the world is alive with the sound of living

Life is stirring; the air is buzzing with the hum of bumble bees and hoverflies, brimstones, peacocks and commas are emerging, celandines, daffodils, wood anemones and dog violets are in flower, long tailed tits, wrens, robins, great tits are singing out, buzzards are pairing up by soaring on Spring thermals, the fish were leaping out of the water. Spring.

 wood anemone

 comma and celandine

 robin singing his socks off

One thing I have noticed is that the first butterflies to emerge in early Spring are much more frisky and easily unsettled than later in the year and therefore harder to photograph. This is surprising given that it remains quite cool especially in the morning. It may be because as there are fewer of them at this time of year they are more conspicuous targets for birds and other predators, so it pays to be more agile.

Tutwell

the little hamlet of Tutwell, where Uncle Max was born, Dartmoor in the distance. Tutwell sits on the top of the Tamar valley. In the panorama below it is to the left, and a little hamlet called Townlake in Devon on the other side of the valley is visible to the right. As usual the photo has suffered from making it fit onto the blog page!

top of the hill

entrance to our village this afternoon, (with traffic sign impedimenta and bins removed, if only planning and highway law were so simple). See link for same view from an earlier page from this blog with different flowers and more information.

three favourites

butterbur, spot the native daffodil, and a crowd of ghostly mother superiors leaving this morning's woodland service

catkins

annual catkin photo against non annual blue sky, and, below, masses of very juvenile tadpoles. The greenish tinge in the middle of the photo is caused by the residual egg sacs from which they have emerged and which they are still feeding on. Unfortunately, it is very dry and like last year I think there is a real risk that these puddles will dry up before the tadpoles can mature.

sling your hook

it was a quiet, foggy morning and the trees were full of these little hammock webs, designed it seems to catch the little midges that tend to fly up and down in little mating clouds at this time of year.

first appearances

more and more plants are putting in their first appearance of the year including the very slender and pretty wood anemone above, and the rough old dog violet below. Early, but not very early.

Kit Hill images - and a linnet

Kit Hill quarry provides a wonderful range of tones with only hints of green at the moment. It has warmed up so quickly that crowfoot is already flowering in the small ponds around the quarry pool.

 And a stonechat (I think) was puffing himself up and giving full vent to his Spring song.

post post script:- my in-house expert has suggested that what I thought was a stonechat is in fact a linnet. This may well be true because its song was strikingly beautiful and the linnet is renowned for the quality of its song. It also likes scrubland. I have a new source of information to keep us all well informed, Birds Britannica (see link)

Downgate

a beautiful sunny morning with a thick mist lying in the Tamar valley. As the mist receded the whole village of Downgate appeared beneath us as we stood on Kit Hill. Downgate is on a fairly steep hill but the perspective has flattened it out. In the background a green wood pecker was yaffling away (to hear it try this link to RSPB). I have never managed to catch a green woodpecker on camera, but there is definitely one in residence on Kit Hill now. We will go hunting (only with a camera of course!)

another yellow body

last week I could hear yellowhammers practising their song. They could manage the "bit of bread" and "cheese" but not the whole phrase. Today there were several sitting in the tops of trees giving it full blast and using the whole phrase.

There was also an odd episode in the field behind our house. A buzzard flew down from a tree in our garden into the field. It was immediately the subject of a spectacular aerial attack by another buzzard. They appeared to be fighting for a minute or so before one flew off, and then the other flew off, neither seemed injured. I have never seen this behaviour before (they are quite furtive birds as a rule other than when they are in the air or roosting on a pole)

very prim indeed

a familiar favourite is out everywhere now

wrendition

there were five wrens within 50 yards of each other singing their hearts out today.

Stitchwort returns

Greater Stitchwort, the first of our true hedgerow plants, is back. According to my records this is very early this year even though it is a plant that flowers later in March. As this is Spot's blog Harriet, who has a natural interest in flora and fauna, insists on having a bit part in it as often as possible.

path clearing and gate keeping

Spot showing off his very strong retriever genes, just like his dear old mum (see link), and making sure the elephants don't get out.

As this is his blog he does like to appear in it from time to time.

almost perfect

Camelia coming into blossom. They do much better than roses in our local climate. And joining in the hymn to the rising year

brimstone and fire

It was a beautiful sunny day and we went for a walk around Devon Great Consul mine workings (see my link). It is a barren place for the most part but two very early brimstones appeared to add a little colour, one of which you might be able to see below (just)

Ok, here it is, admittedly it is small and it was flying away fast

beech holidays

two mallards ("we shall be cruising today at 40,000 feet"), and below everyone taking a break after a long hard day building nests.

rook life

male rooks are very busy collecting twigs and other bits and pieces from the garden which they then present to the female in the rookery for making the nest. The one in the top photo has his beak full! As usual they are nesting both low and high in the trees so we must be in for our normal summer weather.

Crocus time

 The first bumblebees are around making for the crocuses. They get so heavily covered in pollen they can hardly fly.

heavenly celandine

Pansies, Lilies, Kingcups, Daisies,
Let them live upon their praises;
Long as there's a sun that sets
Primroses will have their glory;
Long as there are Violets,
They will have a place in story:
There's a flower that shall be mine,
'Tis the little Celandine.

WW 1802 (link)

Pentillie

Pentillie Castle is an interesting place not unlike its better known cousin Cotehele. It has a strange history (see link). The top picture is of old squireTillie  sat in his mausoleum. I felt like calling the picture below the sermon on the mount, but in fact it is the Saltash walkers listening attentively to David Readman. It was very congenial, even if Spot was not allowed to join in! More AONB events at this link.

Pentillie

the river at Tamar at Pentillie castle, looking down river towards Weir Quay (for photo up river in blog see this link). Pentillie House is on the extreme right of this photo. It has been much reduced to fit it on the blog page! Full version is in picasa web album (see link to right)

Rising

This morning was clear and sunny if cold. It is a strange time of year. You can sense a restless energy in the earth, the leaves of celandine, wild daffodils and dog violets are reaching up for the sky, the smell of wild garlic is in the air, and the crocuses are out, and yet the world seems to be holding its breath. Blackbirds and mistle thrushes are already nesting, and the finches and tits are looking at their smartest. We are on the edge of Spring and the great slow explosion of life in our Northern homes is about to begin once again.

I know the content of this post is trite in some ways but the feeling that the life around us is beginning once more to pulse with energy is not. I feel we have lost our connection with the world from which we emerged. The noise of our toys is incessant, invasive and alienating. If we cannot hear and respond to the natural rhythms of the world we become mentally unhealthy not just as individuals but as a species. 

two ladies and one tit

a great tit lending some colour to a drab day, as is the bright green of the early leaves of lords and ladies, and her ladyship's paws.

boring

not a lot seems to have happened in the last two weeks. The plants that were flowering out of season have been killed off by the cold. Snowdrops like a bit of cold and are now out everywhere providing the only real colour in the lanes. Otherwise everything is looking very tired and jaundiced; just right for February.

they're back

ah well, back to reality, no kind house sitters, short walks and lots of food, they're back and I will have to resume my blogging chores.

and I see they made some unsavoury new friends

We're off on our holidays for a few days. We will be back soon

mistle thrush

It is British bird count day today. Normally, on this auspicious day all the birds in our garden disappear (probably because everyone puts food out for them) so it was surprising to see a pair of mistle thrushes. This is the female, the male perched in a tree and watched over her while she looked for worms. They usually nest early and we should see the young in early Spring. Back to bird counting!

spot the blue tit

well camouflaged and very shy

and looking at you

bramble flower

I have never seen bramble flowering in January. I guess it may have continued flowering from last year. I can hardly believe it has started to flower anew this early

cornish canary

a goldfinch flashing its brilliant colours in flight (nothing much else to photograph at present)