Tuesday 29 March 2011

Quiet night

A quiet night, a quiet moth. Although it was warm when I lit the trap at about 8.30 last night, the frost arrived in the small hours and this morning is chilly again. There were about 50 moths in the egg cartons, all familiar: quakers, drabs and Hebrew Characters. Still beautiful, though, in their gentle way, like this Common Quaker with its particularly well-defined wavy cross line. The wood grain is just as good, don't you think, and they both match in their Laura Ashley, camouflage way.

2 comments:

sarah meredith said...

I had NO idea that you were mothing and blogging through the winter! Somehow, I thought Martin' Moths stopped with the advent of the cold, so I haven't even bothered to look, but your lovely comment on my blog sent me roaming around and look what I have found! A wonderful backlog of blogposts to catch up on. An email to you both is forthcoming - but I am going for a walk right now. I have been painting since 7 so I need a break and the sun is shining (even though it is cold), so I better hurry! I would love to see pictures from your Mexican adventure. Love to you both and I promise a real note soon. xxs

Anonymous said...

Sarah and all Merediths, Hi! Great to feel your transatlantic presence at my side.

Yes, I couldn't keep away from the trap a few times over the winter - a very cold one here which has done much damage in the garden and seems to have wiped out our frogs. Nothing stirs in the pond which is usually alive with frogspawn by now. Let's hope some have survived and are still sound asleep under stones.

But the moths are back, and in force as you'll have seen. I'm actually not trapping tonight as am in a train back from London where I was interviewing the UK's most moth-minded MP, Madeline Moon. Stand by for a mothy programme on Radio 4 in early May...