Ode to a Grizzled Skipper
The poor old Grizzled Skipper
is very much maligned…
at Over Railway Cutting, folk
have not been very kind.
They’ve covered ‘Over’ much of it
with concrete slabs and track.
The end seems nigh for ‘little Griz’.
There ‘aint no turning back.
So if you have this little gem
inhabiting your patch,
make
very sure the powers-that-be
are not allowed to hatch…
…a plan to decimate the plants
on which its larva feeds.
They
are important foodstuffs,
not just simply… ‘random weeds’.
But this site was my local one.
Today I had to travel.
A map was bought and once or twice,
within the car unravelled.
I had to find a new site where
a photo could be taken.
With extra petrol-money used,
it left my wallet aching.
But after hours of fruitless searching,
(when the wind got stronger),
the little Grizzled Skipper and his mate
could hide no longer…
A pair was seen and one of them
was photographed at rest.
I snapped away with Sigma lens
until I got the best,
of very few ‘in focus’ shots.
My quest was now complete.
The day was tough and
very hot.
The taste of success... Sweet!
Here’s the photo (see attached)
and a riddle for you guys…
What’s the difference between this
and little Ernie Wise?
The answer, is quite plain to see:
The Grizzled Skipper’s ‘pegs’
are most unlike the latter’s…
He had
short, fat, hairy legs!
(I’d never noticed their hairy knees before, had you?)
Trev