When the sun shines the island sparkles like the gem we all
know it to be. The glinting sea ripples
along the shore and the people sit on benches to watch. We sat on benches and rocks today looking at
black guillemots and it seemed a sensible thing to do. We identified a pair who were obviously
feeding young but the nest was out of sight. A
single pair will not suffice for a dissertation so I am sorry to say they didn’t
make the cut.
Scientists do, indeed, have a plan B and I am delighted to
inform you all that the oystercatchers have now taken centre stage. I love wading birds and oystercatchers are
my absolute favourite. A further
blessing is that numerous pairs frequent the beach just down the hill from the
smallholding making data collecting much easier. I love the flight paths of the oystercatchers once they deem us humans too close.
They glide in an arc out to sea and back in to a bit of the beach free
from annoying interruptions. As a family
we are about to learn a whole lot more about this little waders. Molly has gone off in search of them before
slicing the beach into zones for data collection and then we are on! She will do the same on the Isle of
Eigg.
Oystercatchers are on the RSPB
amber list so although not as endangered as the black guillemot all research is
important at this stage.
I am in my studio on my day bed having watered in the tunnel
but then been driven out by the heat. A
little bit of sunshine appears to go along way in the tunnel and we know have
our very first embryonic sweet pea flowers.
Meaning delicate pleasures, they are my absolute favourite flower. I am growing two different varieties this
year. I always grow the old fashioned
Spencer variety but this year I am also growing Mammoth variety as well. If I jig at normal size blooms what will I do
when these giants flower. We also have
our first flower on our dwarf sunflowers and baby green strawberries bobbing
about in the breeze. The livingston daisies and the petunias have gone mental and I
expect they will see well as a result.
There is always a blurring of the edges in home school and
today Max wanted us to walk the smallholding for new signs of growth. Camera and scissors in hand off we went to
see what he had seen yesterday. The woodland
bluebells are now in their full glory alongside vetch and campions. The smell was incredibly evocative and I just
sat down and enjoyed the meadow for a while.
I am hopeless at wild grasses but I can tell you there were lots of
them. The complete delight that is hawthorn
blossom wove its magic wand on the edges of the meadow and I wish I could have
stopped time. Eventually I remembered
that I had lots to do and got up to pick meadow buttercups and cow parsley for
the house. So, thank you Max for our
little jolly into the meadow as it was truly memorable.
I could do with being a bit more systematic about my
recordings on Hazelbank so I have decided to use my daily blog next year to do
just that. Entitled ‘A year with MotherNature’ this blog will replace this one in 2014 as I take the year to
concentrate on developing my relationship with her. Thus, I can use of that blog to record the
plant species on the smallholding. If I
was truly organised I could also keep an art journal on the same subject matter
but we shall have to see if time allows for that. My art journal is a poor relative of mine as
it always slides off the agenda but maybe giving it a focus will solve that
problem.
So, it has been a lovely day on the island and now the
evening will involve sewing bits and pieces to sell for the Butterfly tree
charity at the weekend. I am feeling that all of the UK
Until tomorrow. xx
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