A starter for 10....Kegworth, River Soar

We've moored for the first time on our trip. We're above Kegworth Deep lock beside a grassy towpath which is about 7 foot wide. Beyond that is a brambley ditch followed by fields. There are a few trees growing in the ditch which include ash & sycamore, the first plants I've managed to identify so far, and hopefully the first of many.

Ash tree

Sycamore tree

I'm using the 2009 Collins Flower Guide which is currently looking pristine but will soon get some 'street-cred' or rather 'towpath-cred'. This is part of my collection of guides which have taken up most of the book case on board. Although I've been a birder for about 10 years, everything else is still a mystery at the moment.




Amphibious Bistort

 

There were a couple of interesting plants in the ditch, well they were to me as a complete beginner. I haven't quite got to grips with the key in the flower guide yet, so resorted to having a flick through it until I saw something similar. After a bit of head scratching I've decided it's Amphibious Bistort. I was thrown initially by the fact that it's growing on dry land.





 

There was also some Great Willowherb. Although the plants by Muriel had no flowers on them, there were a few further along the bank that were the same & still had a few which helped with the ID. There were a few thistles in the ditch. I thought a thistle was a thistle, but now having looked at the flower guide I realise how wrong I was! However, I’ve managed to identify it as a Creeping Thistle.



Creeping Thistle



Great Willowherb



Common Garden Spider

I've never been one for spiders, but living aboard a boat you have to get used to them. Just like us they really like life afloat & no matter how often you clear the webs, they soon reappear. This morning when we took down the rear canopy there were quite a few. I don’t have much in the way of ID guides for spiders, so have made use of the web (appropriately enough!). I’ve managed to ID the Common Garden spider so far & am still working on the rest. Trying to identify spiders from photos on the web just before bed wasn’t a recipe for a good night’s sleep!









We also had a few noisy visitors at our hatch over tea

Mute Swans