Day 7: Polka dot your lawn

Day 7 and a quiet day at home. After being out most of yesterday, I had housework and food shopping to catch up on. There was also the little matter of booking a short (UK) trip away :-) I'll tell you more about that another time.

Anyway, on to the challenge. When I signed up for 30 days wild, I had the idea of creating a crop circle on the lawn. After thinking about it more, I realised I'd probably have to do the cropping by hand which seemed too much of a faff. And so evolved the idea of creating polka dots instead. This way I can mow most of the lawn and just leave the circles.

Bye bye buttercups.

And hello to dots. They're not much to look at at the moment so I'll have to show you later in the month when the grass has grown longer. There are also other plants growing in the grass so it will be interesting to see how they develop.

The elephant in the clouds was definitely impressed and saluted as he drifted by.

I also picked up a pot of thyme at the supermarket to add to my herb collection. I'm hoping the bees will love it.

They're certainly loving the aubretia right now. This one had clearly been gorging itself as you can see the pouches full of nectar on its hind legs.

 A couple of random shots of what else is flowering in the garden at the moment.

And last but not least, Chickpea and I went out this evening to try the kite again. The extra bit of breeze made all the difference and it took off with little effort.

Well, I made it through the first 7 days and have really enjoyed the challenge so far. The hardest part has probably been blogging every day so I might have to ease up on that and do a few compilations instead. I also have a couple of other posts to do aside from the challenge. Whatever happens, roll on the next week. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday - be wild! x

Day 6: Peregrines and gardens

Day 6 and a day out in Manchester to meet up with a friend. A pair of peregrines have nested on top of one of the buildings for several years and the RSPB usually have a stand with a telescope. This was my target for today.

I'd been looking online for sightings and had heard that the birds had been seen near the Town Hall so I headed there first.

Sure enough there was an RSPB van with two lovely young women inside: this is Hayley. They hadn't set up their stand yet so we chatted about 30 days wild (I was wearing my badge) and the antics of *Spineless Si before moving on to the peregrines. There are 2 pairs in the city centre at the moment. The older pair seem to have moved to the Town Hall.

Their original nest site on top of the CIS building has been taken over by a younger pair. Apparently they have been very active with lots of bonding behaviour: passing food to each other in mid-air and that kind of thing.

Unfortunately for me, neither pair was in evidence today though I scanned the buildings and the sky and went back to the Town Hall later in the day. It was disappointing but I was given lots of information on what to look for and was shown photos of them: they like to perch on the Premier Inn sign and on an old crow's nest on the Cathedral. I'm back in Manchester in a couple of weeks so will try again. There are videos of the nest site from previous years here.

Later, I went over to the art gallery where I was meeting my friend and had a pleasant surprise. The front of the building has been decorated by the National Trust with plants and gardens as part of the Lost Gardens installation.

There was a box of frames for you to take pictures.

So, no peregrines but an unexpected bonus of nature in the city.

Another unexpected bonus was this little urban fox who came home with me :-)

A lovely day all round. x

*For non-UK readers, Spineless Si is a stickleback (small fish) which has featured on a TV nature programme called Springwatch.

Day 5: Fly a kite

Day 5 and I was struggling for an idea. I've not had a moment to myself all day and I'll be going out in a few minutes to have a birthday drink with my Dad. What could I do? Then I remembered an idea from Louise's list: fly a kite!

I bought this when Chickpea was little and it has survived throwing out sessions through the years. It's a soft sled kite from Early Learning Centre - I don't know if they still sell them.

Off we rushed to this patch of open land, hoping there was enough of a breeze. Up and down I ran trying to catch the slightest puff of wind.

Up it goes!

And down it comes. Phew! The kite is pooped and so am I!

There wasn't really enough wind so it didn't get up very far: we'll try again another day. I'll also make sure it isn't inside out! I only realised it was when I looked at the picture on the box when we came home!

If you're looking for an idea, I'd highly recommend this one. It was great fun, I laughed a lot and feel quite exhilarated. x

Day 4: Daisy, daisy

Day 4 and I went in search of a quiet, green space to do some mindfulness homework. I've started a 4 week course (one hour a week) and one of the tasks is a daily breathing exercise.

There's a lovely square in the city where I sometimes go to watch the squirrels. They were much in evidence today and, being a warm, sunny day, so were lots of other people. Not so good for quiet contemplation. Instead I decided to combine two of the other tasks: spending time with nature and a mindful activity.

As there were lots of daisies around, I sat on a bench and focused on making a daisy chain, something I haven't done for many years. The feel of the stem between my fingers, the moist feeling as my fingernail sliced through the stem to create an opening for the next daisy in the chain. I was completely absorbed in the moment...until a young family came and sat on the bench next to me - well, benches are in short supply on sunny days.

Still, it did the trick and I felt wonderfully calm and relaxed. This is one activity I'll be finding time for again, particularly as Chickpea has confessed that she's always struggled making daisy chains.

Embracing my inner hippy.

Enjoy the rest of your evening. I'm off to wrap my Dad's presents as it's his birthday tomorrow. x

Day 3: Stop and smell the roses

A quick post today for Day 3 of 30 Days Wild as I'm about to dash off to my quilt group. It's been another busy day but I still managed to make time for a brief encounter with nature which then ended up staying with me the whole afternoon.

As I was making my way into town at lunchtime, I noticed a splash of pink and wandered over for a closer look. It was a patch of wild roses.

And not one but..

...three different kinds. The scent of each of them was incredible, just like roses should smell. I couldn't resist wandering from rose to rose burying my nose in each bloom. All too soon though I needed to leave to finish my errands.

I picked a single bloom and tucked it into my button hole. As I wandered around town, every now and then I'd get a whiff of its perfume. By the time I arrived back at my desk, it was looking a little wilted so I put it in a plastic water cup. It was so lovely to catch sight of it all afternoon. From time to time I picked up the cup and buried my nose to inhale the scent once more.

Sometimes the simplest things are the most effective. I think this has been my favourite of the challenge so far. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed that little rose. My colleagues enjoyed it too as I made them sniff it every time they came over! Hopefully it will still be going strong tomorrow so I can enjoy it for another day.

Well, I hadn't intended posting each day but it just seems to be working out that way at the moment. I also had a list of ideas and I haven't done a single one of them yet! Organised, unspontaneous me is actually embracing the random part of this challenge - who knew! x

Day 2: What's in the wall?

Day 2 of 30 Days Wild found me taking a walk at lunchtime. I came across this old wall and was fascinated by all the plants growing in the stones. It always amazes me how nature can survive in the unlikeliest of places. Here's what I saw...

Ivy-leaved toadflax

Ragwort

Maidenhair spleenwort

Wall rue

Common ramping fumitory

I've not had time to identify most of the plants as I've been out at my yoga class this evening. Those without flowers are more difficult too. Looks like I'll have to keep going back :-)

I attended a mindfulness class today and guess what one of the homework exercises was? Spend time in nature each day! Looks like I have more than one reason to keep going wild - not that I needed an excuse. x

Day 1: Sow vegetable seeds

It's Day 1 of 30 Days Wild organised by the Wildlife Trusts. Throughout June, the challenge is to make time for something nature-related every day. It can take moments or hours, whatever you can fit in.

Although I'll be taking part each day, I might not always have time to blog about it. Inspired by the mention of 'random acts of wildness', I'll probably be doing random acts of blogging!

For Day 1, I'm sowing radish seeds which I'm hoping to harvest at the end of the month. The packet says they're ready to pick in 3-6 weeks, so fingers crossed that the sun will shine and I'll have some rosy beauties to show you! It's definitely not sunny now though as the rain is battering against the window as I type!

Luckily I'd seen the weather forecast and had my pot of compost ready so that I could simply sow the seeds this morning. And at 6.45am, in bright sunshine, I was outside with seeds in hand.

I'm growing the radish in pots as I don't have much growing space. I already grow most of my vegetables this way and they're almost always successful.

I was surprised how large the seeds are but then this is a larger variety. The radish will have a milder flavour and are traditionally eaten in continental style with butter and salt.

I read online that it's good to plant radish near mint to deter flea beetles. Luckily I have some growing in another pot so have pushed the two together. The mesh is to deter the local cats from using it as a day bed/litter tray.

Hmm, I'm thinking that I needn't have bothered watering as it's getting plenty now!

I have to admit it was rather stressful trying to fit in some wildness in the morning with the time pressure of needing to leave for work. It was also so wonderful being outside that I just didn't want to leave the garden! Tomorrow will be even more of a challenge because it's meant to be raining all day, I'll be at work and then my yoga class in the evening! What will my date with nature be? Well, you'll just have to wait and see :-)