Spring With Energy

Winter was almost like the olden days of fable. In other words, we had snow; quite a bit of it. More than that, it was long. 

Spring has arrived and life that was dormant appears impatient to catch up. This shouldn’t be a surprise. Evolution has adapted species to deal with a variety of conditions;the fact that wildflowers are now racing to complete their annual cycle is  evidence of that.

 

For us this means a wonderful wild flower display. I’ve been out and about today. Everywhere I looked, wildflowers are Blooming.

Here are some I saw, all within a mile of each other:

Field forget me not (Myosotis arvensis)

 

English primrose (Primula vulgaris)

 

Dog violet (Viola riviana)

 

Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris)

 

Lesser celandine (Ficara verna)

 

Oppsosite leaved golden saxifrage (Chrysoplenium oppositfolium)

 

Wood sorrel (Oxalis griffithii)

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

 

Bluebell (Hyacynthoides non-scripta)

 

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus)

Thanks for reading and I hope you get out into nature to enjoy this spring’s marvellous display.

 

 

 

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Something different… Alpacas

Today I’m visiting the National Alpaca Show.

This Peruvian relative of camels is surprisingly popular, its coat making a fine lanolin-free wool, much softer than sheep wool and is in demand from the fashion industry.

“Cosy by Luciano” and Catherine Price exhibiting their wares.

The show has much in common with other agricultural shows but the range of trade stands reflects that this is an industry dominated by smallholder businesses.

Judging of competitions for the best animals and fleeces ensure that new generations of alpacas will continue to produce a high quality product.

However, my youngest informs me that the most important thing about alpacas is that they are adorable.

After a long dormant time

I haven’t blogged for ages but maybe the return of energy to nature is having a knock-on effect upon me.

Today I decided to travel paths near home that I haven’t walked for at least a couple of years, some many more. I was rewarded by encountering some remarkable trees.

This oak has suffered over the years but is clearly a good home to many bugs and grubs. In turn they provide food for birds such as woodpecker, nuthatches and treecreepers.

This ash recently fell but its surviving stump tell the story of a long life, probably pollarded to provide timber at a nearby small holding.

This amazing birch was probably part of a hedge. It might have been layed as part of that hedge but it appears the other trees in the hedge died a long time ago.

There are lots of good side effects to this long winter. Today one has been that the lengthening days gave me time to explore and the slow spring meant I could see the shape of these trees, un -obscured by spring growth.

Happy wanderings.

Colour in Clover

Clover may be the only wildflower more famous for its leaves than its blooms. 

The three lobed shamrock leaves are symbolic of all things Irish but this widespread family of plants grows here too; and right now it’s “Pom-Pom” flowers are at our feet. 

Clover grows wild today but before commercial fertilisers were common, farmers would plant it because of its ability to capture nitrogen, the main component of many fertilisers; and fix it in the soil. 

Two clovers are most common in England. Red and White Clover. White clover is more often associated with species poor, cultivated and fertilised land, whereas its red cousin is often an indicator of species rich grassland where other wild flowers thrive. 

It is possible from time to time, to find both growing together 

Red Campion, Pink Star of the Woods and Hedges

As spring progresses, many wildflowers are overtaken by vigorous plants such as nettle, bramble and grasses. 

Where the soil is rich more colourful wild flowers may be fewer now but a few stars shine out against the verdant background. 

AS a boy, after learning the names of bluebell, daisy and dandelion, the next wildflower I came to know was Red Campion (Silene dioca)

Growing up to three feet tall it can keep up with all but the most vigorous competitors in the race for sunlight that plants engage in. It’s a common and welcome sight in hedges and woods. 

Look closely and there are two types of flower. Male with twisted yellow anthers and female, with delicate, greener stamen.

        

Hogweed (and cow parsley)

Hogweed is taking over the verges and woodland edges. 

The good news is, there’s nothing wrong. At around the same time Cow Parsley goes to seed and its delicate white flowers fade, it is succeeded by its cousin, hogweed. 

Both are members of the carrot and parsley family; and by far their most common members in the British countryside. 

I was at the Bushcraft Show this weekend and found the two growing together in a hedgerow. The Cow Parsley is at the end of its flowering period, the Hogweed at the start. 

The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is that Cow Parsley has more delicate, feather-like leaves, Hogweed’s are more robust, thicker and larger. 

There are nearly forty members of the carrot family growing wild in Britain. Thirty of them look very similar. Some have irritants in their sap and some are poisonous; some are delicious wild food. This makes them a very useful group to know; but to know well. 

I’ll be adding posts about the different members of this family as I encounter them over summer. 

Heathland Heather Burns

Burning wildlife’s home doesn’t sound like conservation. 

I was on the Long Mynd, a hill covered by upland Heath in Shropshire, last week. 

On the hill plateau, the National Trust has been burning areas of heather for years. 

Rather than destroying the habitat, by clearing aging heather this way, the conditions are created where new growth of heather and bilberry can begin. 

By managing the heath this way, conservationists are creating a mix aged heather covering, providing a better habitat for wildlife from grouse to butterflies. 

Gosling Update

A few days ago I published pictures of a brood of goslings hatched that day.

They are now out and about, feeding on the grass and swimming in the mill pond, closely guarded by their parents

The Many-Named Wild Arum

Wild Arum (Arum maculatum) is known by many names.

“Cuckoo Pint,” “Lords and Ladies,” “Friars Cowl,” Wake Robin;” and “Jack-in-the-Pulpit,” are but a few of the traditional English names for the species.

Many of the names refer to the distinctive shape of the plant, with its phallus-like “spadex” at the centre. This organ is the flower of the plant and as well as becoming the fruiting body later in the year, growing a distinctive column of red berries, attracts insects with it’s odour, which smells of faeces.

It’s not a flower to put in the living room.

The plant and its berries are also poisonous. A dramatic feature to look out for on a spring walk in the woods.

 

New Goslings

It’s spring and new life is everywhere. 

Since discovering this nest while taking a short-cut round the millpond. 

Since then I’ve kept an eye on it and today I saw the eggs have hatched and there are seven goslings.