A Perfect Place

Today we went down to the river, it was a beautiful day, the wooded areas were cool and shady, gone are the narcissi which grew alongside the path running between the river and the woodland. Areas of the woodland were marshy and squelchy underfoot, but if we kept to the boardwalk it was fine.

In places near where snow once lay and snowdrops and aconites bloomed, the ground is now for the third time carpeted white but this time with ransones (wild garlic). The fresh green of new shoots is swallowing the bare ground, mainly himalayan balsom and so many new horsechestnut trees,on these it is interesting to note that the new leaves come in groups of four like the points of a compass.I was glad to see so many young horsechestnut trees growing, because of the virus that has damaged or killed so many of our venerable old horsechestnut trees in the last few years.

At one time we were lucky to see on the bordering river a duck with her young brood. Years ago there were so many ducklings on the river now it seems to be so few that each one feels like a cause for celebration.

After the woodland there is a path through a wild meadow, where on one side of the path the grasses are already almost waist high. The other side of the path is an area maybe 10-12 feet wide that is mainly bramble.
At intervals there are narrow animal paths across this tract of land to the rivers edge, where trees grow. The wildness of this area is a perfect habitat for insects and arachnids. Crickets and grasshoppers can be heard as early as 7th May, and their call made by rubbing their hind legs on their wings is called a stridulation, and the purpose of it is to attract a mate and to defend territory. This area is also home to a  variety of spiders and their many different webs, the sound of birds is constant and a sheer joy.

The other side of the river are meadows, cowslips,buttercups, ladysmock and many other wild flowers pepper the landscape, together with dozens of different grasses. Butterflies prettily flutter back and fore over the meadow and are easy to spot. At the far side of the meadows are hedges and trees while on the river side trees and bushes are scattered along the bank, also a few apple trees perhaps grown from pips fallen from the dropped apple cores of walkers. At the moment these trees are prettily covered by pink and white blossom.

The whole of this area is like an enormous nature reserve and is a perfect habitat for wildlife - woodland, wild meadows, river and is also very picturesque and a relaxing place to spend time.

N.B. Stridulation is usually heard from grasshoppers and is produced by rubbing one body part against another, usually fore wing and back leg.
Crepitation is heard when certain species of grasshopper snap their hind wings rapidly, making a distinctive cracking sound.