Newsletter_Feb2005

Peter Brandham gave an interesting talk on the flora to be found throughout the Mediterranean starting with Majorca and heading westwards to Israel. His slides were excellent and he gave a few photographic tips on the way through so that we could take slides as good!

What’s to come

Feb 13th Ankerwyke Priory with Gordon for the snowdrops
10.30 am at Ankerwyke Farm (wellies advisable)
Feb 23rd Costa Rica – Andrew Cleave

March 5th FILM SHOW – Keep selling those tickets. Ken and I have sold 34 so far, can you beat us?

What to look for in Feb

1 Badgers starting to breed. You can tell if a sett is in use by piles of fresh bedding & scrapes in

the soil.

2 Grey herons are one of the earliest to nest and certainly one of the noisiest. Now is a good time to look for action at the local heronry. There’s one at Kempton Park!

3 Ducks in their finery ready for breeding – we should see some at Arundel in April.

4 Grebes in courtship – ‘ballroom dancing’ on the water. Virginia Water or Bedfont Lakes

5 Frog spawn – maybe

6 If warm enough you may see some early butterflies, Peacock & Tortoiseshell waking up from hibernation

7 Queen bumble bees

8 Alder and hazel catkins.

Gathering Leaves
by Robert Frost

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons

I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away

But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace
Flowing over my arms
And into my face

I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed
And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for colour

Next to nothing for use
But a crop is a crop
And who’s to say where
The harvest shall stop?