It was the morning of New Year’s Eve. A cold and clear morning with lots of jobs planned. As I opened the main gate I heard the distinct noisy sound of a flock of geese, flying in formation high above the woods. It’s a sound I love. It evokes feelings of freedom and the wholesomeness of nature and for a fleeting moment, all seems well in the world.
I stepped out of the car looking for “Bertie” the robin. It was a while before a robin appeared but it didn’t attempt to take the food from my hand. Surely he hasn’t forgotten me already? It wasn’t him but soon he arrived too. If you remember, the children at my daughter’s workplace helped me name him. I wanted to try to capture some video of him feeding off my hand so she could show them. I set the camera up and using an app on my phone, was able to operate the camera remotely. Here’s a short film I compiled for them.
After a nice long walkabout, I set-to brushcutting some areas of bramble that had grown rampant and were choking some young hazel trees I planted a few years ago. I’m not entirely happy doing it as the bramble provides safe habitats for all manner of life. It’s cover from predators for small animals and birds and it’s a food source for insects. It has to be kept in check though. You can see the before and after photos and how much it had invaded the woodland floor.
Lunch was a sardine sarnie (that alliteration looks good written doesn’t it?) A small flock of long tailed tits had descended and were foraging in the understorey. They must be one of the cutest British birds and are a joy to watch. Bertie kept me company eating some seeds I had put on a stump at the side of my chair. This odd photo is a result of his head turning quickly and a slow shutter speed. I’d like to say it was done intentionally for artistic purposes but that would be a lie.
My wife gave me a robin type nest box as one of my Christmas gifts, so I wanted to set that up somewhere suitable. They like a low position, under thick scrub where they are safe from predators. I picked a position under some beech trees at the end of a brash hedge I created some years ago. I made a sort of framework of sticks around it to support a pile of the brambles I had cut back, leaving just a small entrance to the side. It looks pretty well hidden so I’m hoping Mr and Mrs Bertie might take up residence in Spring.
A final word just to set the record straight. In my last post I stated that it was the Winter Solstice on the 21st Dec. A few observant folks corrected me to say I was a day early. In fact the actual time of the Solstice was around 4.30 am on the 22nd. In the grand scale of time and the universe I reckon it makes no difference to anything but just in case you felt you had missed the boat with your pagan celebrations, my apologies.
It’s a New Year now, though I reckon that is wrong too because surely the actual new year starts a second after the Solstice? Anyway to all my friends and readers, I hope the coming year will be a good one for you. It certainly seems significant with a new British government and Brexit looming and the written year – 2020 a pleasing visual appeal. All the best.
