Spider and the fly

 A crab spider sits waiting on a leaf.....

...unaware that his aphid prey is sitting three leaves higher up the stem!

The spider is a Green Crab Spider (Diaea dorsata)
I like its eight eyes! It looks like a cartoon character.

The flags are out!

But not for the Jubilee! These flags are out every year.

Yellow irises grow on the edge of the little River Brad that flows through St Cuthman's Field.

They make a pretty sight shining out amongst the sedges and tall grasses on the edge of the parkland.

Flowers in the trees

Ten days ago these flowers were all showing well in the wood walk.

This is known as bird cherry. It flowered later than the common wild cherry. The  much smaller flowers sit mainly in upright spikes although some do hang over the branches.

After the flowers the small black berry like fruits develop on the spikes.

I tasted them last year. They were intensely bitter. The name probably is a sign that the fruit is only fit for birds to eat!

These are crab apple blossoms.

Again the fruit is sour and not good to eat, though in this case they are often used in jams and jellies.

I don't suppose the name indicates what creature should be eating them this time!

Last are these flowers of the wayfaring tree.

They give rise to a pretty set of berries which I pictured last autumn.

But again they are food for birds, not us!