It's about this time each year that I have the same old argument debate with my boss. We stand on the main lawn behind the hotel, usually upslope of the wych elms. He puts his hands in his pockets and so it begins.
Grass is growing again, Seth. Starting to get long.
Yup, it's really starting to look lovely again, don't you think?
Lots of daisies and buttercups everywhere, Seth. Time to dust off the ol' mower.
Lesser Celandines, not buttercups.
Huh?
The yellow ones, they're Lesser Celandines. Do you remember me telling you that last year?
Maybe. Anyway, they need to go. And the daisies. They make the place look like a pikey site.
Mmmm. So you been to many pikey sites then, boss?
And so it goes. Luckily I'd already dug out the mower and strimmer the day before, reassembled them and made sure they were working. So today was spent making the place look less of 'a pikey site' and back into a boring, sterile, green desert. Luckily the mower blades don't lower quite far enough to completely eradicate all forms of life, and it'll recover soon enough anyway.
 |
| Horrible overgrown pikey site to the left, barren and desolate (yet neat) to the right... |
There is one obvious advantage to cutting the grass short. The resultant clippings!
 |
| The first three wheelie bins of clippings added to the old stuff |
Whilst we're in indefinite lockdown, several of the live-in staff have decided to grow their own produce. They've covered an area of unused grass in cardboard boxes and are gleefully watching me fill wheelie bin after wheelie bin with clippings which they are then spreading across the cardboard. This is common practice in Poland, apparently. The cardboard kills the growth beneath then rots away whilst the clippings are used as compost as they rot down, then the veggies go in - simple! I'm hoping I get a share of the produce seeing as I'm the one carting the clippings up the hill whilst they're all furloughed in the sunshine with beers and music...
But they aren't getting the front lawn clippings, those are mine (plus I'm buggered if I'm dragging several wheelie bins' worth full of clippings from the front driveway to the staff accommodation, that's a coupla hundred metres - all uphill). Those are added to the pile in the picture above, and I'm impatiently waiting for it to start fermenting so I can start sieving it for beetles. I also have a second (and a third and a fourth, in fact) pile of clippings beneath some trees that I doubt the other staff have ever noticed before. Those will all be getting topped up with fresh stuff over the next few months and I shall be there with my sieve, tray and pooter - plus reading glasses, sadly - ready to snap up whatever I find within. Coz yeah, I'm now officially blind. The beetles I extract from the clippings are usually between 1mm and 4mm in length. I can still see them alright, even the 1mm featherwings - from about 40cm away. But I have to get in closer than that with my pooter and if they suddenly stop moving I tend to lose them in amongst the debris. It's really, really annoying, I used to have such terrific eyesight too.
Here's a hefty beetle I sieved from the old clippings last week, one I've never seen before
 |
| Scydmaenus tarsatus - rocking in at a whopping great 2.1mm |
And a couple of flies for you, both associated with those horrid 'buttercups'
 |
| A female Platycheirus albimanus - a common springtime hoverfly |
 |
| A male Eristalis pertinax - another very common springtime hoverfly |
And finally, a sneak preview into the nest of a Song Thrush. Last year a pair nested in the open fronted logstore next to the staff smoking area. They became very used to people walking and chatting within a couple of metres of the nest and successfully fledged two broods. This year the nest has moved maybe eight feet closer to the smoking area (they've got a nicotine habit to feed now!) and I've been keeping an eye on the birds, making sure nobody gets too close or lingers too long. Anyway, I watched the incubating bird fly off for a bathe in the nearby burn and, seeing as I had my camera in my pocket, quickly snuck in, took a few shots and hoped for the best before sneaking off again. Of the three pics taken, this was the best
 |
| Home tweet home... |
The BTO have this nest record scheme which is perfect for lockdown birding. Reading through the do's and don'ts it seems that Song Thrushes are one of the species known to exhibit "exploding chicks", which essentially means that the young birds rapidly burst out of the nest, all in different directions, if a predator (or BTO volunteer) pokes their head in unexpectedly. I think these individuals will be well habituated towards humans, but obviously I still need to be careful. There's that nesting Blackbird in the woodshed too...
More mowing and strimming tomorrow, then it'll be back to the maintenance for at least a few days until those blasted 'buttercups' and daisies sprout up again. My bait trap (I have three dead mice in the bottom of a bottle trap) has so far failed to deliver the goods. Probably need to start decomposing a bit more first, they still look remarkably fresh despite being dead for over a week. Maybe I should place them in full sunlight.
THIS is the song that I'm in love with at the moment, obscure lyrics and a slightly weird video, but what a track. Hope you enjoy it!
No comments:
Post a Comment