On the doorstep

archway
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

One of the unforeseen benefits of a new baby has been to contract the boundaries of where I look at nature. It’s been cathartic to focus on what is right on the doorstep, even right under my nose. So this is the view of our back garden, from the comfort of the sofa by the patio doors. It’s a much-sanitised view, one that doesn’t need the leaves and spilt birdseed sweeping up.

I always knew that the wild areas in the garden were less by design and more to do with a lack of inclination to tidy the garden regularly enough. What is amazing is how tidy nature is. Nature’s been given her head for the last couple of years in the garden, other than me cutting the grass a few times each year. She hasn’t run wild and made a jungly mess, there’s a real economy to her efforts and as a result, the plants look better, healthier, and there are more insects and birds using the garden. As I write, I can see over 20 birds of a dozen different species.

Testament to the health of the garden and its increasing usefulness to wildlife, a wren is foraging along the edge of the lawn just as I’ve seen them forage in rank vegetation at Fairburn Ings RSPB Reserve. Now I’m not saying my garden is comparable, but it’s a start.