Yesterday, the frogs reappeared, and despite continuous rain we were treated today with the sight of at least seven swirling around the surface of the pond. Although it's slighty later, there's certainly much more activity than last year. Last night I went out for a closer look, but despite my best stealth, the noise of the frantic splashing had become silent by the time I'd crept to the edge of the pond. I sat for some twenty minutes in the misty cool, but they all stayed hidden. At one point though, the kitchen light got turned on and I swear I could see several sets of eyes, glinting at me from the surface! I left them in peace, and hobbled away to ease the pain in my joints.
With a cold start to the month, my spirits were raised with the arrival of some seeds through the post; teasal, greater stitchwort and alkanet and an eleven flower mix of native annuals. Then suddenly, temperatues really rose. lesser celandine was beginning to bloom along the roadsides and hazels were streaming with lamb's-tail catkins.
Yesterday, the frogs reappeared, and despite continuous rain we were treated today with the sight of at least seven swirling around the surface of the pond. Although it's slighty later, there's certainly much more activity than last year. Last night I went out for a closer look, but despite my best stealth, the noise of the frantic splashing had become silent by the time I'd crept to the edge of the pond. I sat for some twenty minutes in the misty cool, but they all stayed hidden. At one point though, the kitchen light got turned on and I swear I could see several sets of eyes, glinting at me from the surface! I left them in peace, and hobbled away to ease the pain in my joints.
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With cold, grey weather continuing to grip, it's felt like spring would never break through. Unsurprisingly, the frogs, after their brief, exciting appearance, completely vanished from sight. But at 5.30am two days ago, I was sipping my first cup of tea of the day, when suddenly, the sound of croaking reached my ears through the open kitchen window. I rushed outside, but maybe my excited dash disturbed them for I heard nothing more. Yesterday however, I managed to catch a glimpse of a pair embraced together in the shallows. Perhaps this was the same pair seen last week, it's still pretty chilly, but my spirits were raised even higher when I had good views of a female blackcap, flitting about in the ivy just outside the kitchen window. Temperatures are forecast to rise over the weekend, and there's that lovely sence of pre-spring excitment; that given the balm of some warm sunshine, everything will start to happen.
Despite the cold, I've managed to do a little bit of gardening. Yesterday I pruned the roses in the front garden and also gathered up a pile of other prunings left from last autumn. These I then took into the back garden and chopped them up to use as valuable habitat enhancement. Hidden under hedges or placed at the back of borders, "rubbish" such as this can greatly boost the garden's value to wildlife. Gazing out from the kitchen window late this morning, I was excited to see a heavy swirl at the surface of the pond. Stealthily, Suesie and I made our way to the edge, and at first was rewarded only with a tantalizing mass of bubbles. But then, suddenly we caught a glimpse of a pair of frogs near the edge, clasped together in their mating embrace. What a thrill, and another sure sign spring is definately on it's way!
Many frogs will hibonate successfully at the bottom of ponds, so long as there's sufficient depth, whilst others will use compost heaps or other warm places. Many will return annually to the place they were born to mate, and there the male frogs will croak to attract the larger females. The males will then clasp their mates around the waist, using their specially flattened forefingers to maintain their grip. This amorous embrace called amplexus, can continue for several days before the laying of spawn occurs. Following two days of really cold weather yesterday hailed a change, and by early afternoon it had beome warm enough for me to enjoy my first outdoor lunch of the year! A quick peek at the pond revealed two wirly-gig beetles spinning their mad dance over the surface film. Another sign of spring! Apparently, most adults don't survive the UK winter, so if you do spot one in early spring it's a sure sign they managed to hibernate; overwintering a the bottom of the pond.
The warmer weather continued into today as well, and during the afternoon we got a glimpse of two more pond dwellers; a large sleepy-looking water boatman and a water measurer moving un-characteristically fast across the surface film. Normally, they have a much more sedentary pace. Like all surface-film pond creatures water measurers have hydrophobic hairs on their legs and undersides. They are carniverous scavengers taking their fill from tiny creatures alighting upon the water's surface or mosquito larvae and water fleas beneath. Towards the end of last month we had a string of warm days that felt deceptively spring-like; a welcome reprieve from the chill. Since then things have returned to normal; mornings of glittering frost, bitingly icy winds and days which are grey and filled with rain. It's noticably lighter in the evenings, and birds are singing on the sunnier days, but it still feels so cold! And if you're anything like me, then you'll be feeling a desperate urge to get out there and garden. Oh for the spring! Thankfully there are heartening signs of it's approach everywhere; bulbs pushing through, green clumps of lesser celandine and even a few primroses in bloom under the hedge.
We've managed to keep on top of the bird feeding throughout the winter; gratefully recieved by the groups of jackdaws, wood pigeons and collared doves, tits and other birds. Another bird frequently seen has been a pied wagtail, taking seed the other birds have dropped from above. Hello and welcome to the beginning of another year at Selfheal wildlife garden! After all the joys of 2012, we're so looking forward to sharing with you whatever delights and excitments this year may reveal. After last autumn's planting there's a lot more variety in terms of wildflowers in the garden now, so it'll be interesting to see the changes as the year progresses and the garden continues to mature. We've also got lots planned including the new bog garden and meadow area. We've decided to leave sowing the meadow till next September; making certain the ground's as free of weeds as we can get it, and in the meantime use this patch as a bed of native annual flowers. As you can see from the photo below, we've got our share of snow at the moment, so the main jobs are keeping the bird feeders topped up and making sure the pond has a breathing hole free from ice. At this time of year when everything looks so bleak and lifeless, it can feel as if the winter's never going to end. Yet bulbs are already pushing through everywhere. And what could be more heartening than this little dog violet bloom defiantly pushing through the ice.
Before breakfast this morning I gave myself half an hour of chigung, then went out into the garden with a cup of steaming tea. Such a lovely way to start the day. Beneath the cloudless, pale blue sky the lawn bore a light covering of frost and the pond was still covered in biscuit-thin ice. Gazing skywards I spotted a pair of distant herring gulls; their wings rimmed with gold from the light of the rising sun. I love this time of year. Despite the cold and the dormancy there's still this wonderful sense of anticipation, of being in relationship with and participating in something special.
After much frustration and gnashing of teeth I've now decided NOT to re-sow the meadow this autumn after all! Although I've given the plot several fastiduous weedings, I'm not convinced the soil is clear of seed from the old turf, especially as we allowed the grasses to set seed these last two years running. Instead, we're going to leave it till next autumn. We could sow in the spring, but that would mean a lot of the wildflowers would escape the peroid of winter cold they need to germinate. So what we're going to do is to use the plot next year for a native annuals mix, giving us a colourful show, and lots of nector for foraging insects. Come late summer we'll pull out the spent plants and cultivate the border again ready for the grassland mix. Meadow's can take a couple of years to begin to show their true beauty, and so the urge has been to rush in quick. But with something like this it pays to be really patient and to do the job well.
Suesie and I have both endured heavy colds these last few days. Annoyingly, I'd spent the past few weeks diligently taking an autumn, virus-busting tonic made from simmered flax, fenugreek and fennel seeds which tastes ok, but feels like downing curdled frog's spawn. I'm not kicking myself though, we've been through some pretty massive life changes of late, so perhaps it's not surprising.
Eastbourne's first "Seedy Sunday" event was a huge success and we managed to pick up a few more native plants. Also, I had a chat with a meadow growing expert who told me it wasn't too late to sow. As a result, I bought one of his seed mixes and will hopefully be sowing our new meadow once energy returns. Tasks in the garden at present are mainly bird feeding and keeping the pond leaf-free. One of the joys of keeping a nature journal is being able to look back and compare the changes from previous years. This time last year, it was particularly mild and the pond was still alive with pond scaters. This year it's been a bit cooler and for the most part the pond looks empty of life save for the masses of weed and the odd snail chomping through. Yesterday though, I came face to face with this lovely bush cricket still enduring the November winds. Despite the understanding of the need for winter's rest, there's still an urge inside at this time of year, that wants to get out there and dig, or shape or tend! Oh for Spring! At the same time, there's a sense of anticipation; kind of a hum inside, that it's all just building away beneath ground, just as it needs to and a joy in the patience that gardening calls for. It's all just part of the process.
Lots of birds are busying themselves in and around the garden. Jackdaws and starlings of course, remain boisterous visitors, but we also get frequent visits from a whole mixture of other birds including; blackbirds, robins, great and blue tits, goldfinches, wrens, wood pigeans and collared doves, even the odd juvenile pied wagtail. This morning I also spotted a sparrowhawk fly overhead and a goldcrest flitting about in a neighbours conifer bush. |