Observations Of Nature Through The Seasons.

[Methuselah]

The recent warm and sunny conditions have been wonderful for watching tits; it's so good on the eye to see them bobbing up and down, prior to flying into their nest - in a street lamp!

[Bobby]

Just had a Sparrowhawk capture a Starling in the garden. It pinned it down for a minute then flew off with it to eat. Not very nice to see but that's nature I guess, red in tooth and claw.

[Jax]

The recent warm and sunny conditions have been wonderful for watching tits; it's so good on the eye to see them bobbing up and down

Aye!

 

Lets not forget the "Spring" episode of Year of Nature is on TV at 21:00 (BBC) tonight too

[coldfingers]

February 9th and on the South Coast here today I have found greenfly on my roses! Couldn't believe it! Is this a record? Also saw a bumblebee out and a ladybird having a walkabout.

[laserguy]

February 9th and on the South Coast here today I have found greenfly on my roses! Couldn't believe it! Is this a record? Also saw a bumblebee out and a ladybird having a walkabout.

 

There was a ladybird in my bathroom from around Xmas until about three weeks ago,when it died.... Daffodils and stuff are well on their way around here.

[Jane Louise]

Signs of spring here. House sparrows building a nest today in one of my 5 camera nest boxes. A tree sparrow visit in the box on the Oak tree. Blue tits investigating all 5. Seen a Bee yesterday. Building a bug hotel this afternoon and setting up a webcam on the wildlife pond. 

[Jax]

Just met what appears to be a new hedgehog in my garden, not too timid either and nice to see their return, used to seeing hogs in the yard.

 

Had a few more black birds this spring and have a sitting robin all vying for the food and water with the finches, tits, starlings and pigeons that make regular visits.

 

The Ivy is doing well and attracts the tits, also have a "wild" patch of mint I hope to see return aswell.

[Jax]

Well just had a close encounter with a pair of blackbirds, guess they must have young as one thing I have noticed over recent years is how "brave" they get when looking for food this time of year, was out in the back garden putting some old cooking oil in a container for disposal later and they passed within a foot of me.

 

Something else I noticed was berries on a holly tree/bush not far from here recently, there are still some on there, shows the difference from the last winter to the one before that, then the hunt for food meant the berries were taken very early in the year as the long winter continued and food was limited.

[laserguy]

Hops are off to a flying start this year - already a foot tall and putting on an inch a day. Dandelions on my lawn doing well too, but I'll have the last laugh - made two gallons of wine from them yesterday...

[Gray-Wolf]

 Dandelions on my lawn doing well too, but I'll have the last laugh - made two gallons of wine from them yesterday...

 Black finger tips today then?

[laserguy]

 Black finger tips today then?

 

God no! Do they cause gangrene or summat? Sorry GW - don't understand, I know the leaves are famed for their diuretic effect but not the flower heads! Wine's doing well though, down from an OG of 1085 to 1040 in 4 days...

[Jax]

Just been watching a blackbird in the garden feeding their young (well quite well grown now) from the scraps I have put out for the birds and hedgehogs.

[Snowyowl9]

http://wakeup-world.com/2011/06/24/tree-hugging-proven-to-improve-health-issues/

 

Countless studies have shown that children show significant psychological and physiological effects in terms of their health and well being when they interact with plants. They demonstrate that children function better cognitively and emotionally in green environments and have more creative play in green areas.

 

 

 

 

A large public health report that investigated the association between green spaces and mental health concluded that “access to nature can significantly contribute to our mental capital and wellbeingâ€.

So what is it about nature that can have these significant effects? Up until now it has been thought to be the open green spaces that cause this effect. However, Matthew Silverstone, shows that it is nothing to do with this by proving that it is the vibrational properties of trees and plants that give us the health benefits and not the open green spaces.

 

 It is all to do with the fact that everything vibrates, and different vibrations affect biological behaviours. It has been proven that if you drink a glass of water that has been treated with a 10Hz vibration your blood coagulation rates will change immediately on ingesting the treated water. It is the same with trees, when touching a tree its different vibrational pattern will affect various biological behaviours within your body.

This vibrational idea is backed up throughout the book by hundreds of scientific studies to provide overwhelming proof that tree hugging after all is not such a crazy idea. Not only is it good for our health but it can also save the Government a lot of money by off by offering an alternative form of treatment that is free.

One report concluded with the following: “safe, green spaces may be as effective as prescription drugs in treating some forms of mental illnessesâ€.

Wouldn’t it be nice to hear from now on that doctors treat some forms of illnesses by suggesting a walk in the park rather than taking a packet full of pills.

 

 

 

[laserguy]

Tree-hugging, huh? Well it ain't done the global warming bunch any good - they're still as crazy as ever. Last (and only) time I engaged in such activity was during a particularly heavy mushroom trip, and all I got was a rash.

[Gray-Wolf]

God no! Do they cause gangrene or summat? Sorry GW - don't understand, I know the leaves are famed for their diuretic effect but not the flower heads! Wine's doing well though, down from an OG of 1085 to 1040 in 4 days...

 

Last time I helped prepare dandylions the petals left my fingertips dyed black! really odd seeing how bright the petals are? 

[jtay]

Although they're in decline, I've heard more Cuckoos this year than in any other. On the 2 mile walk to Downton, I hear them in four seperate locations and have seen two. Don't normally see any. 

 

Hops are off to a flying start this year - already a foot tall and putting on an inch a day.

 

Slugs have got to mine. The buggers.

[Jax]

Now I know for sure why I have so many blackbirds in the garden, they are nesting in the ivy that climbs up the fence in the middle of the garden, they must have thought they had hit the jackpot then when all the extra scraps were put out for the birds in general

[Jax]

These blackbirds are, whilst not tame, brave and you can stand outside and they will come within a foot of you as long as you stay still.

[AderynCoch]

A blackbird came into our yard the other day, which was a weird sight as the birds hardly ever venture right in.

 

We had a lot of garden spider hatchlings by the shed a week or so ago. Not many tegenaria webs yet which usually start flourishing round about now.

 

 

[laserguy]

Elderflowers now in full bloom - heading straight for a coupla demijohns to make wine. I'll be careful to leave enough behind to provide for the elderberry wine in September...

[Crepuscular Ray]

The first flying ants of the season (I can't remember whether they feature in this thread or had their own one last summer): swarms in Wokingham, a fair few in High Wycombe and a handful here.

[Crepuscular Ray]

I think I saw a Clouded Yellow earlier. If so, that's the second this year, after not having seen any for a long time.

[Methuselah]

I think I saw a Clouded Yellow earlier. If so, that's the second this year, after not having seen any for a long time.

I've never seen one...

[Crepuscular Ray]

Hive Alive, at 8 on BBC 2 could be an interesting take on what the weather this spring's done to wildlife in general, as well as honey bees specifically.

[laserguy]

Just been for a stroll around the garden and I'm astonished to find about 25% of the elderberries are fully black and ripe, with the remainder not far behind. That's a full month early. Time to dust off the ol' demijohns, methinks.