Long-horned Moths and Dungeons

You don't expect a planning meeting to turn into a wildlife adventure but back in April we three of the Zest! team met up on a warm, fine day at Thurstaston Visitor's Centre on the Wirral Way to sit on the cliffs above the Dee estuary and plan the future meetings of Zest!( oh yes, a lot of work goes on behind the scenes; we spend a lot of time on cliffs, in cafes, and in our various homes busy discussing "What next?")

After we had talked and thought and talked and thought some more - and Zest! will have happy things in the pipeline soon - we felt it was time to ease off and walked to the Dungeon, a deep cleft of valley and wood in the side of a hill just off the Wirral Way. We saw orange-tip butterflies, speckled woods, whites, and peacocks, and up in the woods, where we paused after a steep bit of path, I glanced up and saw a cloud of what at first seemed like small flies dancing above an oak. Then I noticed the tell-tale flash of gold and realised these were the long-horned, or fairy, moths which come out in early spring to do a kind of magic courtship dance high above trees, oak or goat willow usually. They have antennae almost three times as long as their tiny bodies and the males have a gold band across their wings which flashes in the sunlight as they lift and fall in their delicate dance. I had my binocs with me and we were all able to get a superbly close look at them. They are extremely beautiful. A great bonus to our hard work that morning!

Now then, what is in that pipeline? Well, first and foremost the

ZEST! MINI-COMPETITION

If you're coming to the October Zest! night on Monday October 10th, we challenge you to bring a 4-line poem on the subject of Games. Games are the chosen theme for National Poetry Day this year.

The rules are simple: only one poem per person; it must be only 4 lines; and it must be brought along and handed in to a member of the Zest! team on Monday October 10th.
There will be a small prize and we are hoping to secure an independent judge for this. So do your best, Zesters! Put on your thinking caps and pick up your pens. Go for it!!

And lastly may I remind everyone that Gail Ashton will be our guest poet on Monday June 13th, and Colin Watts on Monday October 10th. Both of them are excellent poets - don't miss the chance to hear them! Listening to established poets helps you to build up your own skills as a poet. Grab every opportunity!