Cyn's Nature Notes: Garden flora and fauna

Sunday 27 January 2013

Garden flora and fauna

After weeks of snow and freezing weather, we have a change. Yesterday we awoke to a cold, snow covered day. As time passed the temperature rose somewhat, this was followed by rain, light at first then becoming a heavy torrential downpour, which lasted well into the night.

At 2:00 a.m. when I looked out , the majority of snow had melted, we were left with a white bank on the side of the garden facing the lounge --- when I arose this morning that too had vanished.

Across the orchard and fields the floods are back, in truth they never went, instead they turned into an enormous ice rink. A few days ago, a walk across to this ice showed fox prints traversing in every direction, however when I dared to walk on the frozen surface I soon discovered it was not as strong as it looked and I hastily moved off.

The continuous heavy rain, linked with yesterday's milder temperature has however brought with it a thaw, hence the flooding.

Today is again milder, there is a very strong wind, it sends the last of autumn's leaves hurrying and scurrying, hither and thither along the grass. The strong blustery wind also makes the washing on the line flap and crack alarmingly, and even worse threatens to pull the post supporting the line out of the ground at one end.

This magical garden is still full of flowers, primroses, cyclamen, winter flowering jasmine, roses, arabis, aconites, snowdrops, the wonderfully scented pink flowered viburnum bodnantense, mahonia which is so beloved by insects and chaffinches and three types of catkins hazel, birch and the wonderful garrya ellyptica (also known as The Silk Tassel bush), the latter is an amazing sight, despite being hard pruned each year it just grows back and appears more beautiful each time it is in catkin.

The birds are very hungry and are needing extra rations, during the freeze I put water out for them, but it constantly needed redoing as it froze so quickly. The squirrel numbers have dropped to two, perhaps now the less cold weather is here we may see the missing ones. The foxes continue to feed each evening, however I haven't seen the badger recently and hope he hasn't succumbed to a fast car while crossing the lane.

1 comment:

Saa30 January 2013 at 04:59
Hi Cyn, I love your blog and all the lovely pictures. Keep up the great work!!

-Saa
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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.