30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Nineteen.

Day 19: Today I am returning to my painted ladies chrysalids. Monday evening, coming home from work, we found one painted lady butterfly clinging to the mesh of the habitat. I was overjoyed to find it was the little caterpillar I had been worrying about, who hadn’t made it to the top of the cup to chrysalise. I left him/her to harden its wings and expel red meconium which is the left over part of the caterpillar.

An hour later, our first butterfly was joined by another!

Painted Lady Butterfly

Painted Lady Butterfies

Tuesday morning, we awoke to three painted lady butterflies. I chopped up some orange and apple and made nectar (sugar/water) and left them at the bottom of the habitat, hoping the butterflies would find them.

On arriving home from work Tuesday evening David and I found all five had emerged from their chrysalises. I was ecstatic, yet slightly concerned. I had five new lives in my hands.

I shall be releasing them soon, so they can continue their life cycle. I also read that painted lady butterflies are migratory and can travel 2,500 miles to North Africa.

Painted Lady Butterfly

Painted Lady Butterflies

What’s your favourite butterfly?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Three.

Day 3: Like last years 30 Days Wild, Mondays will be Close Up Mondays. Where I take one species and delve closer.

Today’s Close Up is the anatomy of a plant. I remember in secondary school (a long time ago) being taught parts of a plant such as the petal and the stamen. So, I thought I would revisit this topic.

The plant structure I am focusing on is a flowering plant or angiosperm. According to Britannica.com angiosperms make up 80% of all plants on the planet. A flowering plant is made up of roughly six sections (though plants such as mosses don’t follow the traditional structure):

Roots, Stems, Leaves, Flowers. Fruit. Seeds

Roots: are designed to pull water and nutrients from the soil.
Stems: like roots, deliver water and nutrients to other parts of the plant. There are more complex parts to the stem which I won’t delve into here.
Leaves: capture sunlight which then turn into sugars as energy for the plant, this is called photosynthesis. Leaves also absorb CO2 and undertake a process of transpiration by absorbing water from the underside of leaves.

Flowers: are the sex organ of a plant. Flowers usually have both male and female parts. The stamen (anther) is the male structure which produces pollen and the pistal is the female. The pistal has two parts, carpel (the ovary – where seeds originate from) and the stigma (where the pollen is received). Petals often attract pollinators, such a bees and birds to the plant for pollination. Pollination is the transference of pollen from the male stamen to the female stigma.

Anatomy of a flower

Fruit: develop when a flower has been pollinated. Fruits are a way a plant can spread its seed. Examples of fruit are berries, apples and rosehips.

Seeds: are the embryo of the plant and come in all shapes and sizes. They are dispersed by various ways such as by the wind or by animals. Examples being acorns and cones.

I hope you enjoyed this concise review of the anatomy of a flowering plant? If you have any comments do post them below. I’ve also included links to helpful websites which I used to compile this post.

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

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Informative websites for further reading:

Biology4kids: a helpful, wide overview on flowering plants
Ducksters.com: digestible information on the anatomy of flowering plants. Even has a quiz you can test yourself found here.
Enchanted Learning: a good start for plant anatomy
The Eden Project: a useful inforgram on pollination

12 Hours of Day #10

It is with many thanks to Louise at Ramblings of a Roachling, for informing me of the future dates for #photoanhour on Instagram. I knew there was one planned for when we came back from holidaying in Scotland. So on Saturday 22nd September I logged onto Instagram and noticed other Instagramers posting about #photoanhour. I decided to join in. So here’s what I got up to during my 12 hours of day!

Photo an Hour – 22nd September 2018

8am to 9am:

My Saturday began like any other day, with coffee and granola. However my day could so easily have begun at 6.30am when we were rudely woken up by headbutts from Artie wanting us to get up!!

Cereal at 8am

Shopping at 9am

9am to 10am:

This Saturday we went shopping at Asda for our weekly shop. We haven’t been here for a while, as we have been ordering a delivery online most weeks. It was a shock to the system to be honest! We had become used to our food being delivered every week!

10am to 11am:

Since we missed Artie’s 4th birthday, as we were away in Scotland, we decided to buy him a present of a new scratch post. The other one he had had since he was a kitten and was looking sadly worse for wear!

Artie’s new toy!

Purple Carrot! Liverpool

11am to 12pm:

We took a visit to #purplecarrot for organic Discovery Apples. 😁 As soon as I knew they had them in stock, I was round there at the soonest opportunity! You all know by now my penchant for Discovery Apples! 😀

12pm to 1pm:

We popped in for a visit to David’s family and received cuddles from their Newfoundland Bennie. 😁

Visiting Bennie

Bought finch food at Lister Drive

1pm to 2pm:

On our way home, we stopped off at Lister Drive Fisheries and bought some finch food for our aviary.

2pm to 3pm: 

Lunch was with a cup of tea and sampling the Discovery Apples I had bought from #purplecarrot. I love the cat ornament David’s mum gave us from her recent holiday.

Lunch and gifts

Vacuuming with Henry!

3pm to 4pm:

I had a date with Henry! A quick clean of the house was much needed!

4pm to 5pm:

I took to chopping lots of vegetables, ready to be roasted for the evening’s dinner. 😊 We were making roasted vegetable parcels. Always a hit in our house!

Vegetables to be roasted

The table is set for dinner

5pm to 6pm:

While the vegetables were roasting, I set the table. I like a nice, romantically lit dining room.

6pm to 7pm:

Dinner of scrumptious roasted vegetable parcels with salad was mmm… tasty!😁

Roasted Vegetable Parcels

Catching up on blogging

7pm to 8pm:

I spent the remainder of the evening catching up with composing blog posts.

How did you spend your Saturday?

Thanks to Janey and Louisa for setting up the challenge, and thank you for reading,

Christine x

12 Hours of Day #9

With being unable to participate in July’s #photoanhour on Instagram, I made certain I would for Augusts’. Though, I didn’t have anything exciting planned, the day didn’t turn out too bad. Thanks to Louise at Ramblings of a Roachling, for informing me of the dates. Much appreciated! So here’s what I got up to during my 12 hours of day!

Photo an Hour – 18h August 2018

8am to 9am:

Just after 8am my alarm sounded. Time to get up! I started the day as usual with black coffee and granola. This time I added some blueberries and raspberries to the mix. It was a tasty and filling breakfast.

8am to 9am – breakfast

9am to 10am – housework

9am to 10am:

While David went out to get his hair cut. I made a start on the housework. I vacuumed all the floors and cleaned the bathroom before David came back.

10am to 11am:

Turning my hand at cleaning the dining room, I heard a raucous noise from the yarden. The bird feeders were inundated by starlings, sparrows and goldfinches! What a racket they all made!

10am to 11am – noisy eaters!

11am to 12 noon – Visiting a garden centre

11am to 12pm:

I had the idea that a blueberry bush would be a welcome addition to the yarden. I could grow my own fruit come next year. Growing vegetables has been a bit hit and miss, so maybe trying my hand at soft fruits would be better? (I’ll let you know next year). So with this plan in mind. David and I headed to Rivendell. Unfortunately they didn’t have any blueberry plants, but I ended up buying a raspberry and bramble.

12pm to 1pm:

A bit disappointed at not getting a blueberry plant, we headed to Lady Green Garden Centre. Here, there was a choice of blueberry plants, some at £17 and others for £25. My eyes widened at seeing the full berries on a £25 plant. The other plants were all fruitless. It was evident which plant I would come home with, even if it was a bit pricey! I also purchased a penstemon and verbena for the hungry pollinators.

12noon to 1pm – Lady Green Garden Centre

1pm to 2pm – Home to Artie

1pm to 2pm:

We came home laden with plants to a happy Artie. I don’t think he likes being left alone.

2pm to 3pm: 

After lunch I embarked on potting the newcomers to the yarden.

2pm to 3pm – planting

3pm to 4pm – harvest of blueberries

3pm to 4pm:

I was still in the yarden, admiring my new purchases and enjoying the warm sunshine. I plucked the ripe berries off the blueberry plant and ended up with a bowl full!

4pm to 5pm:

Housework and gardening can be hard work. So I took a break with a cup of tea and a read of the newly arrived copy of the September edition of Country Walking Magazine.

4pm to 5pm – a Break with Country Walking Magazine

5pm to 6pm – admiring sunflowers

5pm to 6pm:

While dinner cooked I took time to admire the sunflowers in a vase of cut flowers.

6pm to 7pm:

With dinner I enjoyed this glass of bubbly cava.

6pm to 7pm – cava time

7pm to 8pm – ice cream with fresh berries

7pm to 8pm:

For pudding I mixed strawberry ice cream with a sprinkling of more blueberries (Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory comes to mind) and raspberries.

8pm to 9pm:

A bonus hour, as it seems I can’t count! I joined David in the study/guest bedroom and planned a forthcoming trip to Scotland. I am so excited!

8pm to 9pm – planning a trip to Scotland

Thanks to Janey and Louisa for setting up the challenge.

How did you spend your Saturday?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

12 Hours of Day #8

Many thanks to Louise at Ramblings of a Roachling, for giving me the heads up on this weekends #photoanhour on Instagram. I love participating in the challenge, even though most of the time I don’t have anything interesting planned. This weekend however I did have something planned but events conspired against me and I was left trying to fill the time up. So here’s what I got up to during my 12 hours of day!

Photo an Hour – 16th June 2018

8am to 9am:

My Saturday began at 8.15am. I awoke to a drizzly morning. The plants in the yarden had a well earned drink while I made breakfast.

The yarden at 8.30am

David visiting Bennie

9am to 10am:

David and I took a visit to David’s Mum and Dad for Father’s Day. We were also meeting David’s brother, sister-in-law and nephew for a family trip to a nearby farm. We enjoyed hugs from the family’s Newfoundland, Bennie.

10am to 11am:

We were still waiting for David’s brother and sister-in-law, so David took to drawing on a chalk board while his nephew Ewan drew with felt tips.

Visiting Family

Cactus

11am to 12pm:

We were still waiting. I was running out of things to photograph. I liked this cactus display David’s Mum had created.

12pm to 1pm:

With no communication from family, David and I decided to go home for some lunch.

Home

Mersey Tunnel

1pm to 2pm:

Finally after 1pm, we got the call that family were ready. So we headed towards the tunnel, to the Wirral.

2pm to 3pm:

Our destination was Claremont Farm, where we all went strawberry picking!

Strawberry Picking

The Liver Building

3pm to 4pm:

On our way home, I quickly snapped this shot of the striking Liver Building.

4pm to 5pm:

Time for a quick break before housework. I decided to make a start on the day’s 30 Days Wild blog.

Blog

David cooking dinner

5pm to 6pm:

While I tackled the hated vaccuming, David rustled up an egg fried rice in the kitchen for the evenings meal.

6pm to 7pm:

During mealtime, David snapped this sunlit viper’s-bugloss.

Vipers- Bugloss

Strawberries and Raspberries

7pm to 8pm:

To end a particularly tiring day we sat down to hand picked strawberries with a mix of shop bought raspberries and ice cream. The strawberries were yummy!

Thanks to Janey and Louisa for setting up the challenge.

How did you spend your Saturday?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2018 – Day Sixteen

Day 16: This Saturday we decided to head to Claremont Farm, Wirral to pick our own strawberries.

Last year the weather was gorgeous! A blissful summers day. Today however the weather was changeable but we spent a leisurely time walking the field and picking the juiciest of fruits.

Strawberry Field

Picking strawberries

Picking strawberries

Picking strawberries

Harvest

Have you picked your own fruit? What is your favourite?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

My Wildlife Moments of 2017

It’s with much thanks to the lovely Sharon at Sunshine and Celandines that I’ve complied this post. Sharon wrote about all her wonderful wildlife moments of 2017 and there were many! Which made me think of all the wildlife moments I have seen this year. So without further ado, here’s my wildlife moments of 2017! Enjoy!

Undoubtedly the highlight of the year has to be the sparrowhawk visit. He may have only stayed in the yarden for about 10 minutes but those 10 minutes were ultimately thrilling! There’s nothing like a close encounter with a raptor to make you feel exhilarated! Here’s the video of him again surveying the area.

Another beautiful bird we saw this year was the great crested grebe at Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserve near Ormskirk.

Great Crested Grebe

During our time at Mere Sands Wood we also saw many toads crossing our paths and I learned a new wildflower, self-heal. Looks similar to french lavender.

Toad

Selfheal

A walk along the famous Rannerdale bluebells was a peaceful way to spend a Sunday.

Bluebells at Rannnerdale

At Lunt Meadows Nature Reserve near Crosby, we spotted our first large skipper.

Large Skipper

Summer’s fruits were abundant at Claremont Farm on the Wirral. David and I spent a wonderful time foraging the sweetest, juiciest strawberries.

I love summer due to the fact that the swallows come back from their epic journey from South Africa. I loved watching them swoop effortlessly through the air, turning somersaults after insects on the wing.

Our elder-flower champagne, though didn’t stay fizzy for long, was all homemade. I enjoyed foraging and identifying the elders for their flowers.

Elderflowers

During a visit to Formby Beach with Riley and David we witnessed a spectacular starling murmuration. Not the best picture but I wanted to include it as a wildlife highlight. 🙂

On our many visits to the Lake District this year, David and I saw many dragonflies. None more magnificent than this golden ringed dragonfly! He was a beast!

Golden Ringed Dragonfly

Also in the Lake District on a walk around Blea Tarn, I spotted a summer visitor in the shape of a pied flycatcher (well I think it was?) Another poor picture from my phone as David didn’t have his camera at the ready.

I’ve shared many wild swims with small fish this year. Those at Brother’s Water really liked the silt I dredged up when I entered the lake.

A visit to an apple festival at local nature reserve Gorse Hill was educational. I didn’t know there were so many varieties of British heritage apples. Will definitely have to visit again next autumn!

On our visit to Leighton Moss RSPB Nature Reserve we were lucky to see this field vole skittering among the reeds in the riverbed.

Field Vole

No list of wildlife moments would be complete without my favourite garden bird featuring. It has to be the dunnock. We are very fortunate to have this little fellow gracing our yarden. He is a ground feeder so easy prey for stalking cats. I constantly watch him when he visits!

What wildlife moments have you experienced this year? Here’s to many more in 2018!

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

A Close Up with Red Pandas

Recently a friend shared a picture of Red Pandas being fed grapes on my Facebook wall. It made me reminiscent of when I fed Red Pandas in 2010 at Paradise Wildlife Park. I paid £99 for 30 minutes with their then Red Pandas, Ros and TJ. So I decided to write a post about the experience.

Feeding a Red Panda

Looking back at the memory I believe I was very fortunate to have got so close to one of my favourite animals. As you can imagine the 30 minutes went past so quickly. Part of the experience was to collect the pandas’ dinner, a bowl of fruit, vegetables, pellets and panda cake, which is a mixture of essential nutrients added to their meals. We then visited the Red Panda enclosure. The Red Panda’s habitat had tall trees in which they could rest among the boughs or seek privacy from one of their nest boxes on a purposely built platform.

On our arrival both Red Pandas were looking eagerly for their lunch. It gave me such a buzz seeing both cute faces peering down at me. Ros seemed more used to human contact than TJ, who was much more reserved.

Feeding Red Pandas

While I fed each panda, the zoo keeper, Matt gave informative facts about Red Pandas, where they come from etc. I was surprised to learn that they have adverse effects to anesthetic, so any operation carries a higher risk for Red Pandas.

After feeding slices of pears and apples to the pandas, it was time for them to have their favourite food, young shoots of bamboo! I held the leafy branch up to TJ while Ros bravely came down to feast on the lower leaves. I even got to stroke Ros. I was ecstatic! I had read before the encounter that touching was not allowed, but I was offered the chance to feel how coarse and dense a Red Panda’s fur really is. They need the insulation for the cold climes of the Himalayas.

Feeding bamboo to Red Pandas

Stroking a Red Panda

More recently there are many other UK zoos and wildlife parks offering the chance to meet their Red Pandas. Paradise Park in Cornwall have a similar experience where the Red Pandas can even sit happily on your lap. Something to think about in the future. A possible present for me next year David? :p

I hope you have enjoyed my reminiscing? Has there been a time when you came face to face with your favourite animal? Do share your experiences with us below.

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

P.S. If you are interested in more information on the Red Panda, a past post, My Love for the Red Panda, has many facts about the history of the Red Panda, anatomy and conservation.

 

An Apple Festival – Gorse Hill Nature Reserve

This weekend David and I visited Gorse Hill Nature Reserve in Ormskirk. The attraction was their annual apple festival. Since 2005 an organic orchard has been established with heritage varieties such as the Ribston Pippin and Worcester Permain.

Worcester Permain

The 2017 apple festival ran from Saturday 7th to Sunday 8th September, with opening hours of 11 to 4pm. We arrived around 12 noon after a half hour drive from Liverpool. There was free parking. Sadly Saturday was a bit of a wash-out weather wise. It was cold, wet and dreary all day. Though there were a good number of people enjoying the cakes and coffee in the cafe.

On the day, there were regular tours of the orchard with interesting histories of the heritage apple species grown onsite. An apple press demonstrated apple juice production with the opportunity to purchase the juice at £2 a bottle and there was even access to a short woodland walk.

Firstly, David and I headed towards the barn where the main attraction was, the produce of some 100+ fruit trees from the orchard. There was an apple tasting table where you could taste samples of the likes of Sunset and Katy. I tried the Ribston Pippin but found it too hard. I then tried the Ellison’s Orange and it was a much softer, sweater texture.

From the taster table we perused the produce, there were varieties such as Egremont Russet with its rough skin, Brambley and the humongous Mere de Menage.

Discovery

Mere de Menage

The main reason we went was so I could obtain some Discovery apples as they are a personal favourite. However for the past two years I have not been able to buy them in the supermarkets. Sadly they are a seasonal early, are usually ripe during September and unfortunately spoil very quickly, hence only seeing them early autumn. Indulgently their taste and smell conjure up memories of childhood, the nervous excitement of returning to school after the long school holidays, (still felt some 30 years later). Of sitting in a darkened room with the curtains open, the street lights outside making the room glow orange, the gas fire burning warmly and children’s programmes blaring brightly on the TV. The sense of safety is overpowering. I’m still wearing my school uniform of royal blue cardigan and navy skirt while biting into an apple that has soft flesh, the pulp bruised pink and the taste sweet yet tart. I’ve been following this echo for so long….

We went on the short woodland walk along Cabin Wood. Since the weather was against us, there was no head nor tail of any insects and the air was silent of bird song. I can imagine of a spring or summers day the air teaming with life. Instead, we wrapped our arms around ourselves and enjoyed the many sculptures along the path.

Ellison’s Orange

Returning to the apple barn I decided to buy some Discovery and Ellison’s Orange, both had the scent of autumn to me. In all I bought 12 apples and at 4 for £1, the total cost was £3. I felt that was really cheap. I was ready and willing to pay more.

In hindsight I wish I had bought more of a variety, but I had intended to get Discovery apples and Discovery apples I got!

I am happy I have discovered this little gem of an orchard and will definitely visit again.

Have you visited a fruit festival? What is your favourite apple?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

A Tale of a Dunnock and a Robin

This spring our yarden has once again been visited by dunnocks and robins. David had the inspired idea of putting my action camera in the ground cage feeder, in the hope of getting some footage of our little feathered friends. The trial was a success and we got some wonderful footage of a visiting dunnock (who seems a little poser) and a flighty robin.

Robin:

Voted the UK’s National bird in 2015, and featured at number 7 in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch 2017. The robin is recognised by many due to their red breast. Their sweet song can be heard all year round, not just in the spring. Both sexes look alike but their young are speckled brown. However cute they look they are very territorial and can fight to the death!

They are of similar size and have the same diet as the dunnock, hence chasing dunnocks from gardens.

Dunnock:

I have to admit, the dunnock is one of my favourite birds. This small, quiet bird flickers about the undergrowth snatching at insects. The male’s short, yet cheery song is mostly heard of a spring but I have heard them singing come Christmastime. They are, like the robin, a ground feeder, eating insects and berries. They will eat seeds and suet come winter. Their nests are often parasitised by the cuckoo. They have colourful sex lives, most are polyandrous (one female to a number of males) or polygynous (one male to a number of females). This ensures that more than one mate will tend to the young.

I have been bowled over by how good the footage of the dunnock and the robin is. It is definitely a technique we will attempt again, perhaps on the hanging feeders!

Which garden bird is your favourite?

Thanks for stopping by,

Christine x