Langdyke volunteer Jackie Robinson reflects on January out and about in nature.
Happy New Year everyone. I started the year in France as I celebrated my big 70 on January 1 2025. I think the weather was as miserable and cold over there as it was here. It rained nearly everyday, but no snow.
I tried to look for ‘growing’ things and birds but all I really saw were chaffinch, and a lot of Buzzards and Egrets far off in the fields.
So back home to my brown and messy garden.
A lot of soggy fallen leaves and bits of dead plant are defiantly hanging about, but also a lot of daffodils showing a good amount of growth. Some tulips in pots are poking through and snowdrops are beginning to show little white teasers of flowers. They seem quite clumped so I’ll split them when they have finished. Cowslips and primroses have been flowering for a month or so and I still have a few flowers on a mauve Erysimum (perennial wallflower).
The beauties in the garden at the moment are the Witch hazels (Hamamelis). I have a yellow one which is full of flowers and a red one just coming out. They are so attractive with their spiky flowers.
I haven’t had much of a chance to see the reserves these last few weeks but I’m sure I saw Pochard on the pits when walking down South Drain and a Lesser Celandine in flower on the bank.
At Swaddywell we still have a full pond, after carefully emptying it during the summer, for repair. There are plenty of Bee orchid rosettes, hopefully they won’t all get eaten this year and the reserve is looking great after all the maintenance by the workparties, although it is still quite wet in places.
The sheep have grazed Torpel for part of the year and it looks wonderful, as if it had been tended with great care by a gardener. They have now moved on to do their magic at the Etton Maxey Pit reserve .
Hopefully the other sheep a handful of ewes at Swaddywell and Etton High Meadow are all in lamb.
I hope the Bluebells and Wood anemones can manage to survive all the trampling by the workers in ‘Bluebell Wood’ down Heath Road. A lot of trees have been felled and there will not be so much shade for them. It would be a shame if they are not the beautiful blue shimmer through the trees that we all love as we drive by. If they don’t show, I have at least a hundred photos to remind me of their absolute beauty.
In the back garden I am really pleased to see Yellowhammer, Reed Buntings, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, and Goldfinch, as well as the usual birds that visit.
I’m especially pleased to see Blackbirds in good numbers, still chasing each other away from the seed, although there is plenty to share, and sometimes it seems they chase for no good reason at all, they come straight back. The Robins are extremely territorial as usual but I was surprised to see a lone Pied wagtail seeing all birds off. It wasn’t interested in the birdseed particularly but chased them all away anyway; it left the Jackdaw alone though, size I suppose!
The garden is looking pretty dull in this cold spell and isn’t really encouraging me to go out there, but I must. This year I am really going to try and get a lot of bee and butterfly friendly plants growing as well as keeping a natural, semi-wild look. I think I can see ‘road to, good intentions, and paved’ being a phrase that will probably apply! The pond pump needs replacing too, it has joined the long list of ‘To do and replace’.
I’m also nurturing my own fungi; some has appeared on logs placed in the garden at strategic places and some on my apple tree that has dead branches. That one is really beautiful and has almost covered the dead parts of the tree. I’m not sure what it is. (see main photo, above). The tree is very old and is producing less apples but the birds like to sit and watch what is going on, it’s a good escape place too when the Sparrowhawk puts in an appearance.
Here’s wishing for warmer weather soon or at least a blue sky; if it wants to stay cold a bit longer, fair enough but you can’t beat blue sky, it completely changes my mood.
Those lovely spring bulbs will soon be through to brighten our days and encourage us to get out and explore the countryside all around us. Stay warm everyone.