November November.

November November, it starts with a bang,
As fireworks explode in the night
Like meteor showers against the black sky,
A palette of colour and light.

From below her warm hat a girl's face is a glow,
As a Sparkler shoots stars from her hand,
She swirls it about to make ribbons of light,
And makes a wish each time a star lands.

Flames lick the sides of an old wooden door,
Red splinters shoot out from the fire,
Cracking and spitting as Guy Fawkes looks on,
While immense heat pours out from his pyre.

November November, with clear frosty nights,
Is ruled by a sinister thing,
He upsets the balance of Libra you see,
When the Scorpion moves in with his sting.

The days will be colder as Winter draws close,
As Jack Frost frowns on us each dawn,
When the last of the golden-brown leaves flutter down,
Blown off by the first Autumn storm.

The Scorpion will die as December draws near,
Killed off by the Archer's old bow,
Sagittarius will rule by the end of the month,
And bring with him the threat of some snow.

November November, it starts with a bang,
Then cold winds draw out a cold tear,
The penultimate month will be cold, wet and dark,
As we move close to the end of the year.

Autumn Jewels

Autumn Jewels:

So here is autumn once again,
In this ever changing scene,
The time when trees shed all their leaves,
And dewy meadows gleam.
 
Leaves of red or golden-brown,
Rain down in blustery winds,
They settle on the woodland glade,
Where the morning Robin sings.
 
Puffing up his bright red breast,
His tune is a sweet delight,
He brightens up these darker days,
And even sings at night.

Woodland Toadstools glisten,
With drops of morning dew,
They shine like jewels in the forest,
Good seats for an Elf or two.

Windfalls drop from sleepy trees,
Fruit both sweet and bitter,
Children collect them from the floor,
Amongst the damp leaf litter.

Mossy Sticks are thrown up high,
By young hands wet and cold,
To knock down spiky cases,
And collect the bounty they hold.
 
Their Conkers fat and polished,
Strung up on old shoe laces,
Bring pleasure to many children,
And put smiles upon their faces.

Fattened up with fruit and nuts,
The Dormouse fills his larder,
For soon the winter will be here,
And foraging will be harder.
 
He fills his nest with all things warm,
And curls up for the night,
His night could last for several months,
By then spring will be in sight.

Starlings gather like swarms of Bees,
And fly in tight formation,
They create amazing shapes at dusk,
It’s a spectacular occasion.

Berries entice the Thrushes to feast,
They come from far and wide,
To strip these succulent shiny fruits,
Throughout our countryside.

Now the Robin sings his song,
Each note is a sweet delight,
He brightens up these darker days,
And even sings at night.

We wake up from our torpid sleep,
To frosty window panes,
Or hear the sound of hail and wind,
And those freezing autumn rains.

So let’s be very joyful,
Let’s go and spread our wings,
As this is a time to be thankful,
For all that autumn brings.

Our autumn is a lovely time,
In this ever changing scene,
And all things that are golden-brown,
Will again one day turn green.

Robinson and Hindscarth

Robinson


Hindscarth

Newlands
On Tuesday September 7th 2010, Elaine and I decided to walk up onto Robinson and Hindscarth, two of the fells in the Newlands valley near Keswick.
As we were camping in Keswick and we had already walked up two fells, two of Alfred Wainwright’s 214 fells, we were in the mood for a big walk. After spending the night in a tent and being battered by strong winds and heavy rain, blue skies were promised so off we went to the Newlands valley where we were not disappointed.

Parking near the lovely white church at Little Town, we started the walk by going up the track that leads through a crooked wooden gate through which the valley and view of the fells opens up like the entrance to a wonderful dream. Here we got our first real views of Robinson and Hindscarth, at first these two dark giants looked so high and almost scary as they stared down on us two tiny walkers, but like the Hobbit and his companion we went on with courage and a refusal to be intimidated no matter what was thrown on our path ahead.

The first accent was the worst of the day, this steep grassy slope onto High Snab Bank showed no pity on our poor legs, and the bandanna I had placed on my head could be wrung out when we finally reached the top with much relief. From here a clear path along the ridge of the bank lead us to Robinson crags where we took our first deserved rest, and from where we got our first sight of the dam in below us in the valley. The water looked very uninviting as it appeared brown and almost black in places, probably due to large peat deposits, you certainly wouldn’t want to fill your drinking bottles or cool your head off in that water.


The tarn

The path then seemed to get lost; in places it seemed to have been swallowed up by the rocky outcrops on Robinson crags, before appearing again further up. Some of this rocky section was quite treacherous with steep falls from very narrow ledges and wet rocks smoothed by thousands of boots over the years that had to be stepped on to reach the next ledge. This however was soon behind us as the terrain improved and the summit drew ever closer, a cairn could be seen on the horizon which looked like the summit, only to be reached where the next cairn on the next horizon could be seen and so it went on.

Robinson summit
Eventually we came to a flatter area that resembled a moonscape, a stony open plateau with two little tarns and from where the real summit could be seen, a small shelter like cairn that was a welcome relief for us both after two hours hard walking.


The view from Robinson

The view that opened up before us was breathtaking, we could see down into the Buttermere valley, fells like Rannerdale knotts, Red Pike and Hight Stile could be seen clearly as could Buttermere, Crummock water and Loweswater.


Flying the flag


Me on Robinson

Sweeping round from west to north the huge dome of Grassmoor, Grizedale pike, Causey pike and Skiddaw were all clearly visible. Heavy cloud just a mile or two to the south of us made the view fells like the Scafell range and Langdales difficult to see, Green Gable and Great Gable were both very clear though as was Kirk fell and Pillar.


Fleetwith Pike

If it wasn’t for the cold wind and the fact that I had left my fleece back in the car, I would have liked to have stayed there for hours, but on we had to go, taking the path south and on to Little Dale Edge. To finally walk down hill was lovely and the view of Honister pass snaking its way through the valley far below, flanked by one of my favourite fells, Fleetwith pike, was outstanding. We could however see our next and final steep accent up towards Dale Head where we took the path north for our final summit of Hindscarth.


The view south from Hindscarth


Dale Head and Honester Pass

Hindscarth
What a wonderful feeling when we sat in the next low shelter that is the summit of Hindscarth, where we could see the whole path with which we had reached Robinson from High Snab Bank something like 4 hours previously. We could also see the long winding path that led through dark patches of Heather on what seemed a never ending path back to the start, at least it was all down hill from here.
This path was very nice though, easy and muddy in places, with lovely views of Dale Head, Cat Bells and Maiden Moor, and Ravens flying above us. All was going well until we reached 'Scope End', where the path became rocky once again with steep steps down, not very good for short legs like ours. We were soon down though and the walk back through a farm and a farm track took us back to the Church from where we began.

Looking north from Hindscarth


Hindscarth summit

Looking back up the valley, we reflected on what we had just done, and bearing in mind this was her first ever big climb, Elaine was amazed at what she had just achieved as Robinson and Hindscarth looked so big, dark and intrusive against the bright skyline. We both felt a great sense of achievement and for me it meant two more pins in the large map that hangs on my wall at home, pins which indicate all the Wainwrights I have done so far.


Newlands church

M6 Flower Show!

I guess we have all travelled along a motorway at some time in our lives, but I wonder how many people see anything other than nice scenery, cars, coaches full of tourists and trucks heading to the supermarkets.

On a lovely sunny July morning, I was a passenger heading north on the M6 to Scotland. Having a natural habit of always having one eye on the roadsides, I sat with notebook and pen and jotted down as many wildflowers and trees as I could recognise on the motorway verge in just 30 minutes.

It is amazing just how much wildlife actually live or feed on these usualy undisturbed Motorway and Railway corridors. These green embankments and cuttings are said to be the only undisturbed areas left in Britain where wildlife can thrive.

Anyhow, here is a list of all the things I saw or recognised:

Ribwort Plantain
Hogweed
Meadowsweet
Rosebay Willow herb
Several grasses
Greater Stitchwort
Pink Campion

Meadow Cranesbill
Herb Robert
Field Bindweed
Hedge Bindweed
Ragwort
Several Orchids (unidentifiable at speed)
Wild Cabbage
Common Fumitory
Burdock
Tufted Vetch
Bush Vetch
Spear Thistle
Meadow Thistle
Dock
Foxglove

Cow Parsley
Germander Speedwell
Lady’s Bedstraw
Cleavers
Cats-ear
Milfoil
Nettle
Dandelion
Groundsel
Meadow Buttercup
Ox-eye Daisy

Common Daisy
Ferns
Field Rose
Dog Rose

Gorse
Ivy
Elder
Rowan
Hawthorn
Sycamore
Oak
Birch
Willow
Pine

These were just the plants I did see, and there will be many more that I missed.

Forest Feast

Friday August 6th 2010
So here we are in August already and what a month this is; August is one of the best months of our year in my opinion. This is a month where we see so many changes in the countryside, as if the work of all those summer insects is done and after the busy pollinating time, we now see the results in the shape of fruit and seed.


Today I walked around Grizedale Forest, in a mixture of warm sunshine and cool-fine rain that felt good on my face and dripped off the leaves of the trees like sparkling diamonds Grizedale Forest is a magical place at all times of the year, but from August onward it takes on a special feeling, as do all the woods and forests.
I was looking for the recently released Red Kites, 30 of these magnificent birds were released this week, one didn’t survive so there are 29 of them flying around the area, I didn’t see any though, and the only thing I saw in the sky were Ravens.

Already we have blackberries in several stages of their development, ranging from green to yellow, and red to black. Of course it is the inky black fruits of the Bramble that we are interested in, good for jams, pies and wines, as for me I like them in their raw state; straight from the bush. I can eat pounds of them on a good walk as I find them irresistible and I just cannot stop picking them, and remembering children with purple and black-stained fingers, the same colour was always around their mouths even though they always denied eating them!

The fruits are also a very important food source for birds and mammals as they prepare for the cold winter months ahead of us, Thrushes like to build up fat reserves in early autumn and get a good start before the arrival of the Redwings and Fieldfare who fly here from Scandinavia later next month to spend the winter here, those birds will need to feast on any fruit they can find after their migration, in preparation for winter.
Hedgehogs Dormice will also eat the blackberries, and will come out of hiding at night to eat them for the same reason as the birds. Mice, Hedgehogs and even Badgers will also enjoy this annual bounty, which will also include apples, elderberries and haws in a month from now.

The woods are now taking on a distinctive damp smell, this may not sound like a nice thing, but to me it is beautiful as from August onward the woods become wetter and more appealing to me, and have a wonderful earthy feeling about them with damp decaying leaves and wet mosses.
Some leaves are also starting to change on some of the trees now, Birch leaves are turning yellow already, and by late in September they will be raining down like yellow confetti that flutters in the early autumn winds.

There is also a distinctive sound to the woods now, as by August the breeding season is well and truly over, and the birds are not singing like they were in spring. The main sounds this time of year are the high pitched calls of Goldcrests and Coal tits, Long-tailed tits are already sweeping the woods in large groups in search of food amongst the tree branches. Siskin, Blue tit and Great tit can also be heard and I heard a Greater Spotted Woodpecker’s contact call as I walked through the forest, the familiar loud tac tac of this bird can be heard all year.

As for the highlight of the day, this has to be the Fly Agarics; these are the familiar red fungi with white spots that we often see in children’s storybooks. The crimson caps stand out so well on the forest floor, and the white stems make them even more beautiful and so easily recognisable. This fungus has hallucination properties in the red flesh, and Reindeer are known to eat these as they like the effect they have, as well as humans of course, this should not be practised however due to their poisonous contents. I always look for these fungi in August, as they are so good to photograph, I guess due to their colour and large size.

August is a month where we begin to see the early signs of autumn, a month of fruit and, fungi and changing colours, smells and temperatures, a time to really enjoy a walk where we can enjoy the hedgerows and woods, and marvel at nature’s beauty.

Enjoy

Picture Postcard Furness

Ulverston and the Coniston fells


Sunset from Sandscale haws


Sunset in Ulverston


The Isle of Man

How lucky are we here in 'Postcard' Furness?
Yesterday I sat at Rampside and had another reminder of how lucky I am, to live in an area like this is the dream of many people, and we should all be so aware of what we have around here.

When I was growing up in my native West Yorkshire home, we used to have family holidays to the seaside. We would go to lovely resorts like Morecambe and Blackpool on the west coast, and Scarborough and Bridlington on the east coast, and although I lived in a lovely place, these were quite a contrast to my locality.

Coming from so far inland to the coast was so exiting, we could smell the sea air from over a mile away as we neared our destination, and the sight of Blackpool tower and Scarborough cliffs or the glimmer of the sea brought so much joy to us. The sound of Gulls filled the air; bells and music rang out from children’s rides and the smell of candyfloss and doughnuts from the colourful shops on the sea front teased our taste-buds.

Donkey rides took children out onto the golden sands and tractors pulled trains of people far out to the edge of the awaiting tide. Deckchairs lined the promenade where men wearing knotted handkerchiefs on their heads, hired them for their families, and then sat with their trousers rolled up and ate icecreams while the kids played football, built sandcastles or watched Punch and Judy shows.

So here I was back in the present, looking out over the glimmering sea, and surrounded by tourists who thought, quite rightly, what a wonderful place this is. The nicely painted lifeboat station, Walney lighthouse, Little boats bobbing about on the sea, Blackpool tower standing proudly in the distance and the hills behind Morecambe, reaching back to Ingleton in Yorkshire, all reminding me of my good fortune and wonderful life.

Maybe we do take it for granted, I’m sure we all do, but if we take the time to look around us we will see what an incredible corner of England this is. From the Furness area we can see so many places like:
o Blackpool
o Morecambe
o Black Combe
o Yorkshire
o Skiddaw in Keswick
o Scafell pike in Wasdale
o The Isle of Man
o North Wales

Furness is a beautiful area surrounded by nature reserves and green countryside, it is also dotted with quaint little villages and flanked by two incredibly important estuaries. The views of the Cumbria Mountains are astonishing in the early mornings and at sunset as the colours change by the minute, and the incredible sunsets we get here are undeniably astonishing. Then there are the sounds of Gulls and other birds such as Eider, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover and the many thousands of wintering wading birds, all this and the sight of Seals bobbing about in the water around the rocky shores all make Furness a place of outstanding beauty.

Next time you see an icecream-eating tourist, taking photos of something you take for granted, look again and think about how lucky you are.


Ulverston


Rampside Lifeboat station and Piel island


Roa island

Childhood memories

When I was nowt but a lad, many years ago in my native Yorkshire town of Keighley, I used to cycle up into the hills and moors above such places as Cowling, Bingly and Skipton. The memories I have kept so close to my heart are of the things I used to see, smell and hear, little things that brought so much happiness to me back then.

I remember many an occasion when I would be sitting quiet amongst the Heather, and listening to beautiful calls of the Curlew, Lapwing and Meadow Pipit. I also remember being amazed by the long musical song of Skylarks, I would watch them take to the sky with fast hovering wings and marvel at the length and sweetness of their song.

Sometimes I would hear a Skylark singing high above me, I would squint and screw my face up as I peered into the blinding sunlight in hope of seeing a tiny dot way up against the blue sky.

One of the other sounds that always brought joy to me was the Yellowhammers' call, I was always amazed by the Canary-yellow plumage of this bird and I loved the call that quite often seemed to be coming from a long way off, the birds often calling from the tops of Gorse or small trees.

Coming from a farming family I also loved the smell of the fields after they had been cut, I would play in the hay as it was being loaded onto the carts or after it had been stored away in the old barn. The smell of cows is also a happy smell to me, mucking out the barn was to me a pleasant experience and a job I loved, I still love the smell of cow-muck, especially on a cold winter’s day.

As adults we never loose our childhood memories. Sights, smells, tastes and sounds bring great cheer to our hearts for the rest of our lives. The smell of cooking or baking does it for most people, the smell of grandma’s jam tarts, lemon cakes or parking pig and toffee on bonfire night will always stay with me.

So why do I bring all this up? Well today I cycled over the hills above Ulverston and found the time to sit quiet amongst the Heather again. Once again i could smell the cut grass in the fields. I closed my eyes to listened to the Curlew, Lapwing and Meadow Pipit.
I found my mind take a trip back to my Yorkshire moors as a Skylark rose up above me and reached for the sky, to sing that familiar song that always takes me back to my childhood days.

Isn’t it lovely how we can so easily become that child we once were? Some of the simple things we have all around us so easily re-kindle our childhood memories.

Blackcap and Bugle

May 22nd
Rusland Valley
On warm spring days I cannot help but return to the Rusland Valley, in fact I just can’t resist this beautiful place any time of year. Today I walked along the Beech lined road and past the woodlands, then onto Hay Bridge nature reserve, a vast expanse of damp deciduous woodland and mosses.

The Beeches along the roadside and in the woods are still very light green, but will now start to darken and so will end the Bluebell carpet that thrives in the semi-shade and looks stunning right now. Wood Anemones are still flowering here and are a few Wood Sorrels, though these are hard to find now.

Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs and Chaffinches were calling in the woods, and Wood Warblers could be heard with their quite but lovely trill from the Oaks and Beeches. A Blackcap with his very loud song was singing from deep within the trees somewhere; these birds have a cunning way of throwing their voice and so making it hard to pinpoint their exact position.

Digger Wasps were abundant today, these wasps always seem to be abundant on the roadside vegetation and on the woodland edges, I don’t know much about these so will have to study them a little bit more this summer.

Ramsons and Garlic Mustard still flowers along the roadside, attracting the Orange tip butterflies, and once again the males never seemed to stop, so not any photos yet. I have never seen a butterfly so busy, the males seem so occupied in fending off rival males and looking for a female to mate with, and they just never seem to rest.

Out in the open, and getting hotter under the heat of the sun, I found Eyebright, a tiny and attractive plant that as its name suggests is used in the treatment of eye infections, and has also been used to treat colds and coughs.

A lone Buzzard was circling over the valley, I often see a family of these preditors here, but today I only saw the one, and this one was very high up too taking advantage of the warm thermals that rise from the woodland slopes.

The only Butterfly on the roadside was a Comma, very attractive and very unusual in that their wing shape always looks as though a child has cut them out with a pair of scissors.

House Martins have returned to nest in the old Tannery building, this is a small single story stone building that is ideal for these birds, and they were darting in and out and also taking mud for from the stream edge to build their nests with.

Hay Bridge nature reserve
Bugle was flowering in the field near the stone bridge, just one patch of these blue flowers in the long grass behind a wooden gate. Sedge Warblers were singing from the edge of the streams, low down in the Reeds and always hidden from view, but what a lovely sound this is.
Germander Speedwell, Tormentil, Cuckooflower and Marsh Marigold were abundant in the boggy grassland, and a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly was flitting about from plant to plant.

Willow Warblers were singing from the Willows and from the Reeds, and a Blackcap reeled off his song from deeper in the wooded area. Not much more bird activity apart from the odd Curlew flying up and calling from above, and a Cuckoo calling from a farm in the distance.

I saw my first ever Raft Spider here though, these are a large spider that sits at the edges of ponds with its front legs dangling in the water, they dart out and catch passing Tadpoles and small fish, and probably water beetles and anything else that passes by.

So far this has been the hottest day of the year, it was perfect and in a place like this with a picnic, one could not wish for a better day out.

Elephants and Coconut

May 20th 2010
Rampside, Barrow in Furness
This was one of those days where I jumped in the car with no idea where I was going, then found myself in a place I’m glad I went to!

Ramside is a lovely part of Furness, and on this occasion I decided to go inland rather than along the coast, so I followed the lovely path that takes you around the Gas Terminal. The bridleway was awash with colour and buzzing with activity, Hawthorn flowers are now opening; I love the scent from these beautiful white flowers on a warm sunny day.

Dandelions are already going to seed, their fluffy round heads waiting for a breeze or the passing of an animal, like us, to set their seeds into the air.

The path edges are at their best right now, this time of year they look wonderful in, pink, yellow, blue and white. Pink Campion, Meadow Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, Bluebell, Bush Vetch, Common Vetch, Cuckooflower and Greater Stitchwort, all giving a perfect colourful display as they all flower together at the bottom of our hedges.

Cow Parsley is also starting to flower now; this is a tall fast growing plant of about 2-3’ with many small white flowers all carried together on an umbel. I read once that this plant is a natural Mosquito repellent when applied to the skin, though I have never tried it myself, but I am tempted as I am always being bitten.

St Marks Flies were everywhere today, these large black flies drift about with dangling legs. They are completely harmless and actually quite attractive, especially the males who have bulbous eyes.

Along the way is a pond, set amongst the shade of the surrounding trees, this is a nice place to rest and observe the different environment here. A family of Moorhens had nested on the edge of the reeds; five chicks sat patiently waiting for their parents to bring food and encourage these chicks to forage for themselves.
Bluetit, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting and Mallard were also seen and heard in this area.

The path finally emerges out on the shore, where the lovely yellow flowers of Bird’s foot trefoil were abundant. Sea Campion, Scurvy Grass and Thrift were also flowering along the shore. Then I found the star of the show, an Elephant Hawk Moth that appeared to be resting amongst the grass on the sandy shore. These moths have very unusual colours, being green and pink and having white legs makes them look very odd and yet very beautiful, who says moths are ugly?

I cannot end this without mentioning the Gorse that is flowering around the coast right now, the yellow flowers not only look stunning on a sunny day, the smell incredible too. The flowers smell of coconut and can be detected from quite a distance from the bush as the scent drifts on the breeze, and make these shrubs an absolutely delightful treasure, and the bees love them too.

Blue and Green Delight

Sat May 15th
The Rusland Valley
Today’s walk was in one of my favourite places; The Rusland Valley.
If there is one perfect place to be on a sunny May afternoon, then the Beech woods in this valley is that place. When the Beech leaves have just opened there is a certain green haze to these woods as the sunlight shines through the new fresh lime-green leaves, and shines down on the Bluebell carpet below the trees.

Orange-Tip Butterflies were flitting along the roadside, taking advantage of the Garlic Mustard that flowers here, the male Orange Tip Butterflies have, as their name implies, lovely orange tips to their for-wings, the females lack these orange markings but are otherwise similar. I am still trying to get a photo of a male Orange-Tip, but unfortunately they never seem to stay still long enough to get close to, I will do it one day though!
Another Butterfly seen here was the Green-Veined White; these have a green veined pattern on their wings, hence the name.

One of my favourite birds was calling from high in the Beech trees, the Wood Warbler, this bird is very small but has a nice olive, yellow and white plumage, and has a sweet song that starts slowly but accelerates into a fast trill. This is a summer visitor arriving here from Tropical Africa each spring; they are a bird of broad-leaved woodland and typical of Oak, Birch and Beech woodlands.

Other summer migrants heard were Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Swallow and Cuckoo. The usual birds like Robin, Blackbird, Wren, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch were also very vocal as our woodlands are full of bird song right now.

The woodland edges are blooming with new spring flowers, some of the flowers here include Lesser Celandine, Greater Celandine, Dog Violet, Ramsons, Herb Robert, Dandelion, Wild Arum and Ground Ivy.
Wood Anemone is still flowering in the woodlands, these lovely large white flowers are always a joy to see in the spring sunshine, and quite often the flowers have a pink tinge to them too.

Most of our trees are now in leaf, and this is a special time of year as the trees give the woodlands an amazing colourful effect right now. The trees all seem to have a colour that is unique to each species right now, and my favourite are the Oaks who seem to have a golden-yellow colour in spring.

There are plenty of Bumble Bees about now, and Hoverflies too, Dung Beetles are also plentiful on the woodland floor and the tree canopy is once again buzzing with insect life, and a wonderful sound on a warm spring day.

The star of the show right now though are the Bluebells, surely these have to be top of the list of people’s favourite wildflower, they are certainly one of my favourites. Can there be any nice sight than the blue carpet in our woodlands on a warm and sunny spring day? I don’t think so, especially when the Beech leaves are fresh and the sun shines through them.
Get out and enjoy it, it is all for free, unlike most things in life!

Blue and Green Delight

Sat May 15th
The Rusland Valley
Today’s walk was in one of my favourite places, the Rusland Valley.
If there is a perfect place to be on a sunny May afternoon, the Beech woodlands in this beautiful valley have to be that place.

When the Beech leaves have just opened, an amazing green
haze filters down into these woods, sunlight shines through the new fresh lime-green leaves and shines down on the sweet carpet of Blubell on the woodland floor.

Orange-tip Butterflies were flitting along the roadside and taking advantage of the Garlic Mustard that flowers here, the male Orange tip Butterflies have, as their name implies, lovely orange tips to their for-wings. The females lack these orange markings but are otherwise similar.
I am still trying to get a photo of a male Orange-tip, but unfortunately they never seem to stay still long enough to get close to, I will do it one day though!
Another Butterfly seen here was the Green-Veined White, these have a green veined pattern on their wings, hence their name.

One of my favourite birds, Wood Warblers, were calling from high in the Beech trees. Wood Warblers are very small and have an olive, yellow and white plumage. They also have a sweet song that starts slowly but accelerates into a fast trill. Wood Warblers are summer visitors, arriving here from Tropical Africa each spring, they are a bird of broad-leaved woodland and typical of Oak, Birch and Beech woodlands.

Some other summer migrants i heard were Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Swallow and Cuckoo. Other birds like Robin, Blackbird, Wren, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch were also very vocal; this is the time of year when our woodlands are full of bird song.

The woodland edges are blooming with new spring flowers, some of the flowers here included Lesser Celandine, Greater Celandine, Greater Stitchwort, Dog Violet, Ramsons, Herb Robert, Dandelion, Wild Arum and Ground Ivy.
Wood Anemone is still flowering in the woodlands, these lovely large white flowers are always a joy to see in the spring sunshine, quite often the flowers have a pink tinge to them too.

Most of our trees are now in leaf, this is a special time of year as the trees give the woodlands an amazing colourful effect right now. The trees all seem to have a colour that is unique to each species right now, my favourite is the Oak; they have a golden-yellow colour in spring.

There are plenty of Bumble Bees about now, Hoverflies too. Dung Beetles are also plentiful on the woodland floor. The tree canopy is once again buzzing with insect life, the noise is such a wonderful sound on a warm spring day.

The star of the show right now though are the Bluebells, surely these have to be top of the list of our favourite wildflowers, they are certainly one of my favourites. Can there be any nice sight than the blue carpet in our woodlands on a warm and sunny spring day? I don’t think so, especially when the Beech leaves are fresh and streaks of green sunlight is shining through them.
Get out and enjoy it, it is all for free, unlike most things in life!

CATastrophe!

Catastrophe!
Citizens of the UK, we have a problem!
This is a very serious problem that I think we all need to be aware of, we need to do something about it NOW before the problem gets worse.
There is a vermin problem in the UK that is now out of control and the time has come to make everyone aware of this epidemical problem.

Did you know there are an estimated 500 million domestic Cats in the world? Almost 8 million here in the UK. The number is expected to double over the next ten years and that would surely be a Catastrophe!
I just don’t think people realise how much of a problem this is and sadly most people are just oblivious to this as they go about in their blinkered ways.

Why do we live in such a hypocritical society? You see we have the nerve to go about classing some wild animals as ‘vermin’, and yet we keep Cats as pets when they are possibly the worst vermin of them all.

Diseases
Zoonosis (the spread of diseases from animals to humans) is common among Cats, many children catch Roundworm and Ringworm from both Cats and Dogs. The deseese can also cause children to go blind.
Many parents buy cute kittens for their children and i think everyone should be made aware of these threats they pose.

Cats are the most deadliest of stalkers and a perfect hunting machine, if you ever watch a Cat you will see how they are always alert and ready to kill anything that moves. A Cat will appear lazy and slow, as if conserving energy, but as soon as anything runs by he springs into action immediately, with a ferocious burst of energy.

Domestic Cats kill more wildlife in this country than any other animal. Cats have a massive impact on our garden bird population, often raiding their nests for the chicks or killing the adults as they forage for food. Cats also kill Rats, Mice, Voles, Moles, Shrews and countless species of insects, all of which are all a vital part of countryside.

Cats also foul our gardens and, bread all year round producing kittens that end up as feral Cats and reek devastation on our wildlife. They are also known to bread with our native Scottish Wildcat and so devastating the population of these native animals.

Cull
People always bang on about Rats, Mice, Moles, Foxes Badgers, Grey Squirrels, Mink, Otters and other animals, classing them as ‘Vermin.'
It is legal to kill most of those animals, in fact it’s only recently that Otters have become a protectedanimal.
All of the above-mentioned animals, with exception to the introduced Grey Squirrel and Mink, are very important wild animals in the UK, they all need protecting. So if it is ok to kill Greys Squirrels and Mink because they don’t belong here and are a pest, then why doesn’t the same apply to our introduced domestic Cats?

Come on citizens of the UK, wake up and let’s get this problem sorted. It's time to have a mass Cull and if it means getting rid of Grandma’s little 'Tiddles,' then so it shall be; it is for the good of our Green and pleasant land!

Vote for change!

Three Lions
With the Football World Cup coming up this summer, I have noticed an increasing number of England flags on cars and houses, also England shirts and all things with the England logo on them are everywhere to be seen. The thing that bugs me is why we have three Lions on our shirts and flags.

Now I have been around for quite a while now, I have covered many miles in this time too and seen a lot of wildlife, but I have yet to see a Lion on any of my walks.
We clearly do not have Lions roaming around our green and pleasant land, I am glad about that too.

There is one Lion we do have in our countryside and gardens though, the beautiful Dandelion!

Everybody in every village, town and city knows the Dandelion, it is one of our most important and familiar wildflowers. I would love to see everyone join in my campaign by writing to the Prime Minister and demanding that we get rid of the three Lions and replace them with a good old English Dandelion, yes the Dandelion should be celebrated as our national flower.

If the Scots can have a Thistle, the Irish have a Shamrock and the Welsh have a Leek, then why shouldn't we have a Dandelion? And i know Rugby shirts have a red Rose on them, but that only causes conflict as us Yorkshire folk would rather see a white Rose.

Every person who represents England in any sport should wear the Dandelion on their shirt with pride, so come on and get behind me on this campaign.

There should only be one lion on our England shirts, the good old English Dandelion!