Early Morning Moment

My family and friends wonder why I get up so early when I don't have to but it is simply to revel in early mornings like today. When I opened the curtains at around 6am the lightening sky was clear with the hint of blue that promises a beautiful day; a soft mist lingered just above the field; the birds, mostly still in their roosts were greeting the dawn with happy songs; there was not a breath of wind... a picture of still serenity...apart from two young deer who were cavorting round and round, up and down, full of the joys of spring. What a lovely way to start the day and I wouldn't miss it for anything.

The past few sunny warm days have brought everything racing forward. The Violets in the pony field have been joined by Wood Anemones, Primroses and Celandine.

My Lavender seeds are sprouting well in the greenhouse along with all the others seeds we've sown and the sowing continues. Everywhere I look there are seed trays including the kitchen table. Unfortunately a lot of the perennial weeds are also sprouting well and it looks like I will be fighting quite a few battles this year especially with Cleavers which seem to be coming up all over the place. The battle with the weeds is one, I know from experience, I won't win (unless I use chemicals) so it doesn't bother me anymore I just pull up what I can so they don't completely take over and try to appreciate that they too are part of nature...even though those horrid stinging nettles have already got me twice...grrrr

I had a peep under the weed suppressant sheet that we put on the top of the bank several years ago in the hope of making it a sitting area (as it has beautiful views) and sure enough the slow worms were out in force enjoying the warmth after surviving such a cold winter. It is a shame we can't use our sitting area but its a small price to pay when we have inadvertently created a habitat for these funny little creatures who are multiplying up there at a tremendous rate year after year.

I have always loved nature but have never really found out how to study it properly so at the age of 55 I thought it was about time I did something about it, so I have just sent my application in for an Open University Course on the subject. I am very excited and can't wait to get going on it:-)

Foxes and Wild Flowers

Since seeing the vixen ambling through the field with her cub following close behind her (7 days ago) I have twice seen a fox cub alone in our garden and wondered if it is the same one. Both times he has looked a bit lost and confused but he is probably old enough to look after himself and he already seems to have learnt that there are often scraps to be found under the hanging bird tray. No sign of the vixen though, so I went for a walk down the valley to where I have seen her sitting outside her den before. She wasn't there, so I started to look for wild flowers on the SSSI land.

This area used to be prolific in wild flowers common to chalk downland so I was pleased to see that, despite the land having been driven over by big tractors during the scrub clearance, there are still a few patches that the tractor missed and some Orchids and other flowers are coming through.

Common Spotted Orchid




Twayblade Orchid




Vetch

Campion