August has not finished yet but it has been dismal and damp for much of the month. There are places around my village where it seems as if autumn is well under way before summer has finished. The start of the path to Charminster passes through a rough field before disappearing up the slope among the trees. In the drizzle and mist of a sunless afternoon last week, unkempt and dying grasses, fading Ragwort flowers, rusty-seeded Docks, and Hogweed skeletons were covered in dewdrops and clinging wet thistledown.
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Jessica's Nature Blog 
Summer is nearer the end that the start around here too. Seeing your Ragwort – We seem to have had a very poor year for Cinnabar Months and I have only seen a very small number of caterpillar’s compared to last year.
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This year was the first time that I saw any Cinnabar caterpillars on Ragwort but only a few.
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The small details you’ve captured are lovely.
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Thank you, Jean.
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There’s a definite difference in the light that says it’s no longer summer. Here cinnabar moth caterpillars have been patchy, some stands of ragwort have had many, some none.
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Thanks, Philip. Shorter days and leaves falling already. On all my walks around the village I have only seen about a dozen cinnabar caterpillars this year – but that is twelve more than I saw last year.
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