Cyn's Nature Notes: A winter riverside walk, with hazel and alder catkins and an entertaining weasel

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

A winter riverside walk, with hazel and alder catkins and an entertaining weasel

A walk by the swiftly flowing river, with a cold wind wrapping around us, our granddaughter in law and great grandson for company. The wintry bare brown earth is being changed by the green of fresh wild plants and flowers pushing their way through. Hazel and alder catkins were much in evidence and blowing back and forth in the wind.

Best of all we watched a weasel on the edge of the field bordering the other side of the path. These creatures are such fun to watch, they are so lithe and their movements so quick. Seeing us he stood still for a few seconds, then in a trice he was off across the path directly in front of us and down the river bank. Here he spent a few minutes playing hide and seek with us, his pretty little face peeping out first from one side and then the other at the base of an alder tree, before he jauntily sped off along the river bank before disappearing down a hole.

It was turning colder and by now the wind felt not only wrapped around us but also as though it had insinuated itself into our very bones and turning we headed for home.

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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.