the garden - edible flowers

this year I have taken an interest in the garden






Best not go into my relationship with moles in the garden last year....

quiet, now catching up

It's all been a bit quiet for a few years - but life and the seasons have been going on, round and round.
This spring I had a toad making a bid for a new community in the bowl I like to drink from outside the door of my room


He did have a female in tow the next night but a few yards away - there is no evidence of toad's spawn.
I wasn't that impressed when he thought he might get under the door




I had best not report what happened with the moles last summer....

swallow gwennol

Last tuesday [March 29th] she broke into my afternoon nap and I had to get off the ssofa and go outside: "I think I've heard a swallow [I didn't like the possibility of doubt, not interupting comfortable sleep...but...], I'm sure I've heard one [OK OK on my way]. Stood around, then suddenly a scamper off to view behind the birch trees, where there indeed, in a classic pose on the electric wires, was a swallow. Very early I'd say.
But neither hide nor feather of another one since.

llyffaint/toads & other stuff

SO now when I go out at night I have to dodge the toads, don;t want to splat one do I? They are not always very big. During the day there is a lot of activity in the pond but there appears to be only a couple of females and some 30 odd males. This year they seem to be not too far behind the frogs.




And what else is going on? well yesterday it was over 16C and i suspect warmer today. i enjoyed quite a lot of sitting around in the sun. Added to the rather repetitive Chaffinch we have now had the Chiffchaff (the last two days). Now that is repetative see here. We all seem eager for it to arrive but then wonder why.
The cherry plum is in blossom. Oh back to birds - thought I should mention the mistle thrush. it sings rather well.

woodpeckers and bumble bees and frogs spawn

Saw the first bumblebee yesterday

And must add that she got me to look up and there were three greater spotted woodpeckers (for info click here) flying about making a fuss. See one on the bird feeder during the winter.

Also the frogs have been filling up the pond and at nights now - except the frosty ones there are some dozen toads to walk around on my before bed stroll. A female got into my room, it is suggested that she was attempting a short cut through the house to the pond, avoiding the boys.

Spring or Gwanwyn as they say in these parts

Well it seems to be the season changes

I get woken up a bit early by the brightness. Have heard them muttering about clock changes later in the month, never really understand that. But do note that there is a lie in sometime in the autumn and a sudden early wakening in the spring. I'm not too happy about too much of an early morning disturbance.

I've tried telling that damn chaffinch as such. He sings his rather repetitive song from an early hour, I know it will only get earlier and earlier (for song, if you can call it that click here). But not only does he "sing" but he rap tap taps on the glass of the door and the window - how am I supposed to get decent day times naps with such behaviour.

having my nose to the ground I notice the small new green growth

very quickly after the snow and frost the chickweed was up and away, even recovering after a hefty frost. pesto making was talked about.



and now the little speedwell is opening up - well would do if the sun did shine a bit...



if you click on these photos you will find out more information about their names in Latin, Welsh, Breton even Cornish. i commision her to take photos for me and sometimes she does a thorough job.

more evidence in the snow

how's this for a bird print. Big one this - up the mountain. Raven? Buzzard?


and somebodies christmas brunch

tracking

The thing about snow is that you don;t always have to be tunneling underneath it (see these two blog entries) to find out how the small mammals are doing, who's about. They leave little tracks on the surface. Of course with my nose I can tell you about tracks without the white stuff, but these little tracks are definitely useful to those without such a gift

Tim Dee, The Running Sky & gannets

She says ought I to get a little more serious, do some reading of other peoples' writing on nature.
SO: Tim Dee The Running Sky
and a great quote about gannets (not that I have seen any but she says it is a very good description...)

“the rapid origami of themselves and their brilliant white match strikes” ”it was impossible to hear them break through the sea…but the splash they make looks exactly like a sound and I found myself adding it to the ruckus!”
“mind wiping swirl of birds”

searching part 2

searching

 How much wild life is there under the snow, expecting small mammals such as voles and mice.

humph

not exactly getting a helping hand with my nature notes.
She just spreads paper over the floor and looks at it. I join in but it doesn't seem an all together appreciated action. She mutters things about Em Ay and reading and reasearch.

holidays and extermination

I have been away on a 5 week holiday. Plenty of domesticated wild life to keep me company.
But tonight my biggest collection of fleas ever has been attacked and I hear there will be more chemicals tomorrow. Heard her saying something like "he's covered in them, never seen anything like it". Well yes was getting a bit itchy.

goldfinches

most odd thing this morning: we were doing our stroll up to the chooks (I'm a little slow having injured my leg: some idiot threw my ball and didn't bother telling me an 18" drop to encounter, not best done at full speed); as we went under one of the birch (Betula pendula - silver birch) trees there was a pitter patter sound not unlike rain, and some drops fell on our heads. Well it wasn't rain, it was some of tye growing flock of goldfinches up high eating the seeds. Considering how many seeds scatter the ground I am surprised any left to nibble. She says it reminded her of hearing crossbills on Ynys Môn/Anglesey. Well I wouldn't know about that.
The goldfinch flock has been growing from about two dozen a few weeks ago to perhaps 50 in total at times. Usually we meet them of a morning up at the chook run as they take off all a twitter from the vast knapweed patch. See knapweed above.
Here is a goldfinch from a few years ago that stunned itself by flying into a window. It recovered.

A brief quote from Gilbert White, that other naturalist of similar name to myself:
August 19th 1791: A second crop of beans, long pods, come in. Sweet day, golden eve, red horizon.  Some what of an autumnal feel. 
The robin was singing his head off here, this morning, right old harbinger of winter to come....so would agree that we have an autumnal feel, especially as above mentioned birch tree has been shedding leaves for more than a week.

Goldfinch
Carduelis carduelis
you will find a description and recording of its song here

Knapweed:
Centaurea nigra
lesser/common/black knapweed, knob weed, hardhead
cornish: pederow/pennow
cymraeg/welsh: y bengaled
irish: Cnapán Du · Deutsch: Schwarze Flockenblume · Español: Garbansón · Nederlands: Zwart knoopkruid

Bad weather forecasts

Inspecting the hay. A bit late really in August, a lot of plaintain. All the dock have had dock beetle, so much less in evidence. Nice bit of knapweed weed here.
On my morning stroll up to the chooks I frequently see some two dozen, possibly three this morning, goldfinches rise up in that twttery flittery way from the large kapweed patch (perhaps quarter of an acre).
Anyway back to the hay. The weather forecast which ever website was looked at said fair weather, they were WRONG. There are many hay fields cut around here. they get damp. Not even warm or properly breezy. Perhaps some will be saved in a form of haylage/silage in plastic wrapped big bales.

the dried yellow rattle seed heads seen here.
And below a reed rattle - two damp patches in the field have reed clumps. She made a reed rattle from some of the wilted reeds, apparently it worked well, no cracking. Her grandfather was a hedger and thatcher...and other sorts of farm worker, he taught her this little technique. The same as basic corn dollies.

it is dicovered why cleavers/sticky buds are called thus

cleavers goosegrass stickybuds galium aparine
also Barweed. Hedgeheriff. Hayriffe. Eriffe. Grip Grass. Hayruff. Catchweed. Scratweed. Mutton Chops. Robin-run-in-the-Grass. Loveman. Goosebill. Everlasting Friendship

the late 16th centuary herbalist John Gerard had them down as a slimming aid. perhaps the potage of oats and cleavers should be tried.

A relative of coffee and quinine. the seeds have been used in the past, roasted, as a coffee substitute. mightly fiddlesome job I'd say. Don't touch the stuff myself. Also a spring tonic.


As I am in Cymru/Wales I should add: cwlwm coed; llysiau'r hidl; wil gariadus; cwsberis bach; bwyd gwyddau; cynga; beilie; bwms; llau'r offeiriad
and in Brittany: karantez; krogerez;louzaouen ar paour; peg speg; seregenn;seregenn vihan; skleregen vihan; skraperez;stagerez; stakerez; toed evn; pegas; saragerez; luierez

in which Bert discovers that buttercup petals are easily dislodged

wildlife art exhibition

they took me to a wildlife exhibition then didn't let me see it!!

but these are the winners in the childrens section of the badger competition. This area is a badger cull area....
winner Frances Chaffey top, runner up Lucie McCloud right & Megan Mount Stevens bottom.
And they tell me that B won the adult overall category. humph but still didn't get a look. Can see that picture at home though.

have to add this was way way back atthe begining of May

bird song in the woods, yesterday

bluebell woods, cwm gwaun

sunday 23rd, late afternoon, early evening. following badger paths, leaving my mark.
warm sunny weather. lots of bird song. bluebells. wood warbler, song thrush, chiff chaff...amongst many...