birds

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The power of Nature

Last night we had a bonkers storm here.  I lay awake for hours listening to her chucking ice at us & wrenching the night apart with crashing thunderbolts.  Lightning seem to spark through every window.  When I peered out the window as the day began, there were piles of sleet & ice laying on the ground.  I had to chuckle as we had talked earlier in the day about the weather.  Snow was forecast & we had all said, sagely, ‘oh no, it’s too warm for snow’, ‘the time for snow & ice has passed’ & other such nonsense…

When will we learn not to underestimate Nature?  I’ve felt her power as we’ve worked on the land.  That’s the bonus of all this hard graft – close connection to the earth.  Look at this beautiful rock, covered with the prettiest, most delicate lichen:

And the earth that we struggle to lift with hands and shovels is being worked & broken up by these amazing creatures:

Charles Darwin said of them:

“It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organised creatures”

And Amy Stewart wrote a whole book on them…

Nature has the power to drive me crazy too.  We’ve been kept company by a whole variety of birdlife as we dig and sweat.  Robins, Redstarts, Blackcaps, Blackbirds & majestic birds of prey.  The Robins particularly have been tormenting me – perching close by, pushing out their beautiful red breasts, eyeing the camera cockily & dodging every shot!

I leave you with a green beauty – a wild euphorbia, I think…

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The birds & the bees!

Steve was absolutely delighted to spot this bird just as we were leaving the land the other day…

Hoopoe - archive picture

It’s a Hoopoe and as Steve said, he’d seen it in books and marvelled at the funky crest on its head and never thought he’d ever actually see one!  As if that wasn’t exciting enough, we also discovered this natural beauty growing on the land…

Early spider orchid on lower terrace

It’s an Early Spider Orchid, Ophrys sphegodes part of the bee-orchid family. It is pollinated by the solitary bee, Andrena, and the scent the flower gives off mimics that of the female Andrena bee!  Isn’t nature full of wonder?

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