Category: wildlife

countryside · crafts & knitting · foxes in my garden · in the woods · wildlife

April: and the greening of the woods

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)1 Comment

 

 

The beginning of April was unseasonably dry and sunny here and it’s been lovely to feel the warmth of the sun again, but around the middle of the month the weather changed, ushering in the abrupt rain showers that April is best known for, something much appreciated by the garden snails. And this combination of warmth, sunshine and showers has brought about such a dramatic change in the countryside. Just a couple of weeks ago all was still bare, twiggy and brown out in the woods, but now everything has burst into leaf and flower, the woodland air is tinged with green and delicately scented, and birdsong weaves its way between the trunks.

We do the same 5 walks each week with Toby and it’s been so interesting to see the weekly change in the environment. It has really accelerated enormously this month, and the rapid spring growth in some plants is quite amazing. The first bracken fronds, nowhere to be seen just a week ago, are now almost a foot tall. And suddenly every verge and path margin is burgeoning green with all of the plants that would be called weeds if they were to spring up in a garden; nettles, dandelions, cleavers and clover.

One of my favourite spring flowers, the wood anemone, has carpeted a small wood for the early part of this month. The small flowers appear bell-like in overcast or wet weather and at night, but when the sun is shining they open fully and turn their faces towards the light, tracking it throughout the day. Apparently they are a marker of ancient woodland and it can take 100 years for them to spread just 6 feet, so this particular woodland with great drifts of them sprinkled throughout is precious and a marvellous sight. And it’s about to be superseded by the carpets of bluebells that are just emerging, they are the crowning glory of spring out in the woods.

Back at home Katsue has been here most days, she’s picked up an injury just above her tail (the opposite side to her broken foot) but it’s healing well and she is no longer pregnant so whether the cubs are alive is not yet known. She enjoys curling up for a nap after her snack and seems in no hurry to leave, but this does not mean that anything has happened to the cubs as foxes often share a den with another vixen and do pool litters to give each other some time off.

There has been a lot of knitting going on. Sock knitting continues to be a relaxing pastime when my brain needs a rest and I’ve enjoyed using some beautiful hand-dyed yarns in spring colours from The Knitting Shed to knit some very simple ‘don’t-need-to-think’ socks. But most of my available time is being spent on pattern writing. The 7 inch animals that I was working on are put aside for now and instead I’m continuing work on my new animal design, which is coming together slowly. I can’t show you progress yet as there are still wrinkles to be worked out, but hopefully next time I’ll be able to give you a hint 🙂

‘Til then keep well, and continue seeking small joys wherever you can find them, hopefully they appear for you when needed, J x

PS: I filmed a little of one of our walks at Panshanger, Toby was having fun and scaring me a little with his climbing antics too!

spring film

Nature notes from April:

  • Week 1:  Blackthorn is just beginning to blossom, the bright white buds opening to small star-like flowers. We spotted 9 butterflies on one particularly sunny walk; orange tips, brimstones, comas and peacocks all dancing delightfully along the woodland rides at Balls wood.
  • Week 2:  The blackthorn is at peak this week, with field boundary hedgerows enveloped in clouds of white blossom and buzzing with bees. Wood anemones are suddenly in flower, when I looked for them last week all I saw was the first leaves emerging from the leaf litter, but this week they are in full glory.
  • Week 3:  Great tits have begun nesting in our garden birdbox and I’ve seen the first robin chick of this year, perched on the fence. The bluebells are in flower, not yet open but small blue spires full of promise.
  • Week 4:  The blackthorn blossom is over now but hawthorn is taking it’s place. They have such similar flowers but whereas blackthorn blossoms on bare boughs hawthorn comes into leaf before its flowers open. Bluebells are now gloriously opening and the scent on our woodland walks is wonderful.
autism · countryside · crafts & knitting · foxes in my garden · wildlife

February, mud and hope

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)Leave a comment

 

February has been a bit challenging here. Toby has been unpredictable and had a couple of quite violent and scarily out-of-the-blue meltdowns, the worst of which resulted in a trip to A&E for me with a bitten hand. It was shocking and upsetting because it was so sudden and unexpected, he’s never bitten me like that before. Knitting was out of the question for a couple of days, but the antibiotics have dealt with any infection and the swelling and bruising have gone down so I’m happily knitting away again now.

As a result I’ve been thinking a lot this month about counterpoint and the fact that tough times are somehow necessary in order to be truly grateful and appreciative of all that is good in life. Even though our good days here don’t contain the elements that many people require to call a day a good one, (like trips or meals out, holidays, family celebrations etc.) I count us lucky that our good day requirements are simple and mostly achievable.

Our good days are created simply when Toby is calm and content and we each have a little time to ourselves. Even on a bad day I try to find a moment in the early morning or late evening to sit with my knitting, * read a book, or ** listen to some music, and say to myself “My day is really good right now” ***. It has felt good to say this out loud, and appreciate that in that moment things actually are good. I’m going to continue this practice and acknowledge the good moments when they arrive with that little phrase, it’s really helping me to feel more positive, especially on days when good has only come in fleeting moments.

Our regular countryside walks have of course been another source of good in our days. Although the winds have been cold and the mud is still thickly gelatinous underfoot, there are changes that signal a shift in the seasons is on the way. The first herald of spring in our local woodlands is the emergence of carpets of snowdrops and overhead the bright yellow catkins of the hazel tree release puffs of pollen which are wafted to neighbouring trees on the breeze. We’ve had a few bright blue sky days of sunshine too and that is always uplifting, especially after weeks of grey murk and mist.

On one of our regular walks we stop at a bench for a snack and in this field there are these curious tussocks. It’s taken me a while to work out what they are, but I’ve now realised that each one is a red ant colony. There are hundreds of them dotted across this field and it’s quite mind blowing how many ants there must be busying away under the soil. Sitting on this bench while Toby eats his biscuits is another good moment, nature is awesome and always wonderous to contemplate. We’re lucky to be able to get out into the nearby countryside and enjoy it, and also to have regular visitors to our garden too; birds and squirrels and the beautiful foxes. Little Katsue (with the broken leg, which she’s adapted to well) and handsome Kai are both still visiting most days for snacks. The first 3 fox pictures above are Kai (the dog fox) and the lower 3 pictures are Katsue (the vixen).

Well, that’s my news from this month, I am working on patterns again (a couple of different small 7 inch animals, including the fox/deer pictured at the top of this post, plus coats and cardigans patterns for the small animals) and I’m putting the finishing touches to a couple of tutorials that just need laying out and proof-reading. I hope to share more news of those soon.

‘Til next time thank you for dropping in to visit with me, wishing you good moments in your days ahead, J x

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*Currently reading Watership Down by Richard Adams, first read it as a child and in the intervening decades I somehow forgot what a great book it is.

** Listening a lot to The Wailin Jennys version of ‘Light of a Clear Blue Morning’ and the soundtrack to the film ‘Land’ (especially Healing part 1 &2, Over the Pines and Walking Hymn)

***Quote from the film ‘Wonder‘, based on the book by R. J. Palacio, which I’ve been watching lots recently, if you’ve never seen it you should 🙂

countryside · crafts & knitting · foxes in my garden · wildlife

December Days

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)Leave a comment

The arrival of winter always brings a desire to slow down, to cosy up, to hibernate a little. Winter storms have rolled in bringing cold winds, lashing rain and grey skies but here inside it is quiet, and still, and warm, and there is comfort and peace in the simple pleasures of reading a book or knitting a pair of socks. I’m up early each day to catch the sunrise, or at least a lightening of the gloom, and the quiet moments in between Amy going off to work and Toby getting up are a favourite part of my day, as I enjoy my early morning cup of tea and the freedom to spend a little time on anything of my own choosing.

Out in the countryside all of the Autumn leaves are down, dashed from the trees in the recent early winter storms and now lying damply underfoot. There are always a few weeks at the end of Autumn when you really need to know the route out in the woods as the pathways are hidden under deep drifts of leaves, so it’s easy to loose your way. There is mud too, so much mud, and Toby and I slip about almost like skaters as we make our way along our familiar pathways.

The outgoing migrant birds have flocked and flown for warmer places far away. The birds that over-winter here are just arriving. All summer long there’s been no sight or sound of a blackbird in our garden, but all of a sudden there are six of them, all squabbling over ownership of the topmost branches of the plum tree.

The foxes are back in our garden too, after spending the summer months elsewhere. A sure sign that the weather has turned and that they need extra supplies to grow their thick winter coats and bulk up a little to better cope with the colder weather to come. For the first time we are winning the trust of a dog fox, he accompanies Katsue (the small vixen with the injured foot who started visiting in springtime) and every day gets a little bolder and comes a little further from the bushes. We’ve called him Kai and he is very handsome, hopefully I’ll get some more pictures of him once he’s more relaxed.

Well, I’m going to sign off here until the new year. We’re having a very quiet and simple Christmas, the tree will go up tomorrow and then there will be good food, quiet candlelight and lots of cosying – plus plenty of sock knitting.

Thank you so much for visiting here with me, it’s lovely to have your company and I deeply appreciate all of the kind comments and messages that you send my way. I hope that you have a peaceful few weeks, and that you’re able to spend time with those you love best. I wish you and yours a merry Christmas (if you are celebrating), and a very happy start to the New Year, J xxx