I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely noticed some more signs of spring on my daily walks this week: daffodils are starting to open, trees are coming into bud, the sun is warming up and little lambs are starting to frolic in the fields!
Read on to hear more about what I’ve been up to in Week 6 of my wild challenge 😊
Monday 15th February 2021
Another sign of spring slapped me round the chops today. I was in my own little world, walking along and praying that the rain would hold off when I saw – to my absolutely delight – a teeny tiny lamb with its mother in one of the fields. There were loads of sheep in the field but only one lamb. I didn’t even realise lambs were born this early in the year. Turns out I don’t know much! Lambing can apparently start as early as December and end as late as June and some sheep have lambs all year round. Still, most appear in spring so I’ll take that!
Tuesday 16th February 2021
I learnt a bit about peacocks today. It all started with one of the 30 Animals that Made Us Smarter podcasts on biomimicry that I hadn’t listened to yet. This one was about peafowl – apparently ‘peacock’ only technically refers to the male – and its complex feathers and colour structure. Scientists are using this knowledge to try and make digital screens more efficient. Pretty cool!
Intrigued by the peacock peafowl, I had a look at a couple of my books to see what they say about these birds. The picture is from my Birds in the Ancient World book – it’s a mosaic from the City Palace, Udaipur – and it notes that the peafowl is the national bird of India and is much revered. The History of the Countryside, on the other hand, refers to Henry III’s 1251 Christmas dinner in which 120 peafowl were apparently consumed… wow.
Wednesday 17th February 2021
I had a bit more of a look around the garden this afternoon. The sun came out for a little while and it actually felt quite warm! I’m not exactly sure about some of the things growing in the garden at the moment – I think we might end up with some daffodils – but I was pleasantly surprised to see that a hyacinth that started its life as a houseplant last year has actually started to grow. I thought I might as well plant its remains when the flower died, but I don’t have strong gardening skills so I didn’t have much hope that it would stay alive!
Thursday 18th February 2021
Today was the first day this year when I’ve been able to take a walk at the actual end of the working day when it’s still been light. I may have had to start work a bit early so I could finish a bit before 5pm but I don’t honestly care – it was a wonderful reminder that evening walks through the fields can soon be a thing again!
Friday 19th February 2021
To my partner’s horror, I can confirm that I heard my first chiffchaff of the year this morning. I say to his horror because, without fail, when I hear a chiffchaff on a walk, I will copy it. It’s not even a conscious decision anymore.
Chiffchaffs are pretty plain birds and I’m not sure I’ve ever actually seen one, but I heard lots of them last year on local walks during the first lockdown and I imagine I’ll hear lots more again this year!
Saturday 20th February 2021
After spotting that little lamb earlier in the week, I had the opportunity to see it up close today. It’s just so small! It still seems to be the only lamb in this field but I definitely spotted some more lambs nearby a couple of days ago. Yay!
Sunday 21st February 2021
I’ve been working on another piece of art in the evenings this week and I took the time this afternoon to finish it off. It was inspired by the beautiful bullfinches I saw on our long (and cold and wet) walk last weekend. This is a male bullfinch – only the males have such bright pink/red feathers. Pretty fabulous!
Ramblings of a (very!) amateur artist 