I had a trip to Ely today (saw a kestrel and a buzzard from the train on the way) and saw a lot of Christmas stuff in the shops no longer hidden a bit away (and yesterday in Waitrose there were socks with Christmas designs on!).
On the way back to the station there were a group of domesticated ducks and one had two ducklings. Quite large but still yellow and fluffy!
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Saturday, September 24, 2016
sloe gin for 2019!
I cut from a magazine a receipe for sloe gin which doesn't use sugar (from Andy Hamilton "wild food expert and brewer"). I am to just fill a jar with them, cover with strong vodka and seal. Leave for six months. Strain. Leave for two years.
I am going to try it. But next year when I am harvesting sloes again, I won't know whether it is worth the wait! Or the year after that!
I pick my sloes in September. Books and magazines keep saying you should pick them after the first frosts but down here in London that is October or later. If I wait that long the sloes will either be shrivelled, have fallen off, or been picked by someone else.
I went today to open space near Kingsbury station (in north west London - Kingsbury is the station just north of Wembley). It looks as if it is old farm land. I easily got two soya dessert tubs of sloes.
The tubs are in the freezer compartment at the moment, but I intend to prick each sloe with a needle tomorrow evening as I listen to the radio, and then start the sloe gin.
Extra: Today I saw a weasal for possibly only the second time in my life. It ran across the path in front of my bike as I cycled up between the riding stable and the marshes.
I also saw what I think was a kestrel. This flew low over the path and then perched on a pylon. It looked rather grey, but the bird book shows grey underparts, so I think that the most likely bird.
I am going to try it. But next year when I am harvesting sloes again, I won't know whether it is worth the wait! Or the year after that!
I pick my sloes in September. Books and magazines keep saying you should pick them after the first frosts but down here in London that is October or later. If I wait that long the sloes will either be shrivelled, have fallen off, or been picked by someone else.
I went today to open space near Kingsbury station (in north west London - Kingsbury is the station just north of Wembley). It looks as if it is old farm land. I easily got two soya dessert tubs of sloes.
The tubs are in the freezer compartment at the moment, but I intend to prick each sloe with a needle tomorrow evening as I listen to the radio, and then start the sloe gin.
Extra: Today I saw a weasal for possibly only the second time in my life. It ran across the path in front of my bike as I cycled up between the riding stable and the marshes.
I also saw what I think was a kestrel. This flew low over the path and then perched on a pylon. It looked rather grey, but the bird book shows grey underparts, so I think that the most likely bird.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
What the robin knows
I have just finished reading What the robin knows by Jon Young which shows how birds reveal the secrets of the natural world to those who know their language.
In particular you learn the "baseline" calls and behaviour of birds in your area, the songs, the companion calls, territorial aggression and adolescent begging. so you can then spot the alarm calls (and alarm behaviour) and work out what is causing the alarm and where it is. The book is American based but the information is transferable to other environments.
We need a "sit" area we use regularly to learn the lessons from the book.
We are given guidance on "jungle etiquette" where our way of moving, including expanding our sphere of awareness and shrinking our sphere of disturbance, mean birds don't have to waste valuable energy when we move about.
My main sit area will have to be the garden, but there is also an area in Wick Wood, a small new growth wood near the Lea Navigation between the Leabridge Road and Old Ford Lock, I'd like to use also. The problem is it is too far for me to walk (I mean, I am capable of walking that distance (4/5 miles), and back again, but I'd never do it) so I would be cycling there.
There is no mention in the book of how disturbed birds are by cycles. I expect birds whose territory is by the towpath have cycles as part of their baseline environment, but I don't think many people cycle around the wood - I haven't seen another cyclist anytime I have been cycling round it.
I wouldn't want to chain the bike near the towpath and walk to my intended spot. I would be tense from worrying about my bike being stolen. And one of the ways of disturbing birds less is be relaxed oneself!
In particular you learn the "baseline" calls and behaviour of birds in your area, the songs, the companion calls, territorial aggression and adolescent begging. so you can then spot the alarm calls (and alarm behaviour) and work out what is causing the alarm and where it is. The book is American based but the information is transferable to other environments.
We need a "sit" area we use regularly to learn the lessons from the book.
We are given guidance on "jungle etiquette" where our way of moving, including expanding our sphere of awareness and shrinking our sphere of disturbance, mean birds don't have to waste valuable energy when we move about.
My main sit area will have to be the garden, but there is also an area in Wick Wood, a small new growth wood near the Lea Navigation between the Leabridge Road and Old Ford Lock, I'd like to use also. The problem is it is too far for me to walk (I mean, I am capable of walking that distance (4/5 miles), and back again, but I'd never do it) so I would be cycling there.
There is no mention in the book of how disturbed birds are by cycles. I expect birds whose territory is by the towpath have cycles as part of their baseline environment, but I don't think many people cycle around the wood - I haven't seen another cyclist anytime I have been cycling round it.
I wouldn't want to chain the bike near the towpath and walk to my intended spot. I would be tense from worrying about my bike being stolen. And one of the ways of disturbing birds less is be relaxed oneself!
Sunday, September 4, 2016
First ripe plum tomato!
Third September and I pick my first ripe plum tomato - and another one is ripening.
A colleague at work says she doesn't bother with plum tomatoes anymore as they take so long to ripen so it is not just me.
Though the only non plum tomato plant I have had ripe fruit a month after my friend Tony got ripe fruit on his plants - and it has been just 2 or 3 ripe tomatoes every week. And my first picking of beans was on bank holiday Monday - over a month after Tony started picking his.
And Tony lives in Chingford on the edge of London, so not benefiting much from the heat of the city.
A colleague at work says she doesn't bother with plum tomatoes anymore as they take so long to ripen so it is not just me.
Though the only non plum tomato plant I have had ripe fruit a month after my friend Tony got ripe fruit on his plants - and it has been just 2 or 3 ripe tomatoes every week. And my first picking of beans was on bank holiday Monday - over a month after Tony started picking his.
And Tony lives in Chingford on the edge of London, so not benefiting much from the heat of the city.
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