This year June hasn't really gone as planned though. As you'll see from this first post, we had planned on taking Baker's annual camping trip and did get to spend one night away, however, he is ageing and wasn't enjoying it in the best way he usually can so we came home early.
Then later in the month, Baker got ill. He has been pretty poorly so my attention is all on him, we can't leave the house without him and I've not had the time to bother with editing photos or blogging.
That all being said, I obviously live a pretty 'wild' life to begin with so although this year might not include much variety I'll still be posting what I got up to. In the past few years, I've shared my 30 Days Wild in weekly increments but this post is the first 3rd of the month, so see below for days 1 - 10 of 2024.
A fourteen-spotted Ladybug found itself inside the house this morning!
I relocated them to the Fuchsia plant and took the opportunity to get a photo.
The Hebe is also in bloom and the Hoverflies are out and sunning themselves.
Day 2
When I went to pick my parents up and when out in their garden with Baker, I spotted House Martins flying overhead!
I spent some time watching them swooping in and out of the nests and feeding and couldn't believe I managed to get a photo actually in focus because they are so fast!
The Herring Gulls are nesting too, poor guys. I wish humans hadn't overtaken the world and ruined nesting grounds. They resort to nesting on houses and then face persecution when protecting their babies.
When I went to pick my parents up and when out in their garden with Baker, I spotted House Martins flying overhead!
I spent some time watching them swooping in and out of the nests and feeding and couldn't believe I managed to get a photo actually in focus because they are so fast!
The Herring Gulls are nesting too, poor guys. I wish humans hadn't overtaken the world and ruined nesting grounds. They resort to nesting on houses and then face persecution when protecting their babies.
Day 3
Heading off on our camping trip, we stopped by North Berwick to visit the Seabird Centre.
Unfortunately, it wasn't as expected and we left in search for our spot to sleep for the night.
We stopped in a beautiful spot for everyone to stretch their legs and get a snack before carrying on to the final destination.
It was beautiful and secluded which is exactly what we like - not another person or car in sight.
Baker and I had a paddle in the stream, we had our tea and headed to be.
There was a distinct lack of wildlife, but we did get to see a Buzzard and some Meadow Pipits.
Day 4
As the night hadn't gone as planned we decided to stop by Loch Ness before heading home instead of continuing our trip.
We went for a walk at Allt na Crìche expecting viewpoints of the Loch but were unsuccessful - the apparent theme of our holiday haha. Again there was barely a bird in sight either!
So we set up our cooking stuff on a picnic bench next to where we'd parked and had some breakfast. Then as a last attempt at getting a photo of Baker by the Loch, we popped into Fort Augustus where we found a nice quiet area to say Hi to Nessie before starting the long drive home.
Day 5
As we came home from holiday early and my parents were at our house to pet sit, we took the opportunity to have a day out together at Northumberland Zoo.
We've wanted to see the Livingstone's Fruit Bats for a long time and I was able to buy an adoption for them while we were there.
It was wonderful to see all the animals but I really loved getting to finally see a Scottish Wildcat in person too.
Day 6
Dropped Mam and Dad off and appreciated some of the pretty flowers in the garden.
Two snails have taken up residence on the bug hotel too!
Day 7
Daddy Sparrow brought his babies, who lined up ever so nicely, to our garden for lunch!
Day 8
I adore our wild lawn and all the creatures it and our gardens in general attract.
Day 9
Sat outside in the roaring winds to finish my book, which felt fitting with its title.
I had to get a photo of this cutie on the birdbath too. They'd been having a drink - it's so important to provide water for all wildlife in summer and I love seeing them use it.
Our Pokers have barely survived this season because of the weather :(
Day 10
Our Bee Orchid hunt was successful! They aren't super common this far North so I always appreciate seeing them.
It was cool to see this mixed-species couple of Geese with their baby too! They were very much acting like a family, but until we researched it, we had no idea that Greylag Geese sometimes 'hybridise' with Canada Geese. So cute!
There were plenty of other babies to be seen too, including Mallard, Squirrels, Wagtail and Robin, among many others not shown here.
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So that was the first 10 days of our wild June! I hope you have been able to get outside, do something wild and appreciate how fortunate we are to have the nature and wildlife we do. Our natural world desperately needs help, and you can help by considering it when voting next month. Don't delay! The climate crisis is here and wreaking havoc, we must act now to slow the decline of our dying planet. Without it, there is no future for us.
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Although I have been taking part in 30 Days Wild for 8 years now, I've only shared it on my blog since 2021. I hope you'll enjoy seeing what we got up to in years past too.
You can find 2023's post here:
30 Days Wild 2023 - Week 4Check out 2022's posts below:
And for 2021's posts, see here:
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