Diary summary week ending 13th July 2024

[louisa maud]

Morning  folks, have just put a message on last week's diary but thought I would open up this week's before ladt weeks  is locked.

Hope you all had a nice weekend,  much cooler, thank goodness

LM

[KGarrad]

Tynwald Day here - Manx National day and a public holiday

Tried our new Wetherspoons last week. 9 ciders available! I was very happy

[ThrelfallYorky]

Hope you are enjoying at least some of the ciders available, KGarrad, happy Manx Day. Yorkshire Day doesn't happen until August. I remember the first Yorkshire Day - I was greeted by a chap handing out white roses on Leeds station as I arrived!
No one does that for me now!
TY

[ThrelfallYorky]

KGarrad, watching BBC news coverage of the Manx celebrations yesterday, can you tell me what on earth were the rather feeble sprays of foliage that so many seemed to have embellishing their lapels?
Really couldn't decide what plant they were!
TY

[KGarrad]

KGarrad, watching BBC news coverage of the Manx celebrations yesterday, can you tell me what on earth were the rather feeble sprays of foliage that so many seemed to have embellishing their lapels?
Really couldn't decide what plant they were!
TY

They are wearing Cushag - the national flower.
Otherwise known as Common Ragwort!

ADDED:
The ragwort, under its Manx name Cushag, is the national flower of the Isle of Man According to one story King Orry chose as his emblem the cushag flower, as its twelve petals represent one of the isles of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles: the Isle of Man, Arran, Bute, Islay, Jura, Mull, Iona, Eigg, Rum, Skye, Raasay, and the Outer Hebrides. The ragwort, in fact, usually has thirteen petals.

When I played hockey, I played for a team called Cushags!

[Viktoria]

Sadly Ragwort is lethal for horses, consequently horse owners pull it up .
However it is the only  food  of the caterpillar of a lovely butterfly ,the black one with magenta spots and underwings .I think it is really a moth given the Vulcan shaped wings. Cinnabar moth?
We saw some plants with lots of the caterpillars on them ,next day the plants were almost all eaten so guess what ,the caterpillars became cannibals!
What a shame it has to be pulled up.
Viktoria.

[ThrelfallYorky]

Thanks for the identification, KGarrod. I spent ages staring at the rather feeble looking sprays, trying to work it out!
As usual, Viktoria, you come up with interesting and unexpected information. Thank you, also.
TY

[MollyC]

Ragwort is also poisonous to cattle.  My farming cousin checks his fields before cutting grass for hay or silage.  I always leave ragwort until the end of June, and look for the caterpillars which have tiger stripes, black and gold.  The remaining plants can be eased out with a garden fork, then I keep watch on the tiger plants and remove the flowers if they look like going to seed before the caterpillars vanish.  Only one plant with caterpillars this year.

You are correct about the cinnabar moth, Viktoria.  Cinnabar is mercury sulphide, an important ore which is said to be cochineal-red, the colour of the spots on the moth.

[Viktoria]

I have just identified asmallish white butterfly ,with black wing tips and a black spot on each big wing —- Ooooo! I thought a Cabbage white but my butterfly book showed it was a Small White ,it was gathering nectar from the tiny individual Verbena florettes,it or some like it have been coming all week .
Not seen any other butterflies at all yet this year.

A glorious afternoon, I shan’t feel like our usual fish and chips this teatime .

Prescriptions all correct so that is a relief ,almost always a problem or two!

Look after yourselves folks and thsnks for the family news etc.
Viktoria.