Days 28-30: Grebes and wildflowers

The month has flown by and today marks the end of 30 Days Wild. I've enjoyed it so much and it's seemed much less onerous than last year. Maybe I was more relaxed about it or maybe more inspired? It definitely helped being on holiday for part of the month as I had more time to be creative.

Before I call it to a close though, I have the final three days to share.

Day 28: Three become two. I have sad news that one of the baby grebes has disappeared, apparently snatched by a gull. I have a feeling that the lake might not be as abundant in fish as needed as the chicks are increasingly being left alone as both parents search for food. Again and again they dive beneath the surface and come up empty. I'm keeping everything crossed that I'm wrong and the two remaining chicks survive :(

Day 29: A wildflower wasteland. One of my first posts when I started blogging 4 years ago was about the patch of wasteland I pass on my way to work which had been transformed into a pictorial meadow. Over the following years the grasses took over and the flowers gradually disappeared. Over the winter, the area was bulldozed and fenced off. It was a surprise then that I noticed some of the flowers were back. I'm thinking that the bulldozing churned up the ground and spread and reactivated the dormant seed. On my way home yesterday, I stopped to take a closer look: well, as close as you can get through a wire fence.

Day 30: Show your support. I wanted a way to mark the close of 30 Days Wild without it just fizzling out. In the end, it seemed fitting to thank the Wildlife Trusts for organising this initiative by becoming a member so I went online and signed up with Lancashire Wildlife Trust :) Can't wait to receive my membership pack and newsletter to find out what's going on in my local area.

Many thanks to the Wildlife Trusts and to all of you who've been following me through the month. Same time next year? x

Day 27: Make a rosemary wreath

Day 27 and time for something creative. While gardening yesterday, I'd pruned the rosemary bush and it seemed a shame to waste all the sprigs even though there are still plenty more.

I found this watering can in the garage when we moved in and it seemed the perfect place to store the sprigs while I decided what to do.

After a bit of deliberation I decided to make a wreath so, as soon as I arrived home this evening, I set to work. The hoop is an old metal coat hanger.

I used some garden wire to attach the rosemary sprigs around the hoop and used whatever else I could find to decorate it: alchemilla mollis, penstemon, lemon balm and clematis.

Ta-dah! I'm really pleased with it and, of course, my hands smelled amazing afterwards :)

I've also tried this idea which I saw in a magazine. The idea is that the heat from the candle releases the fragrance of the leaves. The jury is still out on this one: it looks pretty but, as I sit here sniffing the air, there's no hint of rosemary.

Last but not least, an update on the baby grebes. As you can see, they're still doing well and sticking close to mum :)

Day 26: Tend the garden

Day 26 and no time for anything special for 30 Days Wild as the garden needed some attention: weeding and dead-heading.

Hoverfly on geum

Rosemary beetle feeding, unsurprisingly, on my rosemary bush. I thought it was really pretty with its shiny blue and red stripes. Of course I then found out it's a pest!

The marsh (?) orchid is almost fully in bloom.

This cocoon was on the underside of a gooseberry leaf. Does anyone know what it is? I'm wondering if it might be the magpie moth I saw recently?

How do snails manage to scale the prickliest of plants? My fingers were stabbed several times just harvesting the berries.

And here's what I harvested, 1.1kg, and there are still more on the bush. It's been a really good harvest again this year.

Hawthorn shield bug

I suppose I should have tried to do something more exciting on the last weekend of the challenge. However, in some ways it's also fitting as it shows you don't have to go much further than your front door to enjoy nature :)

Days 23-25: Trees, a moth and singing!

Day 23: Hug and investigate a tree

After cooing over the baby grebes, Chickpea and I headed to a Norway Maple to hug and investigate. It was a suggestion in one of the regular emails I've been receiving from the 30 Days Wild team and a quick and easy option to try. This is one of my favourite local trees as its leaves have beautiful autumn colour. Very green and leafy at this time of year though. The bark rubbing was done as part of 30DW last year.

Day 24: Identify a moth

I arrived home from work to find Chickpea in a state of excitement about a moth she'd found in the porch that morning. Luckily she'd photographed it so I was able to identify it as a magpie moth. What a beauty! I was pretty excited myself until I found out it likes to feed on gooseberries - no doubt the very ones in my garden!

Later, after my daily grebe watch, I glanced at one of the trees and, lo and behold, there was one high up on the trunk: I managed to see one myself after all.

Day 25: Sing in the rain

Today's act of wildness was inspired by us going to see Singing in the Rain at the theatre this afternoon (excellent it was too). It started to rain and there was nothing for it but to stand in the garden and break into song. 'That well doesn't sound like you' commented Chickpea. I'm thinking that's a good thing! Definitely more a Morecambe and Wise version than Gene Kelly! (I hope the M&W link works - it was surprisingly hard to find one on t'internet).

I couldn't sign off without showing you the latest photos of the baby grebes. They've been entertaining me with their feeding antics. So anxious to be first to the food, they've taken to diving into the water!

Day 22: the grebes have hatched!

Day 22 brought the most exciting moments of 30 Days Wild so far: we have baby grebes! I'd gone to check on progress as usual and met Charlie and his owner on the way - I only know the dog's names but never the owner! Have I heard the news? The grebes have hatched!!!

I didn't know that the little grebelings ride on their mum's back for a few weeks. So cute! As you can see, she's a proud mamma of three stripey beauties.

Dad is pretty proud too and very attentive.

We've watched in delight as he searches for fish to feed them. When he finds one, he calls to the mother and motors across the pond to the sound of the chicks cheeping.

Mamma looks for fish too but it's a bit precarious for her brood! A couple of times she reared up to stretch and ruffle her feathers and they all fell off! Cue a mad scramble to climb back aboard.

I was out at 6.30 this morning to look at them again before I had to go to work. Needless to say you're probably going to be seeing a lot more of this new family :)

Days 20 and 21: insects and yoga

 

Just a quick post to share my 30 days wild for days 20 and 21. The real excitement is in my next post though: hold onto your hats!

Day 20: Find an insect

This is National Insect Week so, after checking on the grebes, I headed into the undergrowth to look for insects and found this. I was struggling to identify it from my limited guidebooks until I saw the same one on Amanda's blog! Thanks to her, I know it's a golden-bloomed grey longhorn beetle - a long name for a small insect! How amazing are those antenna?

As I walked home, an oystercatcher called as it circled over the lake a few times before heading east.

Day 21: Strike a pose

My wild moment for the day had been admiring the clematis flower below which had just opened. However, when I got to my yoga class, I found it was also International Yoga Day. Very appropriate then to strike a pose in the open air when I arrived home: this is Marichyasana 1.

Day 19: Visit a wildflower meadow

Opposite the church hall where my quilt group meets, I'd noticed a community meadow. In April, it was full of cowslips and I wondered what was in flower now. Off I went with Chickpea to find out: I have to say this was quite a sacrifice on her part as she suffers from hayfever and a meadow is really the last place she wants to be at the moment!

At first sight it didn't look that exciting. Lots of grasses, buttercups and clover but not much else. Wander further in though and look closely.

Yellow rattle

Marsh orchid?

Northern marsh orchid?

Ragged Robin

Oxeye daisy

Fox and cubs

Meadow crane's-bill

Common bistort

Flag iris

And this was the view looking back over the field towards the church and Winter Hill. It was surprising to find so much in a small area and I'm going to go back later in the summer to see what else appears.

Do let me know if I've identified any of the flowers incorrectly. The orchids, in particular, I find really tricky.

Back home there is little sign of progress with my own wildflower meadow. There are other plants growing amongst the grass but nothing I can identify yet that wasn't there before. It's only been two weeks though so I'm probably just being too impatient!

Hopefully, as well as fitting in more wild moments, this week I'll find some time to share my holiday snaps. Have a lovely week. x