Nurture Nature?
Just outside the porch I am growing an evergreen clematis which is rampant and it provides cover for birds and insects, sometimes even a wasp's nest. This year a robin has decided to build a nest in it. Since the eggs were laid I have been stalked by the adult birds, gently at first, but now - well!
At any sign of digging in the garden I have a bird scuttling around my feet, or perching on the fork handle, which is slightly alarming when you don't know it's there and reach out for it. This last week the adult pair are obviously feeding their young as they are in and out of the clematis frequently. I have also come to the stage where the compost needs spreading, and they seem to regard this work as their natural food supply, I have almost trodden on them several times, covered them with compost lots of times and generally got in their way! As you can imagine I don't take this quietly, so I chatter away to them and we are becoming good friends.
Then yesterday a toad revealed itself in the heap I was digging out and he did not want to move, so I started a conversation with him too. The robin came to look and there was a very funny situation where I had managed to move the toad to the new compost heap but he was not a happy to be moved and squiggled to the top of the bin looking as if he was contemplating the suicidal leap out onto the path. I shouted at him not to do it, the robin looked me and then at him and we both just waited for the jump!! And in all fairness he stayed there, so I put the spade just below him and he jumped onto that, then I transferred him back to the old heap which was obviously home and was now full of green weeds ready to rot down. The robin watched all of this, then rooted around for some more grubs and flew off to feed the babies.
Gardening can be sociable, exhausting, fulfilling etc, but I have never had some many diversions in a digging session! This afternoon I have the last bin to dig out, I wonder if there will be another toad incident?
The spotted flycatchers are back in the area but not nesting in the niche at the end of the house, pity - I could have done a Springwatch video!!
At any sign of digging in the garden I have a bird scuttling around my feet, or perching on the fork handle, which is slightly alarming when you don't know it's there and reach out for it. This last week the adult pair are obviously feeding their young as they are in and out of the clematis frequently. I have also come to the stage where the compost needs spreading, and they seem to regard this work as their natural food supply, I have almost trodden on them several times, covered them with compost lots of times and generally got in their way! As you can imagine I don't take this quietly, so I chatter away to them and we are becoming good friends.
Then yesterday a toad revealed itself in the heap I was digging out and he did not want to move, so I started a conversation with him too. The robin came to look and there was a very funny situation where I had managed to move the toad to the new compost heap but he was not a happy to be moved and squiggled to the top of the bin looking as if he was contemplating the suicidal leap out onto the path. I shouted at him not to do it, the robin looked me and then at him and we both just waited for the jump!! And in all fairness he stayed there, so I put the spade just below him and he jumped onto that, then I transferred him back to the old heap which was obviously home and was now full of green weeds ready to rot down. The robin watched all of this, then rooted around for some more grubs and flew off to feed the babies.
Gardening can be sociable, exhausting, fulfilling etc, but I have never had some many diversions in a digging session! This afternoon I have the last bin to dig out, I wonder if there will be another toad incident?
The spotted flycatchers are back in the area but not nesting in the niche at the end of the house, pity - I could have done a Springwatch video!!
Labels: Nature
posted by Liz at 11:25
3 Comments:
I loved reading this. You sound like Snow White talking to the small animals. I like to talk to animals too and would welcome a toad any time :)
My two children call it something else Tami - madmotheritis!!
That made me laugh!
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