Wed 29th Aug 2020 - GG Virtual Session # 016.

Today's photo for the "Wall of Fame"....😊

The on-line meeting followed what seems to have become our regular agenda... with Mark giving us a quick update as to what future weeks might bring with regards to any outdoor sessions. Although he has been following up various leads, none of our established venues are suitable / available under the Covid-19 regulations as they stand at the moment. There is hope that things might return to some sort of normality come September..so fingers crossed 👏.
With the "official business" cleared..the conversation opened up into more general topics which included the experiences various people had had with haircuts, shopping, eating out, etc .... it appears that there is a wide range of interpretation of the government's guidelines but everyone felt safe. There was quite a long discussion about walks around St George's Down which led on to the origins of some of the more unusual place names here on the Island. As a side issue (we tend to drift off the main topic of conversation..!) the date of the big flood in Newport was a little earlier than we thought...1960. This CP article has some amazing photos taken at the time, click this link to view... Newport 1960 flooding. Mark's father could remember the day of the flood when, one of the ponds up on St George's Down, broke its banks and poured down the hillside flooding the garage at Blackwater....must have been quite a downpour..!

It's looking as though our next Wednesday's session will be another Zoom meeting but I am sure Mark will send out an e-mail if things change.

Stay safe everyone.

Wed 22nd July 2020 - Barncourt Farm, Wroxall. GG # 827.

Mark's Photos and video.

(you might need to up your volume level when playing this)

11 of us decided that Himalayan Balsam pulling at Barncourt Farm was the ideal way to spend a Wednesday morning.  The dreaded HB was concentrated in the harder to reach areas along the edges of the Wroxall Stream and the ditch that was deep and narrow.  Mark rose to the challenge and donned the waders while others battled the brambles and nettles in the dry ditch.  The highlight of the morning was the number of swallows swooping above us; this was offset by the knowledge that we were sharing the ditch with a rat and a wasp's nest on the bank of the stream.  Nevertheless, it was great to be out and sharing a wonderful day with everyone.

A big thank you to Alison for sending in the editorial and to Mark for the photos and video.

Wed 15th July 2020 - GG Virtual Session # 015.

Another happy group shot of GG Zoomers....😊.

After the excitement of having a "real" GG session last week, this time around we had to resort to the magic of modern technology for our Wednesday morning session. Mark confused us all by initially appearing as a diminutive "Lego Man" standing next to what appeared to be the bottom of a table leg... this actually turned out to be a full sized Mark standing at the foot of The Angel of the North statue...! With that resolved then the meeting opened out into general discussion encompassing a wide range of topics. 

Now the lockdown on hairdressers and barbers has been lifted, a few of us are certainly looking a little tidier 😆. For those readers who are avidly following the ongoing saga about Bob's garden, the latest news is that the beans have black fly and the cucumbers have white fly. We were informed that one fly paper alone had attracted in excess of 1500 pesky flies..! I have to ask, who would bother to take the time to count them all and should The Archers be concerned about being knocked off the top spot horticultural excitement..????

There was some chat about the access to sea caves either side of Freshwater Bay and the likelihood of discovering long lost treasure .... and Phil's mystery plant was identified (by Viv) as Sea Lavender. 

Unfortunately, I had to drop out early so if anyone else can remember any riveting conversation from  the end of the session then please forward it for inclusion.

Although the Zoom sessions are a poor substitute for "getting out there and doing some REAL work", it is nice to see a few smiling faces and check up that everyone is doing ok in these "unusual" times.

Wed 8th July 2020 - Middlebarn Farm, Bathingbourne. GG # 826.

Terry's Photographs and Video.

 Oil Beetle (Meloe proscarabaeus)

Bees nest in a living tree trunk.

I wasn't able to get along to this session so...hopefully someone will send in some editorial at a later date..? Watch this space 😃.

Wed 1st July 2020 - GG Virtual Session # 014.

This week's happy band of GG Zoomers....

Because it is proving a little problematical to find "real" GG venues that it would be suitable under the present Covid-19 regulations, once again we find ourselves logged into Zoom on Wednesday morning. Nice to see everyone and have a chat but not quite the same as 3 hours hard graft out in the countryside...! This weekI joined the session a little late to find everyone in deep discussion about various types of Cabbage White butterflies and their associated caterpillars, amazing what gets discussed 😀. Mark had set out an e-mail to some of the members who had either dropped out or moved away to the mainland, inviting them to join us on line. Several had replied but...for various reasons were unable to come online this week - we look forward to "seeing them" sometime in the future. The conversation then moved to what might be considered safe and legal for us to do for future GG sessions...and there might be the chance of us doing some Pesky Plant Pulling sometime soon.... if (and it is a BIG if) it is deemed to be safe for all concerned. As they say...."watch this space"..!!! It was mentioned  that the stream south of the Donkey Sanctuary is pretty clear of HB this year so perhaps all our efforts in the past have been rewarded..?

Terry's Photographs.

"Thought people might like to see a couple of the new information boards that have gone up around Golden Hill Park. There are quite a few and we think they’re very impressive, though there seem to be mixed opinions about them in West Wight! Gift to Nature have also opened up the views towards Totland, Yarmouth and All Saints’ Church."

"I found this on the bottom path to Tennyson Downs Freshwater and thought other GG members might be interested.
It was big - about 6 inches long! I have been told it is a Golden Ringed Dragonfly." 

And...from me.......

A bit short on photographs this week but, if any of you are tempted to try Covid induced DIY haircuts, then be aware of what you might see when you look down..... Arrrgghhh....!!!!! Oh well, never mind...it will (might?) grow back in a few weeks...😧

Many thanks to Terry for his contribution.