire. It is not nearly so tempting to get outdoors here as it is in Cumbria (or Westmorland, as I still think of it, as it was before the county re-organisation. Such a shame to lose that lovely old name).
Still, it's fine and dry, and a gentle 3 mile run was pleasant enough, taking in a nearby disused railway line and paths through a former landfill site. There are some benefits in these post-industrial landscapes, including the haven they offer to wildlife; the purple teasel flowers are almost over now but have been a boon for bees and other insects. Even the nettles are a feast for butterflies and last year's grazing sheep seem to have reduced the thistles to manageable levels so that other plant species can thrive too.
However my usual warm words about butterflies have come back to bite me. My kale seedlings are like doilies, those retro paper things often seen in olde worlde cafes. The culprits turn out to be the tiny green caterpillars of, I assume, those lovely Cabbage White butterflies. Dilemma: to squash (and preserve the kale as rabbit food) or not to squash (and leave the kale to feed next year's Cabbage Whites)?
I haven't decided yet...
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