FALSE START

 

 Spring is in full swing, the days are getting longer, the temperature is rising - the best time for photos, but unfortunately it passes quickly.

 

I missed the time for toads and moor frogs (Rana arvalis). But maybe I'll catch the salamanders.

 

There were quite a few of them last year, but I didn't take too many photos.

Having learned from experience, I'm going - or rather we're going - together with the "Geriatric Club" we already know from previous posts. 😂😂😃

Permanent lineup: Asia, Gosia, Andrzej and me - there is no dog because Andrzej has a "bad influence" on him 😉 I described it in - CORRUPTION ATTEMPT.

From the left: Gosia & Asia

Andrzej

Kaczawskie Foothills, the largest population of salamanders in Lower Silesia - in short, the Lipa Gorge.

 

We've been coming here for several years. It's happened to us in the past that we had to be careful where we put our feet - there were so many of them.

We enter to the forest with optimism, which quickly begins to disappear.

Nothing - I mean there are no salamanders - whether it's too early or too cold - we don't know.

Due to the lack of amphibians, we started photographing plants, of which there were plenty.

Firstly, we were greeted by blooming hawthorne - by the way, it is a pity that the photos do not convey the smell...

Hawtorn flowers

Birds are singing all around - the mating season is in full swing.

However, this does not change the fact that there are still no salamanders!!!

So we capture everything that seems interesting to us.

After the hawthorns, we came across the Water Avens (Geum rivale).

Water avens

Water avens

There were a lot of Common toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) - I wrote about it in SPRING ON THE NYSA KŁODZKA, as well as the European wild ginger (Asarum europaeum), whose flowers we had to hunt for - because they were hidden under leaves or lie on the ground.

Eurpean wild ginger - flower - photo Andrzej Rapak

A flower of a wild ginger among leaves - photo by Andrzej Rapak

A flower of a wild ginger  - photo by Andrzej Rapak

European wild ginger

While searching for flowers, I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye - I looked and...out came an ‚unsavory sentence’ that could be loosely translated as "Oh my! She's there! How nice - it doesn't matter that she's small"  😳

We all rushed to take pictures.

Małgosia

 Beauty and the Beast (Who is who??😜)

Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra)

Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra)

Unfortunately, it was only one salamander and it quickly hid under the leaves 😔

We returned to plants and insects.

 

The spring pea (Lathyrus vernus) looked very nice, and on one of the leaves sat a bee-like insect (or maybe a bee?).

Spring pea - photo: Małgosia Gęgotek - Rapak

Spring pea

The young - not yet developed ferns, which often become a landing site for various insects, look equally beautiful.

On one of these "crosiers" - at least that's how I associate these young, undeveloped ferns - Gosia found a spider. It was terribly small and I didn't see it while taking the photos (but I didn't want to admit it) - it was only at home that I noticed the "guest" - how did she see it ???!

Crosier with spider 

There was also a herb-robert (Geranium robertianum)

Geranium robertianum

And finally - I laughed - I got PAC-MAN - whoever played, knows. 😂 

PAC-MAN - the hero of an old video game.

Below PAC-MAN or rather two.

Two PAC-MANs. 😂😂😂

The real name of the plant is Ellow archangel ( Lamium galeobdolon )

Well, the salamanders ended with a false start - maybe we'll be lucky next time, and now we went for orchids - but that's in the next entry ……

Photos: If not signed - Marek Czubaszek. 

Others: Małgosia Gęgotek-Rapak and Andrzej Rapak (listed in the captions) 😊