#wildlife of the french pyrénées | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

clavainov · 10 months

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Finished a big piece I've been working on! My favourite 15 local beetles (and shieldbugs which are not really beetles) I've photographed around my department.

I used my own photos as a reference. On the back, you can match the position to see each one's common and Latin name (confirmed on iNaturalist). This is acrylic ink + gesso on a recycled section of fired clay tile (38x15cm) left over from doing our floor.

I initially wanted to do them to scale, but with my hand tremors from medication I can't go too small, and I wanted the little ones to be visible. So here they are! I'm very happy with how this turned out. It's a very fun way to document years of wildlife photography discovering beautiful creatures with my wife. I would like to do one for other groups of insects (e.g. lepidoptera, odonata), but I'll have to see because I don't have anything other than paper to paint on at the moment.

#invertebrates #wildlife of the french pyrénées #artists on tumblr #clavain draws #clavain art

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thefreerangechalet · 3 years

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Winter in the Pyrenees

Winter holidays in the Pyrenees

"Can you ski in the Pyrenees?" It's a good question and one that we are regularly asked. The simple answer is YES, but there is so much more to the Pyrenees than just skiing. When we talk to the many people that are interested in our experiences here, many seem perplexed that we have chosen the Pyrenees. It's not a well known ski destination, but there is some amazing skiing to be had.

Don't get us wrong we love other ranges and have had some amazing adventures in mountains all over the world, however we are passionate about the Pyrenees and want to share their beauty with you.

Here's a few things about the forgotten mountain range that we love...

It is so easy to access the wilderness, you can go snowshoeing and not see another soul.

The ski resorts while smaller than their alpine equivalents are much less busy, we've had numerous days on the slopes where we've had the pistes virtually to ourselves.

Even on piste you can see a variety of mountain wildlife... A mountain hare hopped past us while a beady eyed buzzard looked on overhead*.

Because the Pyrenean mountain range is in the south of France, daylight hours remain relatively constant and consequently the gondolas and chair lifts are open for longer throughout the season allowing much more time on the mountain.

The cost of eating out is much less, it's easy to get a 3 course meal with house wine for less than 20€ per head.

The towns and villages are authentically French and you will need a little bit of French so that you can order a mountain beer or two, most of the locals we have met are genuinely excited to test out their English on you (obviously we can't speak for everyone!).

The Free Range Chalet adorons les Pyrénées!

*no animals were hurt in the writing of this blog.

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clavainov · 11 months

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favourite local beetles

European stag beetle - lucanus cervus (f), Rosemary beetle - chrysolina americana

rosalia beetle - rosalia alpina, rhino beetle - oryctes nasicornis (m)

blue chafer - hoplia coerulea (m), rose chafer - cetonia aurata

harlequin ladybird - harmonia axyridis, dor beetle - geotrupes stercorarius

#wildlife of the french pyrénées #invertebrates #beetles #diary #clavain takes photos #clavain art

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clavainov · 1 month

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Today we went exploring in the mountains and had just about the best walk ever!

Western green lizard (lacerta bilineata). This guy was hiding under someone's post box and licked my finger.

sloe bug (dolycoris baccarum), orange tip (anthocharis cardamines), black and red bug (lygaeus equestris)

Fire salamander (salamandra salamandra) neonates in different stages of development and a midwife toad (alytes obstetricians) tadpole (cannot emphasise enough how BIG these are, they are SO BIG)

There were also a lot of caddisfly larvae, some tiger beetles, and an interesting pillbug with yellow spots!

#wildlife of the french pyrénées #diary #clavain takes photos #clavain art

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clavainov · 2 months

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sights from visit to our neighbouring village

mural on church altar with sheep and doves

sheep skull on someone's gatepost

stained glass window "st michael sends demon to hell"

lathraea clandestina, purple toothwort, plant species without chlorophyll that parasitizes the roots of trees

abandoned 18th century house

abandoned car skeleton

#wildlife of the french pyrénées #clavain takes photos #clavain art

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clavainov · 23 hours

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checking out wildlife with friends 19-05-2024

black-and-red bug (lygaeus equestris), burnished brass (diachrysia chrysitis), golden-bloomed longhorn beetle (agapanthia villosoviridescens), froghopper (cercopis), viperine snake (natrix maura), snail (helicella)

#clavain takes photos #wildlife of the french pyrénées #clavain art #diary

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clavainov · 2 months

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