A10 to Royston then A1198 to Papworth

An enjoyable spring journey, everywhere is so freshly green and the cloudless sky so blue. The temperature is a mild 14 degrees.

We pass many fields of bright yellow rape, may blossom decks the hawthorns and the roadside edges are delicately pretty with long stretches of tall cow parsley. Oak trees are lightly sketched over in a fresh green haze. In fact, the green is breathtaking, every branch on each bush and tree is weighed down with fresh spring leaves in all shades of green, plus a few yellow or brownish/red shades. Lilacs spread out above fences and clematis montana flows across and down.

Just before Royston we saw a red kite, and the roundabouts in Royston were beautifully bedecked in pansies and wallflowers. Bright yellow laburnums and both red and white horse chestnuts were in full bloom, brightening this part of our journey.

The A1198 is part of the Ermine Way, alongside it on the right,we pass chalk white freshly ploughed fields while on the left the fields are full of sheep sharing their home with crowds of crows. Alongside the road on either side of the path the cow parsley stands tall, bordering the hedges and in some places they are the same height, further on the hedges turn into trees and the cow parsley now has no chance of competing!

Passing a service station I notice unleaded petrol is now £140.9 per litre, this is the highest I've seen it.

In the middle of the lawn in a front garden is an ancient tamerisk, many years old, prettily pink and grown from a shrub into a tree --- it looks wonderful.

Bullrushes are growing thickly in a nearby ditch, but my mind is taken off them by a pack of hunting dogs, forty or fifty strong. A nearby sign points to Huntingdon and I am told that don means town, and linked with hunting must  mean hunting town. This seemed very apt linked with seeing the pack of hunting hounds.

Leaving Papworth and heading home on the A1198, the grass on the verge is hardly visible because of the density of dandelion clocks --- round balls of fluffy, floaty seeds, ready and waiting to be wind whipped to a new location.
Further on we pass great patches of red clover, white daisies and blue birds eye (speedwell), how patriotic I thought with the royal wedding in just two days time. The timing of it makes me smile. I also smile with delight when we passed a large area of cowslips.

We decided on a slight detour and visited the National Trust, Wimpole Hall Estate, we enjoyed tea in the restaurant, before wandering around and seeing some of the rest of this beautiful place.

Looking at all the bright yellow oil seed rape fields, I sometimes think they are eye catchingly beautiful, but then I look at the many natural  greens of our English countryside and realise how fields of oil seed rape can stand out like a sore thumb.

Bypassing Buntingford I noticed on the verge a large gathering of tall white field daisies, the first I have seen this year.

Red Beetle

Last autumn I noticed with surprise how very large the Acanthus Mollis had grown. It is a great plant and comes up freshly green and beautifully mounded every year. It doesn't mind where it is planted, sun or shade. Plant it in the driest spot possible and it will still look breathlessly beautiful, when in flower and also very attractive when only a mound of leaves. Its common name is Bears Breeches.

I have a great affection for this plant with its mound of large, mid to dark green, classically shaped beautiful leaves and strange tall flower spires, with their purplish flowers, followed by large, fat, round seeds hiding under a hood and sitting on a prickly platform, which must have evolved to protect the seeds from predators.

It is a wonderfully architectural plant and when in flower more than 6 feet tall. Mine was now enormous and more than 10 feet across, it had however taken more than ten years to reach this size and I must admit it did look stunning.

I'm sure these are the leaves that inspired the design on some classical columns.

This spring noticing it was again fulfilling its promise, I bent down to stroke the shiny new leaves still furled. As I moved them, I noticed something red at the base of a stem where it met the ground. Further investigation showed it to be a shiny red beetle; it looked suspiciously like a lily beetle, but it had done no harm to the acanthus and I wondered if it had overwintered there. It was an eye catching beetle, because of its very redness.

Looking at the photographs which interestingly show more detail than the naked eye, I wonder if this beetle was newly hatched because the wing cases in the top photograph look crumpled as if they are just straightening out whereas in the second photograph they look a lot less crumpled. So now I wonder if the adult lays eggs which  overwinter in the ground and hatch out in the spring.

If you click on the pictures they enlarge, if you click on the lower picture you will see the beetle has turned its head and there is its tiny face looking back over its shoulder at me.

I looked this beetle up and discovered it was a Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa coccinea) its foods are; nectar, sap and other sweet liquids. A very similar species to this is the Pyrochroa serraticornis, which has a red head.

Bluebell Wood

Today we visited a nature reserve looking for a bluebell wood; we were not disappointed. Myriad bluebells were there and stretched way across far into the distance, the colour haze was a perfect purplish blue and very picturesque, while the perfume was moorish and reminiscent of childhood. A distinctive smell unlike any other.

It was an interesting nature reserve in that it was divided into two separate halves, each one very different to the other. The bluebell wood which was on our right stretched along and far back from the path, while on our left was a very boggy area. Here we found a semi-circular board walk, ending back at the bluebell wood further along the main path, and with a hide halfway round and somewhere to rest.

The board walk crossed small streams and tiny fish could be seen darting here and there in the clear, cold water. There were small ponds and large reeded areas, seating on the edge of the bluebell wood made bird watching easy and pleasurable. In the woodland I spotted a horse chestnut in full bloom, and photographed one of its candles.

At one point we passed a large area of water, stream fed and well reeded on the edges, there we saw a moorhen on her nest -- only just, as it was well hidden amongst the reeds. We also saw in different places two female ducks, each with a brood of young ducklings.

The bluebell wood which we entered on leaving the board walk was everything a bluebell wood is expected to be: the well remembered perfume, the distinctive blue of native bluebells, and not least of all the wonderful views seen only in a bluebell wood. The paths were flat and well defined and the walking was easy. Sunlight filtered through the overhead canopy of trees and in places gently lit areas of bluebells. We were delighted to find pink and white bells growing amongst the bluebells.

In places pink campion grew in clumps and looked surprisingly good with the bluebells, while further along the path, in a shadier dell, we found a mass of lords and ladies (Arum Maculatum), in all stages of development.

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.

Down by the River

Today we went down to the river; it was a beautiful day, very hot and sunny and the wooded areas were cool and shady. The path ran between the river and the woodland: gone were the narcissi which grew alongside it, taking their place are small and larger groups of bluebells, with here and there pink and white bells.

I listen carefully as the drumming of a woodpecker is often to be heard.

Areas of the woodland floor were still marshy and squelchy underfoot from the overflow of the winter floods, but if we kept to the boardwalk it was fine. In places near where snowdrops and aconites bloomed and snow once lay, the ground is now white with ramsons (wild garlic).

The fresh green of new shoots is swallowing the bare earth, mainly himalayan balsam and many new young horse chestnut seedlings. It is interesting to note that on the latter their new leaves come in fours, set around the stem like the points of a compass. I am glad to see so many young horse chestnut trees growing, in spite of the virus that attacked and killed or damaged so many of our venerable old ones in the last few years.

We were lucky to spot on the bordering river, a female mallard with her young brood of eleven ducklings. After the woodland is a wild meadow, where already the growth is almost thigh high. The path through the meadow is to one side, the other side of the path is bordered by an area maybe twelve feet wide. This area is mainly brambles and at intervals through it are narrow pathways, used by animals to reach the tree and bush lined water's edge.

Along the edges of this path old, empty, but still intact snail shells are to be found, they are interesting, they have such a variety of colour and pattern. I also look to see if they curl in a left or right handed manner -- I find most often they curl to the right. Some of the very small ones are very delicate and must be handled with care.

The wildness of this area is a perfect habitat for all sorts of wildlife, including insects, arachnids, small mammals and, although I've never been lucky enough to spot any, reptiles. Bird song here is wonderful -- trying to identify the different birds is interesting, but the real joy is in just standing and listening. During the summer the sound of grasshoppers and crickets is very loud in this area. The term used to describe their sound is stridulation. Grasshoppers make this sound by rubbing their hind leg against their fore wing, but crickets make the sound by rubbing their wings together. Stridulation, otherwise known as singing or calling, is made to establish a territory, to defend that territory, or to find a mate. Interestingly, each species has its own call and so of course the sound is recognised by a grasshopper or cricket of the same type as is calling.

On the other side of the river are fields and it is like one enormous nature reserve: cowslips, buttercups, ladysmock and many other wild flowers pepper the landscape, together with dozens of different grasses. Beyond the fields runs a small stream with trees and bushes on the far side of it. Scattered along the side of the fields by the river are occasional bushes and trees including a few apple trees, perhaps grown from pips fallen from apple cores dropped by passersby. The apple trees are prettily covered in pink and white blossom and are very eye-catching at present. Butterflies dance in the air back and forth over the meadow, and ducks and swans are on the river.

The whole area I have described makes a perfect habitat for wildlife: woodland, wild meadows, river,  mown meadows, trees and hedges, and is a picturesque and very pleasant place to visit.

Evening Visitors

It has been a glorious day and now at 20:10 pm it is still quite mild outside. The fox food is out on the lawn and as I sit by the patio window waiting for him, I am slightly alarmed to see the pheasant, he has turned up for a late supper. Do I feed him, ignore him or shoo him away? Shooing him away won't work, because he won't go, he'll just keep coming back to the window where I'm sitting. Ignoring him won't be any better, as he will just stay where he is and keep flapping his wings at me and calling at the top of his voice. So I decide to quickly feed him. I stand up and as I do so, he knows and we both rush to the kitchen window. Me to throw supper to his eager beak already uplifted and waiting, and him to look so pretty while he pecks it all up. It is as though he knows it is late and he shouldn't be here, he is very nervy and jumpy, constant little movements of his wings and while he pecks he hurries and keeps looking about him.

I watch for the fox, although it is very questionable what I could do from this position. I also keep an ear open to hear the bird song, I will know if the fox is near as the song is replaced by distress calls, this also happens if an owl is nearby.

I notice a blackbird hungrily tucking into the fox food, the pheasant is still eating, as is the blackbird. At last the pheasant has finished, he wanders easily off down the garden, thank goodness the fox comes from the opposite direction. The pheasant moves slowly as if he hasn't a care in the world, which I guess is true as long as he doesn't meet up with Mr. Fox.

It is now 21:35 pm and the blackbird is still eating the fox food, I can see him by the shine of the outside light. I hope by now that the pheasant is safely squatting on one of the high branches, well out of the reach of the fox. Above the lawn bats are flying round and round, just above head height, both large ones and small, I am not familiar with bats so sadly am unable to identify them.

I leave the window for a while and of course this is the very time the fox chooses to come!!

Spring Blossom

The magnolias are past their best now, but the fruit trees have taken over. Bees of all shapes and sizes are busily buzzing amongst the branches, visiting flowers, drinking nectar, collecting pollen and at the same time fertilizing the flowers. The blossom on both the pear and plum trees is white, but the pink and white blossom on the apple and malus (crab apples) is so pretty now and the thought of the autumn harvest, brought to us courtesy of these busy little creatures, fills me with pleasure.

New Duck

We are enjoying the company of a new female duck, she is an unusual blonde/ginger colour and very pretty. Her partner is a male mallard and she has the distinctive horizontal tail stripe of a mallard, but otherwise looks completely different. She is entirely new to our garden and I wonder why she came here. It is as though she knew not only the garden but also us, because the first time I saw her she was swimming around in the pond, and as soon as I called out of the window, although she couldn't see me, she left the water, crossed the lawn and came hurrying round the side of the bungalow to the window where I was waiting with food.

I wondered if she was reared here and seeing her only with her baby coat on perhaps I am unable to recognise the adult she has become. It is as if she knows us though, because when I was in the garden she fearlessly approached me, obviously for food and waited patiently while I went indoors to fetch her something.
Perhaps her mate was bred here and he is the one who brought her to our garden.

There are times when I wish these creatures and I could talk, there are so many questions unanswered!

Bird Song

The bird song has been wonderful recently; sometimes the hour of five finds me out of bed and blissfully listening to the birds, from my open kitchen window. The sound is amazing -- so much song from every direction.

The chiff-chaff is very vocal at the moment. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the call of this little warbler can pick him out by listening for the sound of his name, chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, for he calls it out over and over again, and it is easily recognised.

One of the sweetest songs belongs to a small brown bird, whose promiscuous behaviour I have mentioned before: it is the dunnock. Maybe because he is brown, spends most of his time keeping to the edges and appears a bit boring, he is perhaps overlooked. However he is a fascinating little bird and well worth looking out for, if only to listen to his song. His markings are quite detailed and his song certainly stands out.

I haven't mentioned either the blackbird or the wren, both favourites of mine, and each of them outstanding songbirds. The song thrush is often one of the last birds to sing at night. I love the clarity of his oft repeated notes as I listen in the quietness of dusk.

Butterflies

More and more butterflies are to be seen as the temperature rises. I love the pretty aubretias scrambling down a wall and the eye-catching honesty standing proudly all over the garden. Honesty grows wherever last year's seeds happened to be chased by the wind, before they eventually find their resting place and settle to sleep through the winter, no matter how harsh. They start up in the spring and rapidly grow until they are stately purple spires. Sometimes seeds fall down a crack and they still manage to grow, tiny, stunted, but with a small attractive flower head. Honesty and aubretia are both purple, both brighten up a spring garden and both attract many beautiful butterflies and other insects. Bees and hoverflies are very attracted to aubretias and the orange tip butterflies are similarly attracted to honesty.

Hornets, Bees and Spring Flowers

Saw my hornet today, flying around and banging into the patio.

Our magnolias are in full bloom and look gloriousThe plum tree is also in bloom, and bees are busily buzzing around the garden, enjoying the bright sunshine and spring flowers.On the aubretia I watched a hoverfly, sucking nectar from the centre of each mauve flower.

Bees have been having a hard time of it lately. past wet summers and pesticides have depleted their numbers. Without bees we will be in trouble as about 80% of flowering crops are pollinated by bees.

We can all help bees to thrive by planting some bee friendly plants, there are many that are pretty and also useful to bees. Why not grow some everlasting sweet peas, very pretty, easy to maintain and return every year. Lavender, bees love it and it is also excellent to pick and dry for use in small bags, to put amongst bed linen or clothes to keep moths away, (a tablet of soap also works well). Rosemary also beloved by bees, and delicious with roast lamb, roast chicken or finely chopped and sprinkled on roast potatoes. Vibernum very attractive to bees and the perfume of some varieties will fill the whole garden. Buddleia, a colourful, joyful plant when it is covered in butterflies and bees. Comfrey is not exceptionally attractive to look at, but bees love it and it is an excellent plant to use for as a liquid fertilizer or to cut back and add to the compost heap to enrich it