Hello, how are you?! Several weeks have gone by and the cobwebs in the corners of this blog are gathering cobwebs of their own, but I'm still here...
A bout of Covid (my first) knocked me back last month, but the leaden-legged fatigue and peculiar effect on the tastebuds (I couldn't have distinguished between a rice pudding and a vegetable jalfrezi in a blind taste test) thankfully passed. Now I'm "in-between" work projects and, aside from many overdue jobs to do around the house, it's a pleasure to take a breather and get immersed in nature outside for a while. So, screen time isn't a big draw at the mo.
Ah, but outside is, I'm addicted. By day I've been spotting the biggest, fattest garden spiders I've ever seen, and have been exhilarated by my first ever sighting of a live grass snake in the leaf litter. I can hear the mewing of buzzards (we've never heard so many round here before) and watch the beautiful aerobatic displays of red kites over the rooftops and fields (still relatively new to these parts and they thrill me every time. Did you know they have a wingspan of around 5ft?!) By evening, it's the occasional, surprising close encounter with a bat as it flits with beating wings in somewhat manic fashion past the honeysuckle - and my head. There's evidence of a hedgehog's wanderings too (those animal faeces recognition skills come in handy) and I can't help but have a fondness for Mrs Brown Rat as she lifts her nose, ears twitching independently, to sniff me from a safe distance (although had to stop feeding the birds for now in an effort to persuade her to move on). Still, a chiffchaff skims the buddleiah, delaying its return to Africa while the weather's so warm here. A stunning hornet (the native European species) wows me with its size and tiger colours, and the Red Admiral and Peacock butterflies bask on the kitchen window frame. With surprising speed, Cabbage White caterpillars rhythmically munch through toadflax (love that name) pausing only to drop off neat little parcels from their opposite ends... who knew you could even see a caterpillar take a crap?! - all part of the cycle...
I could watch, and listen, and smell all this for hours; it's my salve... I recommend it to everyone, even if only for a few minutes a day. Even if it's just what I used to do when I lived in a top floor flat looking out at the orbweb spiders in the corners of the windows and the magpies bouncing on the opposite rooftops. Just get whatever you can. I'd recommend it to Putin et al. Honestly, mate, I'd like to say to him/them in my Utopian dream world, just sit back and watch the bees and the birds for a while and wonder at the simple pleasures of nature, how marvellous and precious it all is, how it deserves our protection, and you might just feel a little bit happier inside and appreciate the value of peace and harmony. Oh, if only...
Bumming about in nature doesn't leave a lot of time or motive for blogging but I really don't want to lose the blogging either- it's very important to me too, the source of some lovely friendships and also something of a salve. So I will be back! Just maybe when I've finished watching that wasp drinking from the bird bath and the convoy of ants on a mysterious mission running along the path.... See you soon.
Autumn is the best time to experience nature, so go for it, C. We met a hedgehog outside the garage last week and there are two owls we often hear having a conversation later on. I've grown to enjoy my just before bed walks with Bertie as the best time to catch such sights... bats included!
ReplyDeleteLovely stuff, Rol. The nightlife is as good as the daytime, isn't it? All the sounds are so amplified too - the slightest movement, rustling of leaves - could be a moth, a snail, a hedgehog. Anything non-human most welcome!
DeleteNever turn you back on Mother Earth; you never know what she has in store.
ReplyDeleteJM
Ah, don't get me started John - I think, to quote the song by Hawkwind, we took the wrong step years ago. I often wonder why most of mankind (I think the Amazonian tribes, Australian aborigines and other indigineous peoples are the exception) went in the strange anti-nature direction it did, when it would seem obvious that we should have always worked with and respected it...
DeleteIs it possible that the wildlife has been attracted by the smell of all the uneaten vegetable biryanis?
ReplyDeleteQuite possibly, Ernie. They probably got a lot more pleasure from it than I did at the time. It either didn't taste of anything, or tasted foul - great for anyone on a diet, though, I guess...
DeleteWonderful stuff C
ReplyDeleteAuditioning for a gig on Autumnwatch?
Thanks CC - and oh, you've just mentioned my dream job!
DeleteWe don't get very many red kites, it's mainly buzzards here. Our compensation is occasional deer in the back garden.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll see red kites soon, it's wonderful how their numbers are increasing and habitat widening - we never had them until so recently but now they're a frequent sight. One positive change for nature here at least :-)
DeleteDeer in the back garden? - ah, that's wonderful. What a treat (even if your plants don't think so).
Oh, we do see them, just they are outnumbered by buzzards. Who, in turn, are outnumbered by crows!
DeleteSorry, I should have said "more" red kites! - glad you see them too anyway. A friend who lives about 20 miles South of us recently witnessed a huge gathering of them over a field, dozens, and assumed there must have been quite a substantial piece of carrion there to feast on which had attracted them, perhaps a dead deer. Not suggesting that you'd want that in your garden, though!
DeleteVenison for dinner?
DeleteThe Buzzard call is one of my favourite calls, haunting. It seems like it is Hornet season. We had one in the bathroom. After it was kicked out it banged against the window to get back in.
ReplyDeleteOh, haunting is a great description. Those hornets are beautiful to look at but not necessarily in the bathroom! One Summer I kept finding quite a collection of various discarded butterfly wings in the garden, very strange. Then one day I witnessed a huge hornet catch and kill a butterfly. Mystery solved.
DeleteSounds great C, so.much going on. Getting outside is so important. Even in our suburban south Mcr back garden we have bats flitting about (seeing them never fails to lift to me), some mad squirrels residing in the trees in the alleyway and various cats idling. Not so many birds but there are larger birds, hovering in the sky, seen when we go to the cemetery or a bike ride. As the nights draw in getting out becomes a bit more squeezed. Glad you're over Covid. My post Covid symptoms persist. Still can't smell much at all.
ReplyDeleteSwiss Adam
I'm so pleased that you have bats in your back garden, SA. We hear so many doom and gloom stories about numbers declining that it's just brilliant to know they're still out and about and perhaps in places we might not expect, and I know what you mean about never failing to lift you - me too. Everything else as well, just love the way wild birds and animals get on with their lives around us.
DeleteOh, so sorry to hear about your sense of smell. That's horrible - didn't realise until it was happening to me how much it affected daily life in ways you don't normally think about. Really hope it recovers soon.
The older I get the more I want to be outside, and the more I enjoy the nature all around me. At the moment, beyond sitting in the garden when the weather allows, that is difficult as I am recovering from a nasty virus (not COVID but they couldn't say specifically what) that also developed into pneumonia and put me in hospital for 5 days. Reading between the lines of the doctors' comments I think it was a good job I am pretty fit or it could have done for me.
ReplyDeleteHi Darcy, good to see you here but I'm so sorry to hear about the virus and your hospital stay. That sounds awful and I can understand how worrying it must have been to have pneumonia. Really wishing you a smooth recovery and that you'll be back to normal asap. In the meantime, nature certainly has healing powers - hope you can get beyond the garden soon too, but wherever it is, it's all good. And of course that music continues to soothe your soul!
DeleteThanks for the posts and the eloquence. Getting out makes a huge difference to me, even if it's just a short walk. We have almost too many kites round here, it's not unusual to see a dozen or so together. I nearly hit one that was having lunch in the middle or the road - they are so slow to take off -!
ReplyDeleteWatch out the hornets are not the Asian variety - they need to be banished as they are a huge bee predator.
Hi DaG and thank you for dropping by and commenting here, much appreciated. So true what you say about just getting out and its benefits. Fantastic that you see so many kites as they're still a bit of a novelty to me but I guess you've got used to seeing them. Must be quite something to see one so close-up in the middle of the road, I'm only getting views from below at the moment but I do love it when one flies relatively low and I can look up and see its head turn to look down.
DeleteYes, I'm on the look out for those Asian hornets that have recently arrived and are a great worry. Thankfully they seem quite easy to distinguish so, as long as the hornets here look like they always have with more bright yellow in the abdomen but without the yellow on the legs that the Asian one has, I can hopefully relax!