Cyn's Nature Notes: April 2009

Monday 20 April 2009

A Trail of Breadcrumbs

Spring is truly here at last. The garden is magnificent, although the majority of daffodils have faded, the bluebells and honesty have taken over from them. The real joy of the garden is the beautifully blossoming trees: magnolias, camelias, and rhododendrons are wonderful, but when you add the fruit trees: apple, plum, cherry, crab apple and pear, then the sight is breathtaking. Incidentally, the tiny red fruit from the crab apple which weigh the branches down so low they touch the ground (one year we lost a third of the tree due to the excessive fruit breaking branches) are shared with the birds and squirrels. Our share we turn into crab apple liqueur, a warming drink on a cold day or a cheering one at the end of a busy one. More and more butterflies fill the air. Yesterday I saw many orange tips and a small blue. I'm pleased to report the garden is also alive with the sight and sound of bees. The fish are very active and the croaking of frogs makes a pleasant background sound. Short tailed field voles are also more active now that the weather has warmed up.

Here is a puzzle, like many people we leave windows open during the day when we are in, sometimes a squirrel or robin will venture into the kitchen and help themselves to food. The conservatory is also a favourite place for interlopers, however yesterday in the early evening I went to close the bathroom window, as I did so I noticed a small pile of bread on the windowsill (interesting because the only creature we give bread to is the fox). Next to it, on the windowsill, were a few drops of urine. I cleared them up, washed my hands, and as I left the bathroom I noticed in the bath lay an 8" long twig. Was something, probably a squirrel, planning to move in with us, I wondered? Today I kept the window pulled to.

About this Blog

When we moved to our present home in December 1987, I was very ill and bedridden. My garden was a life-saver, although it was very different then. The first thing I did was to put up bird-feeders, and long hours were spent lying indoors in a recliner. This was when I discovered many things. Do you know the underside of every blue tit’s tail is differently marked? Gradually, over the years, the garden changed. We put in shrubs and plants that would not only enhance the garden, but would also be good for wildlife. The first rabbit we saw was so joyful for us. The deer eat the flowers, prune the apple trees, eat the marrow, and are wonderful to watch. Foxes have been a major part of our wildlife. We have fed them each night for more than 20 years. They are such a delight, especially in late summer and early autumn when there are youngsters. They behave like puppies and are great fun to watch.

I love all wildlife: the mason bees that nest in the brickwork of the bungalow, the hornets that last year made their home in the roof above our bedroom, the bees currently nesting in the roof above the bathroom. On a hot evening, if you stand quietly in the bathroom, you can hear this amazing sound: it is very rhythmic and reminds me of the waves at the seaside. It is made by the beating of the bees’ wings as they fan their nest to keep the temperature at the right level -- how many people have heard that sound? I feel so privileged.

Obviously, I feed the birds. When I open the window in the morning I call “Come on Bobby and Blackie”, and one followed swiftly by the other they fly immediately to the bird table. Each morning, on rising, I make my way to the kitchen and find the squirrels already sitting on the window ledge waiting to be fed. Winter brings the moorhens and spring time the mallards. Our pond is a poor effort from a human point of view, but wild creatures see it differently. On summer days, the grass snakes spend long hours in the pond: eating the fish, froglets, toadlings, newts, and any other living creature they can swallow. Although I hate to see the pond emptied this way, I do enjoy the snakes and feel they are an important part of the balance of nature in the garden. Watching a dragonfly nymph climbing out of the pond, up a plant stalk, and then over the next few hours gradually transforming into a beautiful dragonfly -- these are contented hours well spent.

It has been my pleasure to write and publish a nature column each month. I am always delighted to hear how much pleasure this brings to my readers. I have often been asked if I have written a book, so I am making more of my writings and photography available through this web site and blog.