Better late, than never?

Running a garden moth trap remains a major part of my involvement with the wild creatures which inhabit the Newlands Farm area. I adopted it as my "local patch"when we first moved here and, over these past twenty-three years, been extraordinarily fortunate to have experienced some wonderful encounters. Whilst I can't deny the enjoyment I derive from looking at this local fauna, the desire to keep records of such events has fallen by the wayside. Fun? Without any shadow of a doubt. Important? Not from where I now find myself. As the blog is just my slant on one bloke's journey through life, I steer well clear of political opinion, and associated topics, as much as possible. So whilst I appreciate that other folk will have very different opinions about such things, I genuinely couldn't give a toss about such trivia beyond this personal enjoyment level.

Green-brindled Crescent
A resident species, but certainly has that "WOW" factor

I recently had an e-mail from my mate, Franny (Solly), telling me he'd "cherry picked" some of my moth records from the blog and could I provide extra detail on my Dewick's Plusia tally? We go back a very long way and I replied with the info I felt was appropriate? Francis produces a "Thanet Moth Report" and incorporates some of my blogged records to provide an overview of events in this corner of Kent. Whilst I have absolutely zero objections to this situation, what needs to be understood is that I only blog about garden mothing when the rods are not getting bent and we're not on holiday?

Rush Veneer - not too numerous in 2023. A garden record of this migrant species.this morning.

How many sightings go unrecorded? I have no idea, but there will be plenty of times when I pick up an egg tray to discover an unusual species to be present, yet not have any requirement to blog about such an encounter. The whole blogging experience, for me, has to be about telling a story from my perspective, thus, no requirement for a third party approval. Therefore, if a third party wants to get involved, they do so on my terms - or don't bother - I'll have no trouble getting to sleep because I don't conform. 

The Vestal - one of those moths which played a major role during my
very early years of garden trapping.

With the weather forecasts predicting more heavy rainfall, I knew that the window of opportunity to get the grass cut had to be taken. Bev and I did the weekly Tesco visit before I managed to get the mower from the shed and get the job done! It was whilst pushing the mower along the fence line, I disturbed a small moth which I quickly id'd as a Vestal! The first garden (UK) sighting of the year! Quickly potted up, prior to grabbing the camera to get a few record shots. Absolutely crazy, it's a moth which has been seen in ridiculous numbers in previous years. I am not running the trap tonight, as heavy rainfall is predicted to last until well after 01.00 hrs -  oh yeah, I'm fishing tomorrow all being well!