iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Ben Thomas

Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

“The swallows can be distinguished from the martins by their reddish-chestnut throats and foreheads, their beautiful steel-blue backs and wings, and their long, forked tails” Writer: EL Grant Watson Artist : CF Tunnicliffe

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Harebell - Campanula rotundifolia with a little rain hanging on the petals after a sharp shower. #Wildflowerhour

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Ivy bee-Colletes hederae just one of a few hundred that appeared today in the polytunnel, its the first one I’ve seen but they seem happy here! #Bees

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Spear thistle-Cirsium vulgare back in flower again now things have greened up after the recent rain, a little late for #Wildflowerhour but such a bright little flower against the still drought affected grass is worth a post.

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Crab apple - Malus sylvestris from the hedgerow with a reasonable crop despite the drought. #fruits #Wildflowerhour

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Rowan and Wild service tree for the #fruits challenge both in local hedgerows. #Wildflowerhour

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

And somehow it’s time for the first page of ‘What to Look for in Autumn’. Artist: CF Tunnicliffe

“In front of the farmhouse the oats have been bound in stooks waiting to be threshed. The Wood pigeons are here together what seeds they can. A stoat is on the hunt for fieldmice”

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

‘Wild Flowers of Late Summer and Autumn’ by M de Sausmarez (not a Ladybird artist but I’m allowed the odd day off)

An illustration serving as an identification guide, showing a pastoral scene with numerous plants and insects captured in one. The plants and small creatures are labelled with small text under the drawings which somehow does not detract from the overall appeal of the illustration.

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Corncockle-Agrostemma githago #SeedHeads looking a little bedraggled after the much needed rain #Wildflowerhour

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Other work of the Ladybird artists ‘August’ Whitbread calendar 1971 Artist: SR Badmin

A close-up of the colourful wild flowers growing near a stone wall in August. On the other side of the wall we see a yellow field of barley

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Teasel - Dipsacus fullonum providing precious nectar to a common carder bee, one of few wildflowers still doing its thing. #Wildflowerhour

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

“The tide has again receded over the sand-flats. The remaining framework of a wooden ship is half-sunken in the sand. On one of the ribs a cormorant stands with wings lifted” Writer: EL Grant Watson Artist: CF Tunnicliffe

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

If you haven’t had enough of sky watching, tonight should be a good night to enjoy the #Perseids The Night Sky, 1965 Artist: Robert Ayton

A small town with church and river is shown in silhouette under an inky-blue sky illuminated by the streaks of falling stars

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

‘August’ Shell Guide to Trees and Shrubs, 1958 Artist: SR Badmin

Finally detailed, mixed media illustration of a summer arboreal scene, looking much more verdant than this year. Because the illustration is for an identification guide, we see a wide range of species with leaf and fruit in the foreground of the picture

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Butterflies and Moths, 1965 ‘Hedge Brown, Meadow Brown and Ringlet’ Artist: John Leigh-Pemberton

This picture was used for the cover design of the book, featuring the butterflies framed by flowering blackberry set against a cloudy sky

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Other work by the Ladybird artists ‘Life in the Corn’ (Shell Guide, 1956) Artist: John Leigh-Pemberton

The unlikely quantity of flora and fauna crammed into this picture of a gap in a cornfield is the inevitable consequence of an identification guide captured in one image. Rabbits, game birds, moles etc rub shoulders amid a festival of wildflowers.

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Hogweed - Heracleum sphondylium flowering on the edge of a path mown some months ago, covered with mildew but still providing valuable pollen and nectar after most others here have dried up. #Wildflowerhour

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wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Despite the recent drought many members of the Asteraceae or daisy family are looking just splendid. Perfect for this week’s #WildflowerHour! See if you can find one & share your pics this Sunday evening 8-9pm using the hashtag #DaisyFamily. Happy Asteraceae hunting!

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

A painted lady - Vanessa cardui sunning itself on a hawthorn hedge #Butterfly

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Harebell - Campanula rotundifolia a very compact white flowered form growing in parched, acid grassland. #Wildflowerhour

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Tormentil - Potentilla erecta still in flower on dry, acid grassland #Wildflowerhour

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

‘Swifts, swallows and Canada geese’ Artist: CF Tunnicliffe What to Look for in Summer, 1960

The illustration of a small lake under a hazy yellow sky arrangesthe different birds on land, water and air to frame the scene

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

“On the sands at low tide there are many interesting things to be found. They are not often so close together as in this picture, so some child must have collected these” Artist: CF Tunnicliffe Writer: EL Grant Watson (What to Look for in Summer, 1960)

Because it was intended as an identification guide, this illustration shows a pleasing but unlikely collection of shells and sea creatures at the edge of the shore

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Great willowherb - Epilobium hirsutum popping up in the garden pond margin, it must have drifted in on the breeze #wetlandplants #Wildflowerhour

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Oxeye daisy- Leucanthemum vulgare flowering after being cut back to the ground around a month ago #Wildflowerhour

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff Artist: John Leigh-Pemberton (Garden Birds, 1967)

The birds, facing in different directions, are posed perched on a climbing flowering plant set against brick wall for scale

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Ladybird endpapers, “Finding nature in towns and cities” (1980) Artist: Christine Owen 'Nature in the Town'

A patch of land in an urban landscape which has been left to grass and rubble. Wildflowers, insects and small creatures have begun to make it home

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Poppy and Campion ‘Wild Flowers’ (1957) Artists: Edith Hilder, Rowland Hilder

The illustration which was used as the front cover of the book. The cornfield has been harvested and the crop placed in strokes. The foreground is framed by poppies and Campion.

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Common knapweed-Centaurea nigra #StillFlowering in dry, acidic grassland. #Wildflowerhour

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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

'Foxgloves And Finches' by Annie Soudain, contemporary UK printmaker #womensart #summer

Print featuring a flock of five birds flying past a summer landscape with pink foxgloves, meadows, hills, cliffs and the sea in the distance

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Spear thistle-Cirsium vulgare #StillFlowering and providing nectar for a Red tailed and Common carder bumblebees #Wildflowerhour

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

“The privet bush in blossom” Artist: CF Tunnicliffe (What to Look for in Summer, 1960)

A privet bush in full blossom, covered with range of different butterflies, including red admirals, peacock and tortoise-shell

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wildflowerhour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Phew it’s been so hot lately!This week’s challenge is to find those wild & naturalised plants that are surviving the drought conditions & are #StillFlowering! Share your finds for #wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm!

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Perennial Sow Thistle-Sonchus arvensis popping up in the garden and faring better than many of the garden flowers at the moment. #Wildflowerhour

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Ben Thomas @benthomas-1983.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Common ragwort-Senecio jacobaea complete with a Gatekeeper butterfly, one one the few flowers hanging in there with the drought conditions. #Wildflowerhour

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

“A couple of starlings with their maturing brood are perched on this roof of stone slabs” Artist: CF Tunnicliffe (What to Look for in Summer, 1960)

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Harvest Mouse (1949) Artist: Septimus Scott

A close-up of two mice, one on an ear of wheat in a cornfield surrounded by poppies

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Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

“A kingfisher, like a streak of living sapphire, flashes across the water. He knows better than the fishermen how to catch fish” Writer: EL Grant Watson Artist: CF Tunnicliffe (What to Look for in Summer, 1960)