A Very Special Bluebell Wood

Today we visited a woodland - not just any woodland but a very special one, a place full of peace and tranquility. Near to the entrance we had passed ferns growing, some were tiny, furry fronds, curled deep in the centre of the plant, others in the process of gently unfurling themselves and yet more fully unfurled and already waist high.

Most paths were unfenced and led deep into the woodland. Where a path needed to be fenced in order to guide the way, it was constructed of wooden posts interwoven with flexible branches, which I imagine were all sourced from the woodland. Although it was a very natural looking woodland, it was obviously well cared for.

There was a variety of trees; silver birch, beech, sweet chestnut, wonderful old oaks and many different conifers. High in the branches of one tree we spotted a squirrels drey. Rhododendron Ponticum was evident, some bushes in flower others not. I have the feeling it is being cleared from the woodland, it is a very invasive plant and will soon take over, to the detriment of our own English wild flowers. Losing our native flora has a knock on effect and means the loss will soon extend to insects which are a vital part of our ecology.

It was cooler in the shade of the trees, the sunlight filtered prettily through the branches and the walk through the woodland was very pleasant, the paths were good and on either side the floor was littered with last autumn's dried leaves, various fir cones and empty dried out, still prickly, brown husks of sweet chestnut. While there we spotted different mosses growing and in one place a beautiful group of more than thirty fungi, tiny tall caps on thin stalks - enchanting. Here and there tiny three and five leaved brambles were poking through the leaf litter, and scattered about were gnarled and twisted tree roots and stumps, adding to the charm of the place.

The further we walked the more enchanting the woodland became, the air was filled with the sweet sound of many different song birds, woodpeckers, magpies, crows and a butterfly were seen. Far spread foxglove plants were growing, not yet in bloom, but already large leaved and tall budded flower spikes on show, with a promise of delights to come.Across the woodland we could see a blue, misty haze of bluebells and later as we walked nearer to them, they appeared to form a sea around us, they were a deeper blue than their distant misty haze showed, their heads were nodding and in the heat of the day the perfume which only comes from an English bluebell could be smelt and enjoyed.

Looking across the woodland and beyond, the view was breathtakingly beautiful, there were wide ranging vistas of far distant fields, bounded by trees and hedges, many were covered in white blossom which was very eye catching being surrounded by all the varying shades of green. Glancing back at the woodland and its bluebells and then out at the far reaching views, I wondered if this spot wasn't one of the most beautiful in England.

As you will have read I visited a bluebell wood today, in  the middle of the rich English countryside. It was a calm and peaceful place, sunlight filtered through the trees, birds sang and the whole afternoon was a tribute to a very special lady.

All who knew her would agree, her smile was like the sun coming out, it brightened one's day, she was always cheerful, always positive and always there for anyone who needed her, and like so very many others I will miss her physical presence but the essence of her will live on in my heart.

Assertive Young Fox

First three to eat this morning were a robin, magpie and No-Tail the pigeon. A young blue tit sitting in the middle of the lawn, too soon out of the nest was being fed by a parent, who was not only feeding him but also nestlings still in  the box.

The young fox was first tonight, he was already busy feeding when his mother arrived she gathered a mouthful and went off, leaving the cub alone eating. Suddenly he stopped eating and without hesitation crossed the lawn and drank from the bird bath. It was all done so confidently that we knew it wasn't the first time he had drunk there. He returned to the food and on his mother's return he was interesting to watch, for one so young he was remarkably assertive. Each time his mother approached the food he placed himself between it and her, and if his mother managed to reach the food he would place his body next to hers and with a sideways swipe barge her. He did this repeatedly.

I have referred to him as male because of his aggressive dominance.

Hungry Foxes

Food out, we waited expectantly for the baby fox to make his appearance. Some time passed and we still waited patiently and hopefully, suddenly his father appeared and set about the food. Within minutes he had eaten almost everything, cramming the last pieces into his mouth he made off with them.

A few minutes later the parents and baby appeared and "hoovered" up the crumbs.

Babies: coal tits and fox

Two very different new babies alone in the garden today. This morning we enjoyed watching the baby coal tits and this evening we watched with much pleasure a tiny baby fox.

Hurry to see the baby fox

Quick!  Look out of the window!

These urgent calls made me hastily move the three steps to look out of the side kitchen window and across the side lawn toward the lounge and then all was revealed.

There standing on the lawn surrounded by food was a baby fox, the first we have seen this year. His mother was busy cramming her mouth as full of food as she was able, turning, she started to walk away, the little one turned to follow her and then turned back to the food, he was torn as to what to do, eat or go with his Mum.

She was almost out of sight when he decided, and hastily grabbing a mouthful of food he hurried after her!

Hertfordshire to Oxfordshire, a delightful journey.

We are on the way to Rick and Juliet's home, the baby is due in nine days time, our first great grandchild.

The English countryside is so pretty, the verges and fields are a bright emerald green, or in some places bright yellow as fields of rape continue to change our countryside. I must admit for the first time this year I have found an occasional field of bright yellow rape startlingly eye catching.

Everywhere I look the trees and bushes are amazing they are so fresh and green.

Horse chestnuts carry their white or deep pink candles proudly, while the may flowers drip the full length of their branches and in some cases the weight of the flowers causes the branches to bow and they touch the ground. Large, flat heads of elder flowers and a surprising number of laburnum trees, with their beautiful yellow, weeping racemes line the verges.

Here and there a beautiful copper beech stands out elegantly among the endless variety of green shades of foliage.The oak trees are coming into leaf, they are always a little later than the other trees, from a distance they are quite distinctive, not only by their shape but also by the colour of their young foliage, which looks a greenish brown mossy colour, although up close the young leaves have a reddish/browny hue.

The verges are prettied up by pink campion, tall white daisies, cow parsley, yellow rape, reddish sorrel and here and there dusky pink patches of red clover and many yellow gorse bushes. While high in the trees hang great green balls of mistletoe.

The only bird seen was a pigeon.

Other surprising trees seen alongside the M40 were snowball trees (I look upon these as garden shrubs), we passed an enormous gorse bush and another laburnum. Primroses are over, but in their place are huge banks of cowslips.

Almost there and we spot a field of cows and their calves, the youngsters are delightful they are running, jumping and gamboling like lambs. Interestingly we see lambs and they are not running, jumping and gamboling as one would expect but are sedately standing still beside their splotch bottomed mothers or slowly walking about.

We pass a huge stretch of buttercups on the verge with one solitary white milkmaid plant.

We are now driving through the restful grey stone cottages of Oxfordshire and we are treated to bright yellow wall flowers and pink valerian growing out of chinks and crevasses in walls.

This has been a delightful journey, with two very special people waiting to greet us at the end.

Ducks and Foxes

It was late when we put the fox food out this evening, and much later when they came. They finally turned up at a few minutes past nine, instead of the usual sandwiches they had cheese on toast, a yoghourt and as a special treat an egg. The female started on the cheese on toast, then moved to the egg which she picked up and placed amongst the cheese on toast. Meanwhile the male turned up, he knew if he dared get too close to the cheese on toast he would be snapped at, so he carefully edged forward until he was near to the dish with the yoghourt inside, He smelt it and backed straight off, the female instantly moved to the dish and picked it up, spilling much of the contents in the process. Undeterred she set the dish down and ate until the dish was as clean as if it had just been washed. Then she returned to what was left of the cheese on toast, cramming as much as she could in her mouth she made off across the lawn. The male came, grabbed a piece and rushed off, by now it was half past nine and almost too dark to see, I wondered which one would return first and who would take the egg.

As I watched and waited I was staggered to see two fat shapes come waddling across the lawn and up the steps to look in the lounge, it was the ducks. I couldn't believe my eyes and rushed into the kitchen to get them some food, it was now so dark that as I opened the window to feed them they were almost invisible.

The female started to quietly quack in a very contented manner as she ate, the male stood to one side head held high looking about him. I was certain that the foxes would return, would hear Mrs. Duck and one or both of them would be no more. The only thing I could think to do, to maybe prevent this happening, was to make the foxes aware of my presence.

So as if I was outside I opened the window wide and leaning out I talked to the ducks, imploring them to hurry, to eat quickly and go to the safety of their nest, it made little or no difference. They ate slowly, and by the time they had finished my eyes had become used enough to the dark to watch them leisurely walk down the path and turn onto the lawn where the rest of the fox food lay. They wandered infuriatingly slowly here and there, backward and forward all over that stretch of lawn. They pecked at the grass, they poked their beaks in the soft earth and just as I was wondering if I ought to go out and shoo them away, so they opened their wings and flew.

Hungry fox

I was late with the fox food this evening, while I was in the kitchen preparing it I glanced out of the window and saw the female fox skirting the edge of the pond and starting up the bank, nose near the ground. She was less than 15" from the nest of the blackcap, which was sited on the ground --- I knocked on the window and she looked up at me, then carried on. Feeling worried I knocked harder, she looked up at me and I said "No" very firmly and at the same time lifted my hand and wagged my finger at her, I also shook my head at her, she backed off and as quickly as I could, I fetched two biscuits and threw them out of the window. It did the trick, she moved across to eat them and we finished the food and took it out.

I did think if she was going to eat the blackcap nestlings, in the long run it would happen, I couldn't watch all night. This morning I was relieved to see the blackcaps feeding their young.

Wintry weather, the fox and the magpie

The last two days have been very wintry, thunder, lightning, horrendous hailstone storms and torrential rain.

I fear for the baby birds and can't imagine how difficult it must be resting in a nest when hail and heavy rain are pounding down. I wonder how many nestlings will succumb to this inclement weather, which has come at such an inappropriate time for them. Finding food for their youngsters must be quite a trial, surely many of the caterpillars and insects must have been washed from plants, bushes and trees making searching for it much harder.

I felt particular concern for the blackcaps, their nest is on the ground on a bank and I am delighted to report that they are both still active and appear to be feeding young.

This evening I watched with amusement as a magpie tried to steal food from the fox, each time he slowly came nearer the fox would turn to face him head on. He allowed the magpie to almost reach the food several times and each time just as the magpie must have thought nearly there, so the fox would just take a few steps toward him and the magpie would retreat. Only to return almost immediately, reach the same spot and be chased off again.

It was such a lazy movement by the fox, that I wondered if he was toying with the magpie and would suddenly rush at him and try to catch him for supper --- but no. After a while the fox grew tired of the magpies persistence and chased him further across the lawn, then he stood waiting, and as soon as the magpie stopped moving and turned round, the fox again chased him putting more effort in this time and the magpie took fright and flew away!

I would have been surprised to see the fox catch the magpie because I have watched foxes eat with passing cats in the garden and show no aggression toward them.

The squirrel and the squirrel proofed fat ball feeder

A few days ago someone searched my blog looking for a squirrel proof fat ball feeder, they are out there because we have one. It holds three fat balls and has a domed shiny metal lid, the squirrels used to consume the fat balls amazingly fast and the poor birds were unable to feed there, however my other half had the brilliant idea of thickly coating the shiny, metal domed lid with petroleum jelly (vaseline).

Later that afternoon we were in the lounge and looked up to see the squirrel on the roof readying himself to climb down and feast on the fat balls. He made it as far as the domed lid and then lost his footing and his grip, undeterred he tried again, this time he very carefully tested his footing on the domed lid and decided against going any further. The following two days he spent much time trying to reach the fat balls without touching the domed petroleum jelly covered lid, each time unsuccessfully. He has now given up and doesn't even stand and gaze longingly at them anymore.

A brilliant result because the birds can now enjoy them.

The squirrel is not to be pitied though as he eats very well from the food put on the bird table and food which he bangs on the window for, if he sees me in the kitchen and sometimes he seeks me out in the lounge and bangs on that window. He is always looked after --- except he is no longer allowed on the fat balls.

New Foxes Take Over

Since last autumn we have had two foxes, recently this changed and we saw three, there was obvious competition between the first two and the newcomer, this continued for a few nights and then suddenly once again there were two foxes.

They turned up earlier than the others had but were different, the first two were typical red foxes, strikingly red and very much what we were used to seeing. The new two were reminiscent, from the shoulder down on one and from the mid back on the other, of wolves, it was the colour of the coat, it was very silvery. They had black front legs and feet, and black feet and lower legs at the back, also a blackish tail at the top. The fur on their head, neck and back to where it became silvery was red, lighter on the female and darker on the male.

I have wondered several times if they were somehow the product of a mating between a red fox and a dog, and thought of the times when our Shetland Sheepdogs chased after the foxes and on occasion didn't return until the next morning.

We often wondered if dogs and foxes mated and had young.

The female is quite unconcerned by any movement at the patio doors and just contents herself with eating as much and as fast as she is able, but in quite a relaxed manner for instance she chooses her mouthful and then sits or lays down to eat. The male is not as relaxed as she is, and is quite jumpy, when people walk down the lane or we move about.

Gollum the goldfish and the heron

A productive day, the small pond has needed clearing and today we did it. A smelly job that required wellies and a bucket. Perhaps we will put a couple of goldfish in it.

Many years ago we had several frogs living there and we introduced one goldfish, neither he nor they were fazed and all lived happily together for a couple of years. At one end we made a shelter from large slabs, during the very cold weather the pond always appeared empty, but investigating under the slabs would always result in finding the fish and the frogs huddled together. The goldfish was orange with larger than average eyes, and we named him Gollum.

One summer we decided to put Gollum in the larger pond with the other fish, we wondered what his reaction to them all would be. We didn't have long to wait, he was amazing he was so excited, from being a slow, steady swimmer in his little pond with the frogs, he suddenly became alive. He didn't just meld in or join in, he became obsessed with the other fish he chased them tirelessly. This continued for days and we were just beginning to wonder if he would ever settle down, when the problem was solved.

We awoke one morning, went to the pond to see if he had settled  down, only to find the heron had visited the pond earlier and eaten all the fish. Poor Gollum, he was so happy to be with the other fish but if we had left him in his own little pond, he would have been fine, he did enjoy being with the other fish so much that I know I will never put only one in a pond again.

The small pond has been without fish ever since, but I've a feeling it won't be for long!

Spring floods and flowering gardens

 
At last the flood has subsided, the lane is bone dry. It is hard to believe that just yesterday cars were braving the floods and breaking down in the middle needing to be towed out. The fields which for the last few days had been one glorious lake, are now fresh and green. The river which two days ago was frothing, roaring and rushing on to the road filling it and overflowing into the fields, is now several feet lower and although still fast flowing tame by comparison to a few days ago. The only evidence of the recent flood is further down the lane, where a large amount of gravel has been washed down by the water and is backed up against the verge.

I am so glad that the water never reaches our garden, which at the moment is a riot of colour, mostly from bluebells, honesty, pink campion and white jack by the hedge. Camelias, rhododendrons, azaleas, tree paeonies, flowering cherries, apple, pear, cherry trees, clematis, primroses, aubretias and forget me nots all add to the spectacle, and not to forget  the daisies and dandelions that spangle the lawns.

Flood Reflections

The fields at the end of the garden are still flooded, the sky for the past two days has been a dark leaden grey, and we are still being treated to wet weather.

Two days ago the weather was bright and beautiful and the sky was a cloudless sheet of blue, when the fields near us flood I keep a close eye on them to note the creatures which visit them. This day however, more than the creatures in the water, it was the reflections on the water, that enchanted me.

Mid-morning when I looked out, the reflection of the sky in the flooded field to the right gave the appearance of a field of bluebells, it was the same beautiful blue haze which one sees on looking at a stretch of bluebells in a woodland setting. During the afternoon I looked out and the water in the field to the left was moving, capturing the bright sunlight  in all the ripples, each one shone, glistened and sparkled, as it reflected the sun's rays. A breathtaking sight. The last time I looked out the sun was setting, the sky was beautiful and there reflected in the water was the most wonderful orange sunset.

What an amazing day, all of those reflections and so much pleasure they gave me. Brilliant!