Long time, no post!
I've been very busy since I last posted here, still working on my house as I keep finding more jobs to do and I'm not moving in until everything is how I want it! I am very fed up of it now, several months after I expected to have moved in, but I also know I'm in a privileged position really to be able to do what I want to do to this house and not have to live with the mess and disorder whilst it is done so I am making the most of that as, next time I move, I won't have this luxury!
I've not had the free time to spend outdoors or get out for any walks, which I really miss, but it won't be long now until life gets back to normal and I will definitely be done in time for 30 Days Wild :)
The first two weeks of April this year are the Easter Holidays for me and this week I have been able to spend a little bit of time outdoors.
I volunteered with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust on Wednesday, for the first time in months. I don't think I've done a voluntary day with DWT since Forest School last June (other than a couple of hours on the hibernaculum in December) so I was pleased to finally be free for a Wild Wednesday!
Due to the heavy showers, the event was held in the Wildlife Discovery Room rather than in the outdoor classroom, and we had various egg themed crafts happening indoors but I did also take a couple of groups down to the outdoor space for some pond dipping. I caught a toad in the net - something I've never caught in a net before. One little girl really loved that toad!
I also netted an alder fly larva, another pond dipping first for me. Aside from that it was the usual collection of shrimps, waterlice, various snails and fly larvae. We didn't find any waterboatmen today and we're a little early for the newts and dragonflies which are plentiful in this pond a little later in the year. Oh yes, I also heard my first chiff chaff of the year too as we pond dipped.
One of the indoor activities was making nesting wreaths and I made one myself to bring home. It's a willow wreath stuffed with moss, hay, feathers and sheep wool. I didn't have a lot of time to do this so it was a rushed job and not exactly packed with nesting material, but I hope to be able to pick up bits of wool etc on my travels over the next few weeks to keep it topped up. I hung it out in the garden on Thursday when the sun was shining.
The postman delivered my new insect home on Thursday too and I like it very much. This is for my own home, not the garden it is pictured in. My own garden is not yet ready for habitats and will need a lot of work before I'm ready to buy and build more insect homes, but I didn't want to move in without providing something for the bugs, so I bought this to go on one of the house walls and look forward to putting it up soon.
I plan to shake out the shavings and add some better material in that bottom section. Those green tube sections are removable and contain transparent tubes so I can see what is happening inside them...
I've been looking out for spawn in the garden all week and there was no sign of it on Wednesday but whilst I was putting out the nesting wreath on Thursday morning, I could hear a very feint croaking from the bottom of the garden...
It's not a great photo due to full zoom and bright sunlight, but there were ten frogs in this corner of the pond! I've never seen so many in the pond at once and this is the most spawn that has ever appeared in it too. They were busy all day on Thursday and laid some more yesterday too.
I saw my first bumblebee of the year whilst I was sitting by the pond on Thursday too :)
I won't be living here to watch the spawn progress this year, though I will be able to visit every so often and hopefully see some froglets later in the year. Perhaps next year, my own garden pond will be ready and waiting for life!
I also heard my first Chiffchaff the other day, almost two weeks later than other years; I'd begun to think I was going deaf, as well as daft!
ReplyDeleteI spotted some bumblebees this weekend, too. Maybe they don't obsess over weather apps and just get on with it. I like your luxury bug home. I now wish we had one with removable tubes. I hung ours up on the south facing house wall and hope it will be home to some interesting creatures. Our front garden is quite creature friendly (shrubs, fruit trees, wildflower meadow, some gravel). Our back unfortunately is a slow work in progress. I hope you'll get some time over the summer to work on your garden. Love the frog photos. I remember thousands of frogs invading the new school pitch, it was built on their previous breeding ground. Lots were rehomed but many more died. It was three years until the frogs stopped returning. I hope the population has recovered. There is a large pond nearby and bucketsful of frogs were moved there. Must not ramble. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteLove the luxury inscect house. And I presume the nesting wreaths are for birds to collect their nest materials? X
ReplyDeleteYes it is :) I should have said that in the post!
DeleteThat's a lot of frogs!
ReplyDeleteLovely to see you post again :) The bug house is brilliant, I bet you can't wait to start on your garden and see what wildlife it brings. I'm glad the house is coming along, it'll all be worth it in the end! Good to see so many frogs in the pond, i'd be happy with just one in mine :)
ReplyDeleteLove the insect house! Good luck with the frog spawn x
ReplyDelete