Week three of noticing and writing about the small joys of nature was one of both deliberately searching for seasonal treasures, and of experiencing the unexpected.
The male pigeons are busy turning in circles on Beccy’s roof, trying to impress the females. Nothing unusual there in spring, but surely the one I heard this morning calling “Chaka Khan” took the wooing to a whole new level. I’m not sure it was this one, but the iridescent neck feathers caught my eye.
A few days ago, when we still had the sun, I was idly wondering if the hairy-footed flower bees were about. They’re among the first bees in my garden, with the gingery males flying around two weeks before the black females. And yes, I was in luck. I spotted two tearing around the rosemary and lungwort. Too fast for me to get a photo, but here are the flowers that bring them in.
Sticking with the garden, I accidentally rediscovered these little gems, Bird’s Nest fungi. If you haven’t seen them, they are tiny, with each little nest less than 1 cm across. The second photo shows them in situ, on an old rotting piece of wooden garden edging.
We also have a cherry in our front garden. The sunshine brought out a lot more flowers (and bees), so I took some time to have a closer look. Gorgeous.
Over on Peartree Green, there’s a stand of aspen trees, and I wondered it the catkins were out yet, so I went to take a look. I love how furry-hairy they are!
The last photo for this week is a bit like the second one. You can’t see what it is that always puts a smile on my face. You need to hear it.
This little patch of scrubby shrubs in a garden on my walk to the Co-op is often alive with chirping sparrows. Now I’m paying attention, I’m noticing more and more of these patches around my area. I recommend looking out for them, and maybe having one in your own garden if you can.
Dandelion Nature 