Friends of Lye Valley

@friendlyevalley.bsky.social

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We care for this 14,000 year-old internationally rare habitat, a tufa-forming alkaline spring fen, together with the calcareous grassland of Rock Edge. Headington, Oxford. www.friendsoflyevalley.org.uk

A largish yellow with black rings on the abdomen and legs is viewed from the top. It is facing downwards, and the head isn't visible. The strands of the web are visible, and below the spider is a zigzag section of the web called the stabilimentum, the purpose of which is unknown. The background is a jumble of thin lush green stems.
Just above the centre a small white flower with grey lines on its petals and with yellow anthers is growing on a longish stem, surrounded by other low growing vegetation.
A woman in a white top and dark trousers is kneeling on the ground facing left. Behind her dense vegetation, in front the vegetation is much shorter. She's holding a pair of wooden handled shears with red markings on and round the handles.
Just to left of centre a a mall white butterfly with prominent green lines spreading from its body to wing tips. It's facing right, and and its proboscis is probing a small yellow flower. The yellow florets nearer the camera are defocussed. The background is a plan dark green with a couple of lighter patches top and bottom.
A wide and curved green stem with red edges is covered in tiny red flowers and small green seeds. the background is slightly defocussed long green leaves.
In the foreground three flower spikes on reddish stems are growing through otherwise green vegetation. Each spike has up to ten or twelve flower buds, a few if which are just open.
A dark brown butterfly with white edging to the wings and small black dots near the edge. It's sitting on a green leaf facing up and slightly to the left.
In the centre a clump of four pale pink orchids. They have distinctive darker pink spots and stripes on their three-lobed lips. The flowers are densely packed in short, cone-shaped clusters. The background is a variety of light green vegetation.
A stylised banner with a striped red and white marquee, an ice cream stall, and two trees, left and right. There is pink, yellow and green bunting along the top.
A rosette with fleshy bright green leaves which are roughly triangular in shape is emerging from very wet ground with traces of moss, dead reed stems, and some grass.
In the centre a small bright green plant with crinkled leaves has a roughly circular space around it with little else growing. Further away, there is a mass of dark green rush growing up.
A small butterfly with orange tipped white wings is taking nectar from a plant with fresh green leaves and a tiny cluster of white flowers at the top. To the left another plant of the same kind. The background is diffuse green and black.
A small lizard is emerging from the bark of an old log. Its tail and feet aren't visible. It's facing right and pointing slightly down. It's looking up as though at the camera, and its right eye is visible. There are some old bits of dead reed stems resting on the bark as well as a couple of thin pieces of dead stalk. To the left there are a few green leaves.
A thin pale shiny coloured reptile (actually a legless lizard) is emerging from the cover of some grass into a bare stony area. It's moving from left to right, and its small eye is clearly visible.
On the right a man in neutral coloured clothing is holding a large white "sweep net" with a short silver handle. He's surrounded by knee-high vegetation.
Roughly centre a plant forms a clump with medium sized rounded leaves, a few open yellow flowers, and lots of tight buds showing yellow at their tops. It's growing in shallow water, and has a number Flag Iris growing behind it with tall thin green leaves. On the left are a number of still short "horsetails", with thin rounded stems and alternating light and darker strips, a prehistoric native plant.
Four gold and black caterpillars are visible. Two just left and below centre, one on the right about centre, and one just above centre. They're on green leaves that have had holes eaten out of them.
A photo looking down into shallow water with a mass of tiny dark tadpoles. There are a few bits of green vegetation as well.
A large reddish coloured butterfly with blue and yellow "eyes" on its wings is resting amongst small white flowers on thin twigs. It's pointing downwards facing towards the bottom left corner of the photo.
A light brown butterfly with white vertical markings on the wing with what looks like a small "tail" at the back. It's feeding on an open bramble flower.
Just to the right of centre a group of very pale yellow flowers with darker yellow centres with orange lines radiating from the centre of the flower. There is another flower top left slightly out of focus. They're growing up through grass and some thin dead twigs. Their leaves are a dark crinkly green.
In the foreground a mass of wildflowers are growing through long grass. In the background are some houses and small trees. The sky is mostly cloudy.
At the bottom of the photo a partial view of a pavement with a bench towards the right hand side. Behind it a mass of wild flowers, mostly Kidney Vetch and Ox-eye Daisies. In the background are houses, a few parked cars, and some small trees. There are white clouds in an otherwise blue sky.
A Common Frog (Rana temporaria) sitting on a log. There's some dead reed floating in the water in front of the log, and some dead reed behind the log to the left. In the bottom right corner, there's some light green pond weed. The frog's partial reflection is visible bottom centre.
Three pairs of mating frogs are sitting amongst a mass of frogspawn. They're surrounded by green aquatic plants and a few brown dead stems.
The photo shows a number of small white flowers clustered on dark twigs. There are out of focus flowers and twigs in the background.
A small red digger is standing behind a long thin area of bare earth. To the right of the photo the truck and trailer that transports the digger can be seen. The rest of the foreground is grassland with tractor tracks running over it. In the background are some trees. The sky is a mixture of dark and light grey.
A leaf shaped greenish yellow butterfly with two orange spots on its wings is perched on a nettle leaf. It's surrounded by lush green leaves and some thin dead twigs.
A frog in water staring at the camera. It's surrounded by small clumps of pond plants, and framed by an arched reed stem starting at bottom right and curving over the frog. There are some dead stumps of thicker vegetation bottom left.
A closeup photo of a frog staring directly at the camera. It has light brown back and sides, a wide mouth, and a whitish chin. Its eyes are dark but rimmed with gold. Its front legs are submerged in water, and there are some green pond plants in front of it.
A small partially open yellow flower is surrounded by mostly green vegetation with some dead straw coloured stalks on the left.
A dead log supported by a jumble of sticks is covered with thick gelatinous looking brown disks.
In the centre of the photo two small cup shaped fungi one above the other. The insides are a rich deep red colour, while the outsides are a paler orange colour. They're growing among leaf litter with chips of old decaying wood and a few blades of green grass.
A man in a light blue anorak, dark blue trousers and a cap is raking a pile of cut vegetation onto a drag sheet. There are many other piles of cut material around him. In the background an area with short vegetation. There are green bushes in the background to the right, and bare trees on teh background on the left.
A view down a shallow valley. Starting at bottom left and leading up through the photo a frost covered boardwalk. Just right of centre in the mid distance a pollarded Willow has branches growing upwards. In the background are some trees mostly hidden by the mist. There's a small patch of warmer sunlight top right in the background. In the mid distance left of centre a solitary figure with his back to the camera.
At the right and in the foreground a black and white horse is harnessed to a low orange trailer. There are three men working round the trailer, one of them wearing an orange helmet. There's a large white bag being pulled into position. The floor is covered with cut reed, and there's a tree in the background.
A wintry scene. Running from the bottom centre of the photograph a boardwalk with a light dusting of snow heads into the midground before turning sharply to the right and leading through a shallow valley. To the right in the foreground a large clump of browning vegetation. To the left and right of the photo there are trees, while the sky in the background is grey with some lighter areas.
View across a shallow valley. A boardwalk runs along the centre, and the upper half shows a cut area to the right and a dense area of uncut reed to the left. There are trees in the background and a sky with white clouds.
A man in pale trousers, a green anorak and dark bobble hat is crouched down in a grassy area in front of long thin stems covered in small red berries. To his left an orange carrier bag.
In the foreground a gently sloping fen with piles of cut reed, whilst in the background a number of trees with a band of thin mist in front of them. The sky is blue with a few wispy white clouds.
The upper part of the photo shows blue sky filled with white fluffy clouds. Low down and to the right the sun is setting, with visible rays coming from it. The rest of the scene is a shallow valley with a boardwalk running from the foreground into the distance. There are trees on either side, and low green vegetation either side of the boardwalk.
A landscape view down a shallow valley. Almost everything is covered with frost. Starting at the bottom right corner and snaking the full length of the valley is a boardwalk. Near bottom right a man in a hi-vis jacket and carrying a dark rucksack is walking away from the camera. At upper right and in the distance are a number of trees, some of which still have autumn coloured leaves. Low sunshine is hitting the right hand side and middle distance of the view. The sky is blue with a few low white clouds.
Roughly in the centre of the photo a man with wellies, light coloured trousers and shirt with a darker anorak is raking a large pile of cut reed down a slope towards him. In the background a large stand of reed waiting to be cut.
A view looking south down a shallow valley. In the foreground scattered brownish cut material. Large parts of the Valley have short green vegetation, though some areas still have longer brown vegetation. On the right of the photo starting at the centre point and old Willow pollard with thin branches growing up. A brown boardwalk snakes through the centre of the Valley, while in the background are a number of trees, mostly without leaves, though a few have yellowish leaves still. The sky is grey with some darker clouds present.
Just to the right and slightly above centre is a small bird facing away from the camera. The overall impression is light grey, though its flanks and the base of its tail are yellow. To its right is some low growing green vegetation, while the rest of the background shows very shallow water with lots of dead Willow leaves.
A photo of mixed green vegetation with shallow running water going from roughly top left to bottom right.
Roughly in the centre of the photo two men with spades are standing on a raised area of ground. Behind them is a mass of green vegetation, and in front of them bare earth. They're gradually removing peat from this raised area (and mostly our of shot, piling it up to make a bund). To their right is a small trench with a black pipe in it, and at extreme right a couple of dark rucksacks.
In the background of the photo to the left is an Oak tree with a mixture of coloured leaves, some still green, some yellow and some brown. To the right are the Dutch Elm disease resistant Elms, which have predominantly yellow leaves. The sky is a mixture of light grey and white. In the foreground is a strip of dead brown vegetation, while immediately behind it is a strip of Reed which is a mixture of brown and green.
A medium sized all white bird with a black beak, black legs, and yellow feet is perched on a branch of an oak tree. To the left of the photo from top to bottom is the tree trunk. The Egret is surrounded by still mostly green leaves, while in the background are a number of fallen autumn-coloured leaves.
In the centre of the photo a small orange weevil seen from the side and behind. The typical elongated head is slightly out of focus. The left diagonal part of the photo is black, while the rest shows a dark brown boardwalk made of recycled plastic.
A small black shiny beetle is facing top left. Its antennae are just about visible, as are a couple of legs. It's sitting on a dark brown plastic boardwalk.
In the foreground, and just to the right of centre a man in short sleeves wearing blue trousers and wellies is using a scythe. In the distance are a number of trees, while in the mid ground a gently sloping area of green, mostly short vegetation.
A woman with a light blue hat, blue top with white sleeves and light coloured trousers is facing to the right. She has a small bright red rucksack on her back. In her left hand is a large black plastic bag, and in her right, a pair of secateurs. She's surrounded by waist high vegetation which is mostly reddish brown.
A man wearing a blue checked shirt, dark blue peaked cap, and light grey trousers is using a scythe to cut an area of brown vegetation in front of him. The background is a mix of green and yellowing shrubs.
To the left of the photo a young man in dark blue clothing is holding a rake with yellow prongs above a pile of cut reed and rush. In the centre a young woman in bright red bobble hat, dark top and bright green leggings also has a rake. Immediately behind the cut reed is a dark green drag sheet, and running from left to right is a brown boardwalk. Behind that is an area of green vegetation.
A photo of an area of fen with a mixture of green and brown shortish vegetation. Growing through this vegetation on thin stems are dozens of small white flowers.
Just above centre and slightly to the right the head of a lizard. It's facing right, with one eye visible. Its right front leg and foot are also visible. It's leaning on a light coloured piece of wood, and its body and tail are partially hidden by other pieces of wood. Although a little darker than most of the surrounding wood that makes up the rest of the photo, it's very low contrast, making it rather hard to see.
Roughly centre is a large blue tractor with black and white wheels, with a large green hopper behind it. To the left a pile of cut grass. In the foreground mostly yellowing cut grassland, and in the background trees still in green leaf.
In roughly the centre of the photo a small white flower with its petals curved inward has a stripy yellow and black hoverfly in it. The large eyes of the hoverfly are facing the camera. It's surrounded by thin green stems with dark markings on them. At the extreme left of the photo is a Grass-of-Parnassus still in tight bud.
In roughly the centre of the photo a small blue butterfly is sitting on a purple flower with its wings closed. It's facing to the left of the photo, and its striped antenna and left eye is visible. The underwing has a number of small mostly black dots, while the hindwing has a row of orange heart shapes markings. Front left is another Marjoram flower, not fully in focus, while the background is a mix of diffuse greens and purples from other flowers.