Hoggers

[MikeOxon]

The air was warm and friendly.

You were lucky! It was sleeting this morning in Oxon, and dull all day

Mike

[Hoggers]

My luck didn't last long Mike,the very next day Winter returned with a vengeance depositing rain, sleet then snow on us down here in Kent.

I don't know if other UKBers have seen reports in the national newspapers about the decline in the number of Hedgehogs in the UK. There's plenty about it on the internet (the British Hedgehog Preservation Society has a very helpful website.)

I'd frequently see Hedgehogs in my garden but my sightings of them have gradually became rarer until I'm now able to say that I haven't seen one for about four years.

I'm not really one for doing Conservation work at Nature Reserves and the like, along the lines of that carried out by a number of members of this forum (for whom I have enormous respect) but my mind has of late turned to thoughts about what I can do,on a smaller scale, with my garden. My aim is to turn it in to a more Butterfly and Wildlife Friendly place.

So far as Hedgehogs are concerned, I don't use any chemicals at all in the garden, no weed killers,slug pellets or the like;I have a hedge;and my dogs are (alarmingly) non-territorial. So Hedgehogs shouldn't find it too uncomfortable here.

I've decided to stop mowing the lawn at the top of the garden and let the grass grow.I think letting the grass grow is my kind of gardening. It's low maintenance and fully ecologically justifiable in that it will help with both insects and other creatures (including me and my bad back).

I also decided to buy a HedgeHog House which arrived today:

It has already attracted some attention

A real "des res". I think I may move in myself!

[David M]

Laudable stuff, Hoggers. I hope your building soon sees its first resident.

[Goldie M]

Looking forward to seeing your garden Hoggers, put some Wall flowers in for Spring the first Butterflies love them.

You'll be able to take the seed heads off the plants at the end of Summer, dry them out in envelopes, then if you need more you've got them. I'm going to plant my seeds in the Green house end of Feb, then put them out after the first frosts have gone, I love Gardening Goldie

[Hoggers]

Thanks David, but with my luck I'll probably get a big fat Rat : I once made a Dove Cote for the garden which within minutes was invaded by a gang of Starlings, the Collard Doves I'd hoped for didn't get a look in!

Thanks for the tip Goldie. I've got four Wallflowers in pots ready to go into the garden, which have developed tiny flower buds already. I will certainly follow your advice for collecting the seeds later on in the year. The more I can grow of them, the better.

This morning was warm and dry after last night's heavy rain. I took a walk to the wood where the Winter Aconite grows to see if the flowers had opened out yet

Still a tad too early, but the Bluebell leaves are now emerging and I found some more Snowdrops

A patch of bright yellow caught my eye. At first I thought it was a burst children's balloon but looking closer found it to be a fungus of some kind

I haven't the faintest idea what its name is but I'll try to find out.

Plenty of Hazel catkins

And a single Goat Willow just coming out

Which shows that things are on the move.

Walking back to the car I was delighted to come across a Barn Owl hunting over the field. I always remember "Kes" (wonderful film and as "A kestrel for a knave" a super book) when the boy's teacher, seeing Kes for the first time, says how when you watch a bird like that "Everything goes quiet". Well, that's how I feel whenever I'm lucky enough to see a Barn Owl: Everything goes quiet.
I've a pair of them on my Patch, I know where they nest, but I keep well away for fear of disturbing them. Unfortunately, we are surrounded by busy roads which the Owls will cross or hunt alongside. Sometimes I simply cannot look.

Today I had my camera with me so took a few snaps for my diary, but they are truly atrocious

And apologies for this next photograph but what I like about it is what it could have been had I been any sort of half-competent photographer!

A beautiful creature. Nature is a wonderful thing.

[Hoggers]

Daffodils in flower on a roundabout on the A28 at Ashford. Not exactly a Wordsworthian location but my first Daffs of the year nonetheless.

[Susie]

Well I liked your owl pics. I saw one on the way home from work tonight too, only the third time I've seen a wild one.

What type of wall flowers do you have?

[David M]

Daffodils in flower on a roundabout on the A28 at Ashford. Not exactly a Wordsworthian location but my first Daffs of the year nonetheless.

I hope to match that observation over the weekend - the daffs on Clydach high street are about to burst forth!

[Padfield]

I'm enjoying your diary too, Hoggers.

For the fungus, try Tremella mesenterica.

Guy

[Hoggers]

Guy,thanks for the identification of my weird-looking fungus : with all these asteroids and meteorites whizzing about the place at the moment I thought it might be the start of an alien invasion.

Susie,the Wallflower I bought is Erysium Bowles Mauve

It is already developing buds,as you can see.

All of the plants that I bought seem to be doing well except the Hebe,which for some reason appears to be suffering

Most of the leaves have died, leaving only a few living green ones. I hope it pulls through and if anybody has any suggestions as to how I can help it, I'd be grateful.

Good luck with the Daff Hunt, David: although the ones I saw in flower are only about 3 miles away from my home, my own are far from ready

Although I saw a lovely photograph in The Times today of a whole field of Daffs in flower, down in Cornwall I think.

I spent a couple of hours the in the garden today, planting out my Dog Violets. I put them in a number of spots underneath deciduous trees ( Silver birch, Sycamore etc) where I hope they will be happy.

Mid-morning I was out over the fields and very pleasant it was too. I came across a small group of Siskins in the Alders which I don't see often, while the Barn Owl was out hunting again.

I found some more Speedwell

Red-Dead Nettle

Groundsel

And just the single Lesser Celandine that I found last week

(All the others have put up leaves but as yet no flowers)

I found one other plant making the effort to flower

I've been looking in my book but until the flower opens out I'm going to struggle to identify it ( a "Mouse-Ear", perhaps?)

Best of all today was this: as I lay, sprawled out trying to photograph the Speedwells, I heard a Skylark singing. Maybe not its full Spring song just yet, but very close.

Exciting times.

[David M]

Good luck with the Daff Hunt, David: although the ones I saw in flower are only about 3 miles away from my home, my own are far from ready

The daffs I'm referring to are those best placed to flower early, i.e. sheltered and south facing. I'll be out and about tomorrow doing some conservation work so I hope I'll get to see my first of the year if the weather forecast is correct - mainly sunny with 8c maximum temperatures.

[Hoggers]

I saw this wild-looking Dandelion and thought it was such a burst of colour on this February day that I'd put it in my diary

The number of Dandelion flowers opening up is rapidly on the increase where I walk my dogs,many more Daisies too.

I also found a Ladybird

I know nothing about these little animals but I suppose they hibernate and this morning's sunshine had stirred this one from its sleep.

A Skylark (perhaps the one from yesterday) was high above the fields singing and when I got home I heard a Chaffinch singing in the garden.

I planted out my Garlic Mustards this afternoon. They had been growing fast,seemingly champing at the bit to get out of their pots and put down some roots. My Cuckoo Flowers have been putting on a growth spurt too, so I've planted them with the Garlic Mustard to provide a bouquet that Orange Tips will find irresistible ( I hope ).

[Susie]

Hi Hoggers,

I thought that it might be bowles mauve that you have. This is by far the best wallflower I know for butterflies as it flowers all through the spring/summer and sometimes right into autumn and winter too if it is mild enough. This plant is sterile though and can't be propagated by seeds but you can take cuttings really easily.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Hoggers,

I am enjoying reading your diary and really liking those Owl photos.

Neil F.

[Hoggers]

Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated. I'm just a "Garden and Dog Walk Naturalist" and feared my diary would be rather dull, so I'm glad to hear it's not boring everybody to tears. I certainly enjoy reading all of the diaries on this forum. I've never lost the sense of joy and excitement when finding living things be they animals, insects, birds or plants (I guess everyone else on this forum is just the same) so I still get excited when I find a Ladybird or hear a Skylark singing and want to tell everyone.

[Hoggers]

Crossing the footbridge over the River Medway at Maidstone this morning, fighting against a perishing blizzard, I wasn't really expecting to see a sign of Spring but one came anyway,in the shape of a Black-headed Gull which was just getting it's new season's black (or rather, brown) head.

[Paul Wetton]

Hi Hoggers
I've seen Hebes go the way yours has. Have you had any sharp frosts as mine succumbed to frost and even prolonged snow in the past. Normally the small leaved varieties are quite hardy though so it may be a virus.
You can propogate Hebes quite easily from cuttings. Best to pot them first even indoors before putting them out.
With frost bitten specimens the recommendation is to cut them right down almost to the ground.

Good luck.

[Hoggers]

Yes, Paul we have had some hard frosts so that's a strong contender - I kept two of my Hebes in the conservatory and both are completely healthy. I'll follow your tip and cut back the two frost-bitten ones. Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

[Hoggers]

Cold out there today: a bitter wind with frequent snow flurries. Mind you,for about five minutes around mid-day, the sun came out and it seemed that Winter's hold was weakening: out of the wind I could actually feel warmth from the sun and Spring had the upper hand, although not for long.

I found some White Dead-nettles in bud

It's flowers waiting, like me, for more sunshine.

Red Dead-nettles were out in strength

A single, brave Lesser Celandine

On these harsh dull days , hungry for colour, I go looking for Speedwells

Alder catkins make for an attractive purple haze when seen from a distance

And this lichen made a splash of colour too

Passing an old Willow I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye, looked and this is what I saw

I froze in my tracks. I'd no idea that a Barn Owl was living here. We gazed at each other for a few seconds then it seemed to go to sleep

I crept away to the far side of the field and when I looked back through my binoculars I could see it still, patiently facing into the cold wind and flurries of snow. It made me think about the wild creatures of this world, out there in the cold, fighting to stay alive.

On my way home I stopped off to see the Snowdrops again

A perfect end to a Winter (dare I say early Spring?) walk.

[Hoggers]

Work took me to Oxford this week,where I stayed in a city centre hotel. I didn't have any opportunity to venture out into the countryside but did find the charmingly named Stinking Hellebore in full flower growing on a riverbank close to where I was working. I was also thrilled to see good numbers of Red Kite from the train between Reading and Oxford. I wish we had them down here in Kent.

Back home today I heard a Blackbird singing at around 5.30am. It's the first I've heard in full song this year. Of all our British Songsters the Blackbird is by far my favourite:languid,gentle and subtle, with dreams of long, warm Summer nights in every phrase. It was a good way to begin what the weather forecasters tell me is the first day of Spring, although I didn't stay very long to enjoy the performance as it was 5.30 and I wanted to go back to bed. I have my priorities.

Later on in the morning I set off for a walk around my Patch. I decided to have a rummage around in the wood to see how things were getting on. As you can see, the Bluebells are coming along nicely

So too the Primroses

The beds of Violets are growing well and I found this Wood Anemone which is just about to flower

And the Honeysuckle is waking up

I heard a Song Thrush and Dunnock singing, then a Greater Spotted Woodpecker drumming.

By the river I saw that my lone flowering Celandine had managed to produce a second flower since last weekend

Good effort. The rest cannot be far behind.

Just before returning home the sun came out and within seconds two Skylarks began to sing; enough to put a decided Spring in my step. It's a wonderful time of year.