The First....

This is a wonderful time of year to be out walking in the Ardnamurchan countryside as there are so many plants, animals and insects appearing again after our long, wet winter. Yesterday it was the first bees, both honey bees and big, yellow bumblebees; today it's the first violet, tucked into a bank under a hedge. Somehow the first ones often seem to be the most perfect ones.

On the matter of 'firsts', it's the first time The Diary has come across a sea mouse. Many thanks to Emma S who identified yesterday's mystery animal as Aphrodita arcuelata, and provided this link. The beast is named after Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

There's an interesting comment too from an Anonymous reader who says his/her father caught them in his creels, and called them 'gamets'.