A walk in late summer

Hartslock is very beautiful in high summer and it is well worth visiting if you are in the area. The season is finishing a little earlier than it would normally but there are still lots of flowers to see – Knapweeds, Scabious, Carline Thistle, Dodder, Bastard Toadflax, Squinancywort, Wild Parsnip, Marjoram, Thyme etc.

Grasshoppers & crickets are very common too, with the rare Rufous Grasshopper probably being one of the commonest species on the site. By the main gate we have a colony of Jet ants living in the old willow tree and at this time of year they are to be seen in dense clusters tending the greenfly (aphids) that they farm for their sugary excretions.

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