Tag Archives: Nature

Bluebells, blossom, birds and beards by the broad

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I don’t know what day of the lockdown it is, and haven’t really watched the news today. Sometimes I just want a break from all the bad news, anxiety inducing headlines, speculation and frankly at times moronic questions from journalists during the daily press briefings.

I’m getting particularly sick of hearing conspiracy theories about how the virus might have originated. I really don’t believe the Chinese manufactured it in a lab; it’s far more likely this has come from nature due to our continuing destructive practices bringing us closer to infectious diseases. We really need to address the ecological crisis, which of course is tired to the climate emergency. And don’t get me started on 5G nonsense, whether it be how 5G can spread the virus (give me strength) or other unscientific theories. Conspiracy theories don’t do anyone any good, and of course you can’t really argue with people that really believe them as they just claim your counter-arguments are all part of the conspiracy. It would be nice if some people weren’t so credulous, and eager to try and convince others of their lunacy. In severe cases it can really put lives at risk, and cause unnecessary disruption.

I’m pulling together photos from my recent wanderings for a blog post on wild plants you can find growing on your doorstep at the moment, however this is quite a lengthy enterprise. It’s amazing how many species you can find along paths and roadside verges. In lieu of that, here’s a short film from the woods down by Salhouse Broad I took today. Many Bluebells, a lot of Blackthorn blossom, birdsong and the odd beard.

Working from home is giving me many more opportunities to get out into nature in my local area, for my daily bit of exercise. I really hope others are getting the same opportunity, whether that be in the city, where nature can still be found thriving, or out in the countryside. Once we’re out of lockdown I hope that working practices will change for many, allowing more time at home with friends and family, perhaps a slower pace of life, and more time to appreciate the natural wonders we have in the UK.

The current crisis also seems to have stimulated a gardening resurgence, both for people growing their own food, as well as planting more nature friendly species to help wildlife. Both these are great things; growing your own food will make us far more sustainable and less environmentally damaging as a nation, and our insects, birds and mammals need all the help they can get at the moment.

 

We just need to remember to try and plant native species where possible, and ponds don’t need to be sterile ornamental things. The wild pond in my garden has birds visit it everyday, as well as a hedgehog at night; far more entertaining than coy carp, in my opinion.

Nature may appear to be thriving in many places in the UK at the moment, but it’s not all good news. On my cycle ride the other day I noticed yet more hedgerows have been torn down alongside a road where I believe new houses are to be built. Hedges provide such vital habitat for nesting birds and shelter for mammals, as well as wildlife corridors. I really don’t know why the hedgerows have been removed, especially during bird nesting season which I think it illegal. There still seems to be flailing (violent machine hedge-cutting technique) going on too, which I hate, not least because it sprays wood splinters all over the road causing me punctures; I’m more worried about the impact on wildlife though. I really wish we could try and live and ‘develop’ in a more harmonious way with the wildlife we have left. At least roadside verges seem to have received some respite this year, with less mowing; it’s amazing seeing all the wild plants and flowers growing.

Perhaps the lockdown will allow people more time to appreciate nature, notice its beauty, and take in the destruction happening. We need to get out of this state of denial and ignorance. We need nature as much as it needs us to protect it. Maybe lockdown will give people the pause and thinking time needed, and once we emerge we can turn the decline in biodiversity around, and put the health of the planet, ourselves, and that of future generations ahead of profit and so-called ‘growth’.

Plant blog to follow 🙂

Is it my imagination?

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Is it my imagination, or are the birds louder, the insects more buzzy and does the air taste sweeter? Out on my bike for my once-a-day exercise break, I glory in the lack of background noise from traffic, the roads and skies quietened by necessity.

Sometimes I pedal down to the Broad, not too far from my house, to enjoy the peace that water brings. I’m alone there aside from a few dog walkers; usually it’d be packed with picnickers and boats.

It’s fun poking about, looking at the tracks and signs animals have left. I’ve yet to find Otter footprints, but have seen signs of their feeding. I’m sure there must be a badger set somewhere close by, but as yet it alludes me.

Spring flowers are bursting into life, which is helping me learn to identify new species. The flowers and warmer weather no doubt account for the large clouds of insects I pedal through, although I wonder if the cleaner air and reduced traffic are also playing a part in their increased numbers. Insects are such a vital foundation for trophic cascades and ecosystems, it would be wonderful to see their numbers recover. I sat and watched a bumble bee buzzing round the Broad for several minutes the other day.

As well as Salhouse Broad I sometimes cycle down to the River Bure, opposite the Ferry Inn on the other side of the water in Horning. There’s no one drinking and eating outside the pub, aside from gaggles of ducks and the odd swan.

On the home front I need to get out in the garden more, but remain pretty occupied with work. Did manage to get a bit of bread braking done, and was very happy to find Hedgehog scat in my garden; I think one might be visiting my pond at night.

Things are a little busier in my house than normal as I’m now playing host to 2 cats, 2 bearded-lizards, and an additional human who have all joined me for the ‘Lockdown’.  The cats like finding places to lounge in the sunshine, and seem content. It’s good to have house guests, as although I’m always happy in my own company, I’ll probably start to go slightly mad if this goes on for several months. I’ve also fixed up my big off road touring bike to explore local trails, and been carving spoons to practice my bushcraft skills; the course has been paused for obvious reasons, but will hopefully continue come Autumn.

As well as keeping on top of my natural history study, it’s been fun to try to improve my photography skills. I’m conscious I’m lucky to live where I do, and am able to get out on my own into the countryside and nature. There’s a  very low risk of bumping into anyone else, and if I do it’s easy to maintain several metres distance. I’m trying to post up a few photos on my Instagram and/or Twitter accounts from my daily exercise jaunts.

The Broad still has the greatest draw for me, although the Mallards do not obey social distancing rules.

It won’t be long until the Bluebells are out, carpeting the woods round here in colour. Definitely something to look forward to.

For the time being the Daffodils, Marsh Marigolds, Lesser Celandine, Stitchwort, Dead Nettles, Wood Anemones and countless other plant species I don’t know the names of are bringing colour to the landscape. Also, going on a walk can be quite a slow process now, as I keep having to stop to try and ID plants or animal tracks; Fallow deer example below I think.

A bit further on from Salhouse Broad is Ranworth Broad, another beautiful spot currently devoid of most humans. There are waterfowl aplenty to be seen, and I’ve spotted an elusive Kingfisher flitting about a couple of times; the brilliant blur of colour as it flashes past.

 

When I’m out in the countryside it feels like being out in a time warp. There are so few human based sounds and sights compared to normal, it sometimes feels like it could be a hundred years ago, or more. Nature seems to be thriving and I can’t help thinking it’s doing us all good (‘all’ being all inhabitants of this planet) to slow down a bit, COVID19 impacts notwithstanding. I’m hoping that we, as a species, can learn from this crisis. Maybe we can stop our relentless pursuit of economic growth, and destruction of the planet, slow down, appreciate what we have, and lead a more harmonious existence; one that might preserve the Earth for generations yet to come.

I’ll end with a bit of film from the Broad, which is mainly to showcase the birds singing.

Stay safe and sane.

Lockdown – so it begins

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Due to being immersed on my Bushcraft course as well as XR stuff, and with work also keeping me busy, I’ve really not had a lot of time to keep my blog up-to-date recently. I think I’ll have the opportunity to keep it more current over the next few months now that, as of tonight, we’ve entered lockdown in the UK. As well as updating on what I’ve been doing on my course, I think it’ll be good to keep a journal of how events unfold with the CoronaVirus and COVID19.

I’ve been working from home for about a week now, having loaded my car with my office chair and desktop setup, and trundled it all back to my house. Whilst it’s good to have the face-to-face contact and banter with team mates in the workplace, which I’m going to miss, I can work pretty efficiently at home; in some instances more efficiently! I am also already pretty well stocked-up with supplies, due to being a bit of a prepper by nature.  At least the lockdown Boris announced tonight might stop some of the panic buying going on; bit worried I’m going to run out of essentials like wine, and sausages. In seriousness I wonder what counts as ‘essentials’? To some people it appears to be toilet roll, which seems slightly ridiculous given you’re at home and there are alternatives, such as having a wash. I believe the Romans used to use a communal sponge on a stick, soaked in vinegar…nice…not sure I have a sponge actually.

So I’ve got tinned food, some flour, some stuff in the freezer, salad growing in the garden, other seedlings sprouting, plenty of other bits and bobs to graze on. I’ve also got a warm and comfortable house, the internet, a TV, my guitar, spoons to whittle, loads of books to read, study to do, and a garden to rejuvenate. In some ways this is a bit of a relief as it’ll give me a chance to catch up on some of the stuff I’ve not got close to doing recently. Who knows, I might lose some weight too, as long as I continue to get in one bike ride a day; although my touring bike saddle post broke the other day, so only got my Trek 1120 off-road tourer, with it’s fat tyres – will be fun though!

Compared with other parts of the world the majority of us are going to be pretty comfortable during this lockdown, as long as we’re sensible. COVID19 is a serious disease, no doubt, however other parts of the world have serious threats to lives going on all the time and they cope; war, diseases that can be far worse, famine, drought, climate change impacts such as super-storms and mass migration. Reckon we’ve got it pretty easy by comparison, although I know it’s going to be comparatively hard for many, and there will be a lot of grief doing the rounds. COVID19 is a bit of a leveller really; it doesn’t care about privilege, status, how much money you have (although of course those with more money are more likely to survive), colour or creed. I’m also hopeful that some of the changes we are seeing start to happen, such as less unnecessary travel, working from home, more home grown produce, and communities really working together, become the norm. The world could certainly be a better place for it; air quality is already improving everywhere, although I’m a bit worried we’re going to see temperatures spike due to a reduction in global dimming.

I’ll attempt to keep this blog going with regular updates and reflections, and I’ll post up some of the stuff I’ve been doing on my bushcraft course over the last few months. It’s been amazing so far, learning more about trees and plants, natural medicine, tree-felling, fire starting, track and sign, crafting, shelter building, outdoor food and water, deer management and butchery. Lots that might be useful over the coming months perhaps!

I’m also pondering setting up a YouTube channel to do a bit of VLOG’ing, but not sure about that yet. I could record me playing my guitar a bit I guess, might be fun, or might make your ears bleed. Or produce a few short lectures on stuff I’ve learnt. I’ll ponder some more.

To end today here are some photos from a couple of walks in the outdoors from the weekend. Nature continues its rebirth as Spring gathers momentum, carrying on regardless.

The above were all down by Salhouse Broad, which is a 25 minute walk from my house. I hope to continue to get down there for a bit of regular exercise, whilst observing social distancing rules. It’s one of my favourite places locally and a brilliant place to sit quietly and reflect, immersed in nature; an angry wren was telling me off on Saturday though (small bird angry syndome). Some more pics from there below; I’m experimenting with different ways of displaying them.

I think Otters use this as a feeding spot – fresh water mussel shells
Badger hair caught on barbed wire?
Salhouse Broad – view from top of hill
Horsetail plant
I think this is Hogweed, but could be wrong

On Sunday I nipped the woods to help with some coppicing work, it being the last chance we’ll get this year as all the trees are starting to leaf now, and birds will be nesting soon. The coppicing is helping with some re-wilding work in West Norfolk. I hope to get back there later this year to see what plants have germinated from the previously shaded dormant seed banks, and to see what other wildlife may have moved in.

Tranquil woods
Turkey Tail fungus – probably
Coppicing done – habitat piles made

Finally, my tomato seedlings are coming on well. As usual I’m probably going to end up with far too many tomatoes, but that won’t be a bad thing I reckon; will feed them to the neighbours!

Tomato plants growing fast now

Tomato plants growing fast now

Take care everyone. And please send wine if you have spare 🙂 (essentials only)