12 June 2020

30 Days Wild - 4, 5, 6, 7

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Writing takes me a long, long time. Whole days are passing while I move words around...

The Wildlife Trusts' 30 Days Wild continues, and I'm happily following along, enjoying having a bit of direction to my activities and writings. I'm very out of sync now.


#4 Hug a tree

Many, many moons ago I 'rescued' and oak tree. It was an acorn lying on the ground that had sprouted a leaf and a root. I took it home and my mum has looked after it ever since, even bringing it with us when we moved from Carlisle to Carmarthen. Last year it produced its first acorns. She planted all nine of them and all nine grew, and now I have nine baby oak trees. I'm potting them up individually. One we'll keep to go in the garden - I have a spot at the back where it will have room to grow to full size. The rest I will give away, or find a bit of ground to put them in, when they're a bit older. 

Anyone need an oak tree?



#5 Listen to a bird song

I loved following Nina Constable's Wild World Doorstep Discoveries series. Each of the seven episodes featured a quick birdsong lesson from Lucy Hodson. I could usually hear the song echoed outside while I watched. Last Sunday's featured a wood pigeon and collared dove and today I listened to them calling on either side of the garden. I'd always assumed they were all doves but it turns out there's a easy and unforgettable distinction, which I can no longer not hear!

Check it out below.



#6 Follow a bee

I built a very basic bee house last month. A wood off-cut with holes drilled in it (half of them, it turns out, are too small) and a piece of an old plank for the roof, popped in a sunny spot. I didn't think it would work, I'd used hard wood, not soft, and suddenly all the bees had cleared off. Well, they're back now, thanks to copious amounts of bramble blossom and it absolutely made my day to see two little faces in there yesterday! So I spent quite a bit of time watching them today.


If you can't make one, here are some good places to buy them:



#7 Do your exercise outdoors

Does digging count?



This post was not sponsored in any way.

03 June 2020

30 Days Wild - 1, 2, 3

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June has begun and with it The Wildlife Trusts' 30 Days Wild challenge to do something wild every day this month. It's open to anyone and anything goes. I thought I would try their daily suggestions.


I can't do a blog post every day, though, as I'll end up never getting out. So here's a few at once.

#1 Plants for pollinators

Most of our garden is wild, at present, but that doesn't mean I can't plant even more for our pollinators. I've found myself paying attention our smallest creatures lately, learning about them, and discovering just how important - and threatened - they are.



We have a patch of dead 'lawn' where the felled branches of some nasty overgrown shrubs sat for too long. Rather than reseeding it with grass I will be sowing clover. Great for pollinators and I never have to mow - also great for pollinators! I had planned to gradually convert the whole area to clover, but the long grass stuffed full of chirpy, bouncy grasshoppers is just too much fun so I guess it will be both.

Try to source true native wildflower seeds or plants. British Wild Flower Seeds sells packets by local area, collected from actual meadows around the country. I haven't tried them yet because the Welsh ones are sold out, but they come highly recommended.


#2 Sketch outdoors

Go outside with a pencil or a pen and some paper and draw something. It's not about making art and it definitely does not need to be any good. The point is look at and see things differently, to watch something for a while, whether a leaf or a ladybird or a long-tailed tit.

 

Rather than only snapping pictures, take the time to really study your subject. To notice how the leaves of sorrel wrap around the stem and the leaves of dock don't. Or that the ant you would normally squish is in fact marching back home with an aphid carried aloft.

Ally Isbella (allybella5) first introduced me to this concept on one of Nick Baker's (nick_bug_baker) morning chats. Follow Ally's account above for sketching inspirations. Check in with Nick at 9am every weekday morning for wonderful rambling chats, questions answered, and tangents about nature.


#3 Feed the birds in your garden

I put a bird feeder stand up back in March and even had a couple of birds visiting before next door's bramble-garden was cleared, in the middle of nesting season... Since then, nothing. For today I'll be taking it all down, cleaning everything - bird feeders should be cleaned regularly anyway to prevent the spread of disease - and relocating the lot. I'll also be looking at The Wildlife Trusts' tips and advice here to see if I can do it better this time, and will finally get around to putting some water out for them too.


Living With Birds sells quality bird seed and their famous 'chunky dumplings' and 'flutter butter' peanut butter alternatives, all which I've heard good things about. Another thing I'm recommending without having tried, but I'll be ordering a few treats tonight.


I definitely recommend doing things smaller than this, especially if you plan on doing anything else with your day! Have fun getting outside whatever you choose to do, and whatever the weather.

This post was not sponsored in any way.