Where the wolves are

Halloween Pumpkins

2007-11-01T21:08:00.000Z

I'm not keen on eating pumpkins but don't they look great - great colour, great shape. I'm always glad to see them in the shops.

And underneath, one of my little pumpkins, Mia, having a nap!

Dragon Slayer

2007-09-25T13:18:00.001+01:00

Dracaena
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare

Dragon slayer? Me? Well, not really, although god knows I've tried, inadvertantly!! My dragon tree or Dracaena lives on, seeming to thrive on neglect. Forget cockroaches, it's Dracaena that will be the only survivors of the next big rock to hit our rock.

Close encounters

2007-08-29T20:57:00.001+01:00

swooping magpie
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare

Went fishing last week, I do occasionally and apologies to any antis. Didn't catch much, but for the second time this summer, a bird landed on my rod, took a look at me at the end of the rod, thought that there might be better perches than this and flew off. First time it was a robin but this time it was a young grey wagtail. Shows how well I do 'still'.

As for magpies, I just like 'em, and I find that the black and white stays in my mind's eye, long enough to get down on paper, better than most other sights.

The Rumbling Kern

2007-08-21T20:51:00.001+01:00

rumbling kern
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare

Sorry for my absence, but unlike the summer, at least I did return.

Just got back from our holiday, in Northumberland. We had a farm cottage just yards from the sea, near Howick and by a 'feature' most wonderfully called, on the OS maps, 'The Rumbling Kern'. I've no idea what a kern is, presumably it's a rocky cove, but each night we fell asleep to the rumble of the waves hitting the rocks.

Most surprising, with the way that this 'summer' has been, was the fact that we didn't get a single spot of rain all week. I'd like to say that all the rain we have had this year was good for the garden, but in all honesty, I've seen less wild and garden flowers this year than I can ever remember. I read in the papers that conkers were being reported in July and this pretty much backs up my observations that autumn started at the end of May!! If anyone's in any doubt, they should feel the chill north wind that's been blowing through here for the last couple of days.

The wildlife highlight of the hol was when we visited my mum, who lives near Hadrian's Wall, for a couple of days on the way home. Driving to Alston, to take the kids for a ride on the steam trains, an osprey flew alongside us for a good minute or so. Looking like a large ragged-winged gull, maybe it was on it's way to nearby(ish) Kielder Water, maybe Africa, with this crazy summer, who knows?

A House in the Country

2007-04-30T21:18:00.001+01:00

1country house
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I took the little ones to the park by the river in Wetherby, early on Sunday morning. This is one of the houses in nearby Linton, a little way upstream. Very relaxing to immerse oneself in sketching some of its finer details.

A grand canyon

2007-03-31T20:55:00.001+01:00

selby bypass
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Forget the very ropey sketching, just look at that terracotta colour. Wow!!

The sketch is honestly only barely average but I absolutely nailed the colour of the cut rock sides of the Selby bypass. The sun was bright and made the sandstone cutting glow - it took the edge off of the cold wind, from within.

Geologically, it signifies something to do with deserts and/or iron compounds, I think. I'm a keen but very limited geologist so your homework is to find out if there's any truth in that statement. Then again, who cares? Just look at that colour...

Big skies and wide empty beaches

2007-02-26T21:38:00.000Z

Do you ever wonder how birds (and many others) make long migrations, based on instinct alone? How they know where to go is a question I can't even begin to answer but how they know when they've got there - I sort of think I know how they feel, maybe. I'll explain - my dad is from Norfolk, but I was born in Bedford and never lived in Norfolk. However, in the last 10 years, I've often holidayed in Norfolk and I can't put my finger on it but it always feels like home, perhaps it's genetic, perhaps the 'Norf-folk' are just good at making you feel at home, perhaps I'm just a wishful townie. If nothing else, I reckon I understand the chiffchaffs that turn up in the poplars at the back of the house, each April, just that little bit better.

Anyway, we spent last week in Wells-next-the-sea. What a lovely week, we got soaked in a boat out to see the seals and all got nasty coughs and colds but big skies and wide empty beaches were just so good for the soul that the mental repair was worth it at almost any price. Daily crab-lining and long afternoon naps helped too.

The top sketch is of the channel that runs from the quay, out to Wells Bar, and the black dot near the shore is a common seal's head. The bottom sketch is the birds we saw on our trip to Blakeney Point and, as it turned out, were our almost constant companions wherever we were all week.

Twitching

2007-02-05T21:08:00.000Z

pacific diver
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Since the first of my kids were born in 2003, I really haven't done much twitching (chasing after rare birds). Even before that, unless you find the rare bird yourself, I didn't really consider twitching to be 'real' birdwatching, it's like comparing test cricket and one-day cricket. However, just like in that comparison, the inferior form is still great fun and very exciting.

So Friday found me watching the pacific diver that was found on Farnham Gravel Pits, not too far from Harrogate. This very bird adds a new species to the list of birds to be found in the UK and the Western Palearctic but this very bird is probably not going to be the first pacific diver found in the UK or Western Palearctic. A riddle? No, because a pacific diver was thought to have been seen off of one of the Hebrides some months ago, presumed wrongly identified as it was so unlikely that one could end up so very far from home. The Farnham bird (and another found in Pembrokeshire at the weekend) show that the Hebrides bird really could have been a pacific diver, so it, not the Farnham bird, becomes the first for the UK and the Western Palearctic (committee decisions pending). There, simple eh?

By the way, the dark chinstrap is the key to identification, apparently, and the sunny weather was lovely.

Wagpies

2007-01-23T20:34:00.000Z

After days of storms and wind, it's nice to have some clear and fresh days. The wind agitates me and it seems to send the kids at school mad too, what we teachers call (somewhat unimaginatively) 'windy day syndrome'.

The advantage of working at a school on top of a hill is that you get a view, and as views go, ours ain't bad. This biro landscape is the view looking west-ish, towards Pudsey, of the bear fame. I'm not religious, sorry, but the church on the horizon is a frequent comfort.

There's the odd addition now and then but magpies, pied wagtails, crows and black-headed gulls make up my usual bird list from my window at work. Nathan (at 3 y.o.) can already identify these at home, however, he does struggle a bit with magpies and pied wagtails. He gets round this by calling them 'wagpies', which I like far better than the other confusion species terms I've heard, such as shagorant, willowchiff and commic tern.

Variegation

2007-01-06T21:29:00.000Z

holly leaf
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I trust everyone had a happy christmas and I hope everyone has a peaceful new year.

We took the decorations down yesterday, this variegated holly leaf is from the wreath we had on the door. I particularly liked the burnt umber tips to each spike.

Variegation in plants is an interesting thing. Usually, it's not that a mutant seedling arises with variegated leaves but that a single branch, on an otherwise normal plant, grows with variegated leaves. If this branch is spotted by a sharp-eyed observer, a cutting can be taken and grown into an entirely variegated plant, and ad infinitum until everyone has one in their garden! The gardener has to be equally observant, as normal branches can appear on the variegated plant and cause the whole plant to revert to normality (however unimpressive that might be) unless they are swiftly cut out.

In terms of natural selection, a variegated plant is less 'fit' as it has less chlorophyll in it's leaves and, hence, less ability to make food (by photosynthesis) than a normal plant. Science lesson over.

Now what I'd really like is a normal, un-variegated spider plant, if such a thing exists.

Ducks in biro

2006-12-15T22:32:00.000Z

mallards
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

At the end of our road there are open fields, and when we get a wet spell, like this last week, they can get pretty boggy with some patches of standing water. I like this because it's the nearest I'm going to get to waterside living for the forseeable future and it always attracts some mallards within a couple of days. Winter ducks on the doorstep - my idea of heaven (I'm easily pleased!). The previous best is four but this weeks' two were just fine.

A technical note - this line and wash sketch was drawn with noneother than a 20p black Bic biro. It gives a nice even line and it would appear to be water resistant too. Expect to see more like it.

Before the storms

2006-12-05T20:56:00.000Z

drain near tadcaster
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Although it seems a long time ago, what with all the stormy weather since, Saturday was a lovely winters' day. A cold, clear day and a watery light you only seem to get in winter. Out in the fields near Tadcaster, this little coot was minding its' own business in a drain.

Sshhh!

2006-11-25T23:25:00.000Z

gulls at parlington
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

A quiet scene from a quiet week. The distant calls of black-headed and common gulls were the only sounds. Their numbers are building steadily in the roadside fields each day. The seasons move on a pace!

Kite flying

2006-11-16T21:27:00.000Z

Red kites - they're ace! A six foot span of auburn majesty, tail twisting and flicking as if to show that an apparently effortless flight really does need a bit of skill and precision.

This kite lifted my spirits on the way to work. Cheers, I needed that.

The first frost

2006-11-07T22:25:00.000Z

thorpe arch
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

We've had the first taste of winter this week, just a small one but definitely there, with the first frost of the year closely followed by a second a couple of days later.
We were out at Thorpe Arch at the weekend. A slightly odd place, a small village but with a trading estate (we were looking for a bed for Nathan), a prison, a large British Library building and the Leeds United training ground! Best bit though is the fields surrounding all this. We saw a very nice wintry mixed flock of starlings, lapwings and golden plovers (another first of the season for me). The goldies' bellies flashed bright white as the flock went up, spooked by a kestrel or probably less.

The wanderer returns

2006-10-31T21:40:00.000Z

I will do my honest best to blog more regularly, I promise. But fear not, dear heart, I have not been idle. Just preferring to sketch than sit at a computer, I've been enjoying the simple pleasure of drawing what is around me. None of the scenes sketched are more than a mile and a half from home. Quietly watching the seasons change, from late summer to this wonderfully mild autumn. I implore you to do the same

An Indian Summer?

2006-09-24T13:03:00.000+01:00

boston spa
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Is it too early to be an indian summer? Does October have to be warm as well? Well, by UK standards this has been a very warm September, normally we'd have the winter coats out by now. Thoughts of global warming aside, it's been lovely. In the garden, the californian poppies are still flowering and the choisya and the bachelor's buttons are flowering for a second time. The solanum and the fuschsia are still impressively in flower too, but they'd flower till November in Alaska I'd suspect.

For all that, there are still signs of the coming autumn. The mists every morning this week evoke the season and the increasing number of gulls collecting on various patches of grass and ploughed earth are backing it up. Also, I haven't seen a swallow or a housemartin in over a week.

Yesterday, we went to the park in Boston Spa and this sketch (in Derwent drawing pencils) is the view into the distance between the trees. The rolling farmland to the north east of Leeds has a very English feel about it and is certainly looking it's best at this time of year.

The day before yesterday

2006-08-31T15:21:00.000+01:00

filey brigg
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Back again, but this time my absence has been due to being a busy dad, rather than a poor driver or a bad patient – see 8th August’s post.

Anyway, after saying it seemed like a long summer in 15th July's post, it's turned into a proper British summer. The warm weather broke just a fortnight later and we've had grey skies and regular rain ever since. We went to Filey on the east coast on Tuesday and the forecast was for scattered showers. Boy, was that forecast spot on. On the journey there and back, and all day as well, we could see grey blurry columns in the distance between low cloud and the land, where showers were breaking out. At one point, we counted five seperate showers going on around us, it reminded me of the scene in the film 'The Day After Tomorrow' when the tornadoes were breaking out all over Los Angeles (but obviously not as scary – my thoughts are with you if you’re anywhere near Ernesto or one of his friends). I once stood in torrential rain for 6 hours, next to a Northumbrian reservoir, hoping to see a spotted sandpiper (I blanked) so I can do wet but I’m not really very keen on being out in the rain. Today’s show made the rain interesting at least.

The sketch is of Filey Brigg (a spit of rock jutting out into the north sea) during a brighter spell. The Brigg is a fascinating place, good for fossils, you could easily fill a wheelbarrow with fossilised corals and just up the coast is the world’s longest stretch of dinosaur footprints. Good for birds as well, a few years back I badly wanted to see a live storm petrel so I stayed up all night and climbed down the Brigg in the dark to take part in a storm petrel ringing session in order to see one. About a month later, I was on holiday on Mull, minding my own business down by the water’s edge at a far more godly hour when a storm petrel fluttered by. I guess that’s the nature of the beast – birdwatching and storm petrels.

Not so close encounters

2006-08-12T11:33:00.000+01:00

For the last two Fridays, Deb has been to a scrapbooking class in Harrogate. Both days, Nathan's been at nursery and I've looked after Mia after dropping Deb off. We've had lots of errands to do, so no time to really get back to nature but don't you think it's the glimpses of the natural world that you see as you go about our unnatural world that make your day and keep you going? Well, my encounters yesterday did for me.

Unusually, last week I drove through Wharfdale five times in one day without seeing a red kite - unusual considering that this is a site where they have reintroduced. Normal service was resumed yesterday, with a handful seen at various times, lazily wheeling over the stunning Wharfedale countryside (top sketch). There were a couple of skeins of geese flying down the valley, probably Canada or greylag geese but too distant too be sure. Thinking about geese, in the evening I sketched a goose, in sanguine pencil, from a photo on a magazine cover (bottom sketch - no, really).

Corvids and rosebay willowherb were the other things to catch the eye, together at that. A golden yellow field of corn or wheat stubble was being picked over by somewhere near four to five hundred inky black rooks and crows, pecking, squabbling, some riding the wind over the field. I'm convinced that corvids just like to play in the wind, having watched them swoop and tumble for no apparent reason, every time a wind gets up. Anyway, I digress - the field was edged with a cerise bank of fireweed, a name that conveys so much more than 'rosebay willowherb'. It was just a shame I didn't have the time to stop long enough to make a sketch.

Holiday Stories

2006-08-08T22:18:00.000+01:00

I'm back!

What an eventful couple of weeks I've had. We went on holiday to Anglesey again, staying close to the home of Charles Tunnicliffe (who illustrated the book, Tarka the Otter, and much, much more). I wrote off the car in a crash on the first day, but we all got out without a scratch, Deb's horoscope said it would be the luckiest week of her life - and then some! Despite this we spent an idyllic week on the beach. I even swam in the sea one still morning, not a common occurence for me in the UK. Perfect setting, perfect natural history, perfect weather, perfect company, we were very sad to come home.

I spent most of the first week back in A&E (Emergency room - US), Doctors' surgeries and various other hospital departments, due to excruciating stomach pains. It was a bit of gastritis, hopefully sorted now.

These events make you think about what's important and put everything else in perspective. Could have been worse, my mum came back from a holiday in Canada (somewhere between Calgary and Vancouver) having nearly been eaten by a bear when she got out of the car to look at some pretty red wild flowers, now that would have made a holiday story worth telling.

By the way, the sketches are of the view to Rhoscolyn (top) and to Rhosneigr (bottom), both from Porth Nobla where we stayed.

Deja vous

2006-07-15T23:32:00.000+01:00

corn field
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Inspired by pg's post 'Where the barley meets the river' (14/7/06) on her blog, Middle of Nowhere (follow the link - right), I looked at the farmland between Leeds and Doncaster with fresh eyes. After sketching some of it, I can see recurring themes and motifs - hirundines, hedgerows and poppies. An unexpected contradiction there.

Anyway, the sun was hot and the golden fields were still, bar the drifting aerial plankton and the hawking swallows and swifts. This summer already seems a long one, the best sort of summer.

A swift sketch

2006-07-08T23:06:00.000+01:00

swifts at barwick
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

This is All Saints' Church in Barwick and the dark flecks in the sky are supposed to be swifts zipping around the tower, but not screaming as I thought they always did. Maybe it's not the season.

Moore Sheep

2006-07-01T22:32:00.000+01:00

sheep in pastel
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

It was very warm today, so this ewe must have been very very warm. However, knowing our summers, give it a week and she'll probably be glad of that fleece.

I was looking at Henry Moore's Sheep Sketchbook again and was inspired (as usual) to draw sheep. Some days they really do all look the same, no matter how hard you try to use an artistic eye to find something new. It's that heat again, I'm just not used to it.

We had a hedgehog in the garden last night, only the second in nine years. Along with the tawny owl, the rat, the squirrel and inumerable cats in the garden in the last few weeks, I think I'm only missing a couple of rabbits to complete the cast of Beatrix Potter.

Jubilee Gardens and Poppies

2006-06-24T23:29:00.000+01:00

poppies in pastel
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I took Nathan and Mia to Wetherby this afternoon. I needed to go to Castlegate Stationery, a brilliant little art supplies shop with some really unusual stuff, although I was buying anything but the unusual - fixative. As it was so beautifully warm we went to Jubilee Gardens as well, for a sit down for me and a runabout for Nathan. Wetherby has a lovely riverside park with a bandstand, the problem is that it's so lovely it's always packed and there's no parking on a day like today. The answer is Jubilee Gardens. At the other end of town, few people seem to know about it, it's still by the river (River Wharfe) but it's completely fenced off from the river - very handy with a very mobile two and a half year old in tow. Quiet, great views and safe, just the job and the four oystercatchers peeping overhead agreed.

On the way home we passed this poppy field, just outside Wetherby. I've blogged about poppy fields before and I still can't pass one without stopping to admire the spectacle.

A perfect day

2006-06-17T22:11:00.000+01:00

geranium
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Went to Hobbycraft in the morning, crisp (chip in US) sandwich for dinner, then spent the afternoon watching a bit of football on telly, watching Nathan playing in his paddling pool and sketching some of the geraniums (gerania?) in the garden. The weather was lovely, warm but not too warm. Like I said - a perfect day!

Apologies for another spot botanical but I like doing them.

Happy birthday

2006-06-14T23:12:00.000+01:00

dead tree and ivy
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Happy birthday to me, sort of. 'Where the wolves are' is one year old today! It's been such a varied year but just like 14th June 2005, the clematis flowers are almost all gone. There's real comfort in that sort of regularity, long may it continue.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed with their comments, especially as it so often leads me to a new and interesting blog, somewhere exotic, to me at least (that includes Oxfordshire, PG, if you're reading).

I bought a new brush today, so I was trying it out with the sketch of the ivy-clad tree. We've had quite a spate of tawny owls hooting and kewicking in the garden lately, and although I've caught glimpses of them swooping past, none have roosted through the day - yet. I think this tree is my best bet so I'm keeping a close eye on it at the moment. I'm expecting to fing Old Brown snuggled into the ivy (or sat on the television aerial, as is their wont) any day now. I live in hope.

World cup fever

2006-06-09T06:54:00.000+01:00

darfield
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

The sun is shining and the world cup starts today. It doesn't get much better.

Doing my best to concentrate on other things, for the time being at least. This sketch is looking towards Darfield from Old Moor RSPB nature reserve. On a warm day, time stands still, a real lazy, hazy summer day.

Back in the garden, for the last couple of days a male blackbird has been feeding 3 very tame (and fat) fledglings on the patio. Very kindly, he has been feeding them snails. I think I've read that male robins take over the feeding duties so that the female can incubate a second clutch of eggs, so I wonder if it's the same with blackbirds.

A postcard from Filey

2006-06-01T23:08:00.000+01:00

flamborough head
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

This evening I've been watching David Attenborough on television, extolling the virtues of wind turbines, bearing in mind that the UK is the windiest country in Europe. This fact is not a great surprise to me, having just come back from a few days holiday on the east coast. We stayed in a caravan, near Filey. So, windy, don't talk to me about windy. It sounded gale force in a draughty caravan and felt bracing, to say the least, when we were out in it. Nevertheless, I can forgive the east coast of Yorkshire for a bit of tasty weather. That stretch of coastline has everything - scenery, wildlife, golden beaches, donuts and seaside rock. You really couldn't ask for more. We had a wonderful time.

The watercolour is part of the view from Filey, looking south towards Flamborough Head, with the lighthouse just visible. It is also my donation for a fundraising event being organised by artist Sheila Southwell. Painters are being asked to donate a postcard-sized painting, in any media, to be sold for £2 at an exhibition in Hassocks, West Sussex on 5th August. All proceeds will go to the charity, Age Concern. If anyone else is interested in donating then the paintings need to be sent (by 12th June and with your name and phone number on the back) to Sheila Southwell, Hawthorns, 24 Ockenden Way, Hassocks, West Sussex, BN6 8HS.

A harmless escapee

2006-05-27T22:11:00.000+01:00

midland hawthorn
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

A hawthorn is a hawthorn, no? It is, unless it's a midland hawthorn. They aren't frequently seen but then midland hawthorns are most easily spotted when they are in flower. This is because the flowers have one very obvious difference from common hawthorns - they're often rosy red, rather than milky white. I think the red-flowered midland hawthorn is a garden escapee. The berries are still a useful food source, the thorny branches are good nesting sites and they don't pollute the gene pool of an endangered species. As escapees go, I reckon that makes them pretty harmless (Home Office take note).

There's a small stand of midland hawthorn near Scarthingwell, north-east of Garforth, a sight well worth seeing whilst still in flower.

It's all go here

2006-05-20T23:02:00.000+01:00

another woody
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Well, it's not really. It's been raining all week so the flora has been shooting up and bursting out but it's been too wet to get out and enjoy it. And as for the fauna, it's just been keeping it's head down most of the time, trying to stay dry.

As I've said before, I like woodpigeons. Useless woodpigeon fact - they slough off the lining of their crop to form 'milk' that they feed to their young.

Dinner with Mia

2006-05-14T22:49:00.000+01:00

forest of arden
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Deb won a Christmas layout competition in ‘Scrapbook Magazine’ and amongst the prizes was a ticket to a papercraft show in Birmingham. The show was yesterday, so I drove her down and whilst she was there Mia and I drove around the Forest of Arden area, east of Birmingham. This sketch is of somewhere near Fillongley, I think, and it’s where we stopped for dinner (cheese sandwich for me, broccoli & cheese baby food for Mia). Drawn in Derwent soft drawing pencils, they give any sketch a muted, soft focus sort of feel.

It’s hard to believe that just 20 minutes from the centre of Birmingham and Coventry, you can be surrounded by the most lush farmland and deciduous woodland imaginable. The air was filled with a sumptuous mix of birdsong, Mia cooing and the cup final radio commentary. Heaven.

Whaling in Leeds

2006-05-06T23:02:00.000+01:00

whale jaw bones
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

The other day, I drove through Rothwell (SE Leeds) a different way to my usual route, and this is what I saw. Less than a mile from the M1 motorway is a pair of whale's jaw bones (I felt that something so unusual couldn't be so close to something so usual as the M1). In fact, it's not just jaw bones but a bench to sit on between them as well - of course.

You can understand the whale jaws at Whitby, with a history of whaling from the port, but Rothwell? It's about 70 miles to the sea. The plaque just says they were renovated as part of the Millenium Project. I've searched on the internet for info with no luck so next week I'll go to the local library and see what I can find out.

It just goes to show that the out of the ordinary is just under your nose and if you try to do things differently you might be surprised at what you find.

Technical info - sketched in sepia ink with a £1.29 fountain pen from Staples.

Glory of the Snow

2006-05-01T22:54:00.000+01:00

chionodoxa
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

We never got much snow but they were glorious. I only sketched these last week but the flowers are all gone now. I can't understand how a flower that lasts such a short time in the temperate UK can last for any time at all in their native alpine conditions. It must be the need for speed (of reproduction) that most alpine flowers seem to have.

Ah well, short and sweet, leave 'em wanting more, and all that.

Fingers crossed

2006-04-26T22:32:00.000+01:00

Lapwings
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I remember the first time I ever saw a lapwing I thought I must have found something really rare. With a bottle green back, tan undercarriage and that bizarre tuft, you can see my point. They're quite common here (although not quite as common as they were) and no less spectacular for it.

There's at least one pair regularly displaying near the Parlington Estate, lolloping about the sky the same way I imagine I would if I learnt to fly - until I got good at it. With a bit of luck, they'll attempt to breed. It's been a long winter by UK standards leading to them starting a bit late and they might get caught out if the farmer cuts back the weeds too early. But we live in hope, so fingers crossed.

By the way, in my sketch the lapwings legs are the wrong colour, they should be dark pinky red. Don't know what I was thinking, I must have been having a yellow day.

Bargain Bay

2006-04-20T14:58:00.000+01:00

bay tree
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

This sketch is the product of a few quiet moments sat by the back door. The bay tree (or seedling!), came from the bargain bin at the supermarket because it looked done for. He looks a lot happier now.

Rare breeds

2006-04-14T10:46:00.000+01:00

We went to Temple Newsam farm earlier in the week (I believe Lord Darnley, Mary Queen of Scots' husband was born at the nearby stately home, end of history lesson). It's a rare breeds farm. The sketches are of some of the animals on show. The top two are sketches of white-faced woodland sheep (a lamb and a ewe), third one down is a kerry hill lamb - I had a Henry Moore kind of day, and bottom is a silver sebright.

As far as I can gather, a silver sebright is some sort of chicken but with the most amazing plumage. All of it's feathers were white with a black edge, very smart.

A bunch of grapes

2006-04-07T14:37:00.000+01:00

muscari
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

The muscari or grape hyacinths are out. They love it in our garden, they grow everywhere. They even grow through cracks in the drive. A definite case of thriving on neglect.

Rainy days

2006-04-02T13:41:00.000+01:00

hickson's
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

After checking my nature journal, I see that it's rained here on nine consecutive days, and no forseeable end to the wet weather yet. A while to go before we reach Noah proportions but it's no surprise to see bits of minor flooding in the surrounding areas, like this bit at Fairburn Ings RSPB Reserve. The sketch shows the south-western edge of the reserve, a pool known locally as just Hickson's. The water's edge is normally well before the hedgerow shown.

I daresay that, annoyingly, the rain will have been heavy enough to wash out some early wetland nesters along the Aire Valley but nowhere near enough to stave off water shortages in the summer.

On a more positive note, Fairburn Ings is a great example of the nature's powers of recovery, given the chance. The Ings are the result of mining subsidence and slag heaps, with the flora and fauna allowed to colonise the area after the cessation of mining operations.

Daft about daffs

2006-03-27T20:24:00.000+01:00

daffodils
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

The daffs are out good and proper now, it must be spring! I'm not really too bothered about individual daffodils, although I do like the miniature tete-a-tete variety, if that's how you spell it. This said, daffs do put on an impressive show just when you need it, when it feels like it's been winter forever and spring seems to have been just round the corner for almost as long. It's like coming up for air.

I'm interested in the phenomena caused by microclimates, and I think that daffodils are one of these. As you'd expect, daffs in the city (on roundabouts, etc.) were out before those in more countrified areas but I've noticed that daffs on east facing verges are out before west facing ones, virtually without exception. Also, the difference between daffs on north and south facing verges, which I thought would be easier to explain, is much more variable. Anyone got any ideas?

Morning flight

2006-03-23T12:12:00.000Z

geese
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

As I drove to work on Monday morning, I'd just set off when these five Canada geese flew over.

This is just the sort of thing that lifts my spirits.

Cruelty

2006-03-20T20:55:00.000Z

I copied this sketch from a drawing by Dave Nurney in ‘Birds in England’, about the state of the wild bird populations in England. I hope that by crediting the original I’m not breaking too many copyright laws, I wouldn’t normally copy a picture to put here on my blog, but I just found this such a striking image. Especially so in the week after reading ‘Peak Malpractice’, a report by the RSPB on the persecution, and resultant lack, of birds of prey in the northern part of the Peak District (Dark Peak), a place particularly close to my heart.

It brought to mind this quote, which I suppose could apply to so many other injustices as well:

Cruelty must be whitewashed by a moral excuse, and pretence of reluctance.
- George Bernard Shaw

Greedy Greeny

2006-03-15T16:31:00.000Z

greenfinch
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Greenfinches are just plain greedy. They park themselves on the feeders and proceed to empty them virtually single-handed or should that be single-beaked. They drive off the other garden birds to get a bigger share. Oh yes, and they won’t win any prizes for singing either. Don’t you just love ‘em? I do…really!

Being such conspicuous birds, you’d think they’d be easy to draw but I find them so difficult. I struggle to capture that sort of scowling look they have around the eyes and the bullish head and neck shape. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve tried and failed. This weekend I persevered, and I know the Tate Gallery won’t exactly be knocking on my door, but I feel that this is my best effort to date.

What’s funny is that although I drew from life, just looking out the back window at the feeders, I got so engrossed in scribbling and splashing paint about, that I didn’t notice what a field guide pose I’d drawn. This is a rather to frequent occurrence, I think I must have spent so much time looking at field guides that my subconscious wants all bird pictures to have all of the identifiable features of the species.

Next project – abstract greenfinch in flight. Watch this space.

TGI Friday

2006-03-10T23:25:00.000Z

Thank goodness it's the weekend. These sketches are of a couple of points along my drive home. They're both on my favourite part of my drive, once you get out of the Leeds conurbation and less than 10 minutes from home.

In the last month, red kite, kestrel, lapwing, grey heron, grey partridge and pied wagtail have been the most notable birds I've seen on this part of my journey. Quite a diverse little group.

Diversity not improved by a housing development being built on farmland, on the edge of Scholes which is nearby. I know people need houses but there are so many less pleasant places that could do with some quality housing built on them. I just hope they appreciate the view.

Fly a kite

2006-03-04T16:15:00.000Z

It snowed in Leeds yesterday. By our recent standards there was loads of it - about half an inch! Nowhere near enough to cause any problems (or to build a decent snowman) but just enough to cover the ground and make everywhere look very pretty.

As a result, this morning we drove to Otley through Wharfedale, in order to admire the snowy scenery. The drive out was very impressive, Christmas card views, but the sun was so strong that by the time we drove home, the only surviving snow was on north facing slopes and in the shadows of hedgerows and walls. Nevertheless, the warm sun had obviously created some thermals and the journey was made remarkable by the eight red kites riding the aforementioned thermals, within a 2 mile stretch of road.

Wharfedale is a good spot for red kite because nearby Harewood House was the site of a recent release scheme to re-introduce red kites back into Yorkshire. None of the birds I saw had wing tags, so were either long-surviving birds from the scheme or the offspring of the released birds. Anyway, my eight wasn't a bad count but the warden once reliably informed me that his personal best was an amazing twenty seven birds, all in flight together over one of the winter roosts. Wow.

Tag - you're it!

2006-03-01T13:32:00.000Z

I’ve been tagged by Bonny, so, for what it’s worth, here are my answers:

4 jobs I’ve had:
Market trader’s gofer – I spent more time in the betting shop, placing his bets, than I did doing any serious work.
Sweeping up dust in a brick yard – that was a thankless task.
Postman – I hated the early mornings, but looking back it was good practice for parenthood.
Science teacher for the last 14 years.

4 movies I like watching:
The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Great Escape, Zulu and Mr Forbush & the Penguins (bar the last one - a bit of a blokey selection, I know).

4 places I’ve lived: (all in the UK)
Biggleswade, Bedfordshire.
Wolverhampton.
Nottingham.
Leeds, of course, in God’s own county – Yorkshire.

4 TV shows I like:
Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (coz I am one), Match of the Day, Countdown (sorry) and anything with wildlife in it (although I’m still waiting for someone to make a life history of the lapwing).

4 places I’ve vacationed:
Iceland, I slept through the best northern lights show in years, more than made up for by seeing Geysir and Strokkur and swimming in the blue lagoon - amazing.
Mallorca, I could sit all day just watching the oranges grow.
Isle of Mull, eagle and otter heaven, and seeing a corncrake for the first time was unbelievable.
North Norfolk, I love wild geese and this is my favourite place to see them.

4 dishes I like eating:
anything in a casserole, keema bhuna, pancakes with sugar (I wrote this on pancake day) and chicken from Nando’s.

4 Sites I like visiting:
Fire Star Arts, Middle of Nowhere (these first 2 aren’t in my favourite blogs list yet but will be when I get my finger out), Wild West Yorkshire, and the BBC’s cricket page (I couldn’t survive work without being able to get the latest England cricket score).

4 Places I would rather be now:
Anglesey.
Blacktoft Sands RSPB Reserve.
Filey.
Out in the garden, the sketch above is another sanitised view of part of our garden, in reality it needs a bit of my attention.
(Anywhere peaceful really).

4 Bloggers I am tagging:
Cindy, Nicky, Zephyr and Alice (that should cover the four corners of the globe).

Well, that was that. I quite enjoyed that, thanks Bonny.

In praise of gorse

2006-02-27T23:33:00.000Z

gorse
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I always think that when you see gorse from a distance it looks so drab, even with the yellow flowers. My theory is it's because the foliage is so dense, all but the uppermost branches are in heavy shade and because there's just no light filtering through the foliage, as you'd get with most plants.

This makes gorse a plant best seen close up, to appreciate the delicate-looking but needle-sharp armoury and the number of bright, even zingy, greens that there are to see. In close proximity, you can also catch the faint coconut scent of the flowers, which seems slightly out of place so early in the year (i.e. when it's still so cold!)

Colour and attitude

2006-02-22T22:17:00.000Z

pheasant
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

For the past couple of weeks or so I've been trying to concentrate on what I like doing best in my sketchbook - drawing birds. I can see so many things wrong with my sketches but who cares, birds are so great to draw and paint. Here's another one, a male pheasant, how could you not want to try to render something looking like this?

I came to be sketching pheasants as it was too cold and wet for a walk yesterday, so we went for a drive through the villages and farmland to the north of Garforth. There was one field, near Aberford, full of pheasants. Well, four males really, but they're such resplendant birds they filled the field with their colour and attitude, and it was a small field. Their strutting out in the open is a sure sign they are on the lookout for females, which in turn is a sure sign that spring is on its way.

Spuggies

2006-02-16T14:02:00.000Z

house sparrow
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

The conservation organisations are always telling us that, like too many species, sparrows are in drastic decline, and this fits in with my own observations. A few years ago it wasn't uncommon to see forty of them on and around the feeders in the garden, whereas now I'm lucky to see half a dozen. The biggest shame is that no-one seems to know why, although I think the RSPB or the BTO have offered a reward for the answer.

The thing I like about spuggies is that, at first, they look drab and uninteresting but as you'd expect (or I wouldn't mention it), they reward a second glance. The plumage of both males and females has remarkably intricate markings and shows great variation from one bird to the next. But it's their irrascible nature that sets them apart, I could watch them for hours, and hopefully, for many years to come.

Feeding the ducks

2006-02-09T20:05:00.000Z

At the weekend, we all went to feed the ducks on the lake at Pontefract park. It's an unusual park as it's in the centre of Pontefract Racecourse, which itself used to be flanked to the north and east by 2 large collieries. The old spoil heap of one is still visible from the park. The park must have been even more of an oasis then when the collieries were open.

The lake is a little unusual as well. At first glance it just looks like any other municipal concrete-sided water receptacle, with healthy populations of bread-eaters, such as mallard, tufted duck and black-headed gull in winter and pedaloes for hire in summer. On closer inspection, the lake is big enough for those less interested in sliced white to keep their distance. So birds like moorhen, pochard and goosander are able to feed in peace.

Not that I have anything against mallards, tufties or black-heads. In fact quite the opposite, it was a treat to get such close views of such good looking birds. The top picture is a quick study of male and female mallards, and the bottom picture is a female tufted duck.

Graceful decay

2006-02-04T22:13:00.000Z

corn
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

This is the remains of my attempt to grow baby corn cobs. I put them in early enough last year, but the summer was a bit up and down if I remember rightly, as was my watering regime. Leeds is bit northerly for such things as well. I live in hope so I'll try again this year.

The corn plant had such a stately air about it and it decayed so very gracefully that it's been left all winter. I'll tidy the garden in the coming weeks. Now that everything is starting to think about spring, there's an incongruity about the close proximity of Nature's first stirrings and the detritus that I've been too tardy to remove.

However, things will need to go some to catch the purple hebe in the front garden, which has been in flower since the end of January.

Our street

2006-02-01T12:09:00.000Z

our street
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

This is the view to the east from my front gate. The trees are on top of the long hill or ridge, called Garforth Cliff (mentioned in previous posts). At it's southern end there's a rookery and a great view of the Peak district (sketched in previous posts).

It makes for such an unusual end to a suburban street, adding variety to the local habitats and constantly changing interest to the view. So it was about time I blogged it's portrait. Sorry for the delay.

Evening flight

2006-01-26T11:14:00.000Z

crows
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

East Leeds is unusual in as much that it stops almost dead. Houses, shops, urbanisation very quickly becomes fields and farmland, dotted with villages - of which Garforth is one.

So believe it or not, this is just 5 minutes walk beyond the eastern edge of Leeds, behind a large supermarket and retail park. I often see the crows and rooks flying over to one of several local roost sites. Very beautiful in the late afternoon light of winter.

Old friends

2006-01-21T21:59:00.000Z

common gull
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

During the short winter days when I spend the vast majority of the daylight hours at work, I have to make do with very little close contact with nature. So the gulls and corvids that scavenge the food scraps that the kids leave around the school are particularly welcome. Now they might not be everyone's cup of tea but to me they feel like old friends.

I get some very close views of the gulls, as they swoop and dive outside my window, looking like jumbo snowflakes in a swirling snowstorm. For some reason the corvids aren't as bold and keep their distance from the school buildings.

The common gulls are my favourites at the moment, mainly because of the flashing bright white 'mirrors' on their wingtips. Also, they'll only be around for a few more weeks so it's best to make the most of them before they set of to breed elsewhere.

Blue skies

2006-01-14T12:00:00.000Z

lapwings
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Seeing these lapwings and this winter blue sky over the fields, just north of Garforth, made me think of this quote from Eleonora Duse -
"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy,
if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has the power to move you,
if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand,
rejoice for your soul is alive".

On the doorstep

2006-01-07T13:10:00.000Z

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.

The morning after the night before

2006-01-01T20:06:00.000Z

poplar view
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

We’ve had a dusting of snow this week. People in places that get proper snow would call it a heavy frost, the news folk are saying it’s the start of the next ice age. Like I said, we’ve had a dusting of snow. In the week after Christmas, it makes everywhere look very pretty and festive, and its given us some lovely days and some not-so-lovely days.

This sketch is part of the row of hawthorns and Lombardy poplars at the back of the house on a very lovely afternoon, last Thursday, I think. The gulls were probably black-headed or common gulls. There’s often at least a handful of each on the sports field up the road, at this time of year. Late afternoon, I usually see them and a few larger gulls, like great black-backed gulls, flying off to roost for the night.

In the garden, early this morning, it was the most amazing morning. I was just putting some rubbish into the outside bins, but I was struck by the still and quiet, there was virtually no traffic noise – everyone recovering from last night, I suppose. The only sound was natural, sound I wanted to hear. For midwinter, the birds were virtually putting on a dawn chorus. Greenfinch, sparrow, collared dove and blue tit all in full song, with blackbird, robin, goldcrest, crow and magpie in attendance. The grey squirrels are also thinking of spring already, as 2 chased through the hawthorns and away down the hedgerow.

Happy New Year!!

Calm and peaceful

2005-12-26T20:50:00.000Z

3 collared doves
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Firstly, Deb and I would like to thank everyone for their kind wishes!

Well, even with this week's events, I've still managed to keep an eye on the natural world. From the 2 magpies on the hospital roof on Monday (very appropriate - 2 for joy) to a sparrowhawk zipping between the houses on Wednesday as I went to visit Deb. A very Christmassy robin on the birdfeeders in the garden was also much appreciated.

Apart from a wish that there was more to see in the garden at 4am (1 week old baby - nuff said), the thing that has struck me this week is the large number of collared doves about, hence the sketch. There's been up to 6 of them roosting, and generally loafing, in the hawthorns at the back of the house. Are they this year's young? Are collared doves not very territorial in winter (or ever)?

Whatever it is, it seems to have been a good year for them so far. There hasn't been this many around for some time, and from my observations, it seems to be the same all over the local area. I find the song of the collared dove very calming so it looks like it might be a calm year ahead.

Hopefully, that will be true for everybody. A peaceful 2006 to you all.

A new arrival

2005-12-22T21:35:00.000Z

Mia Rose Whitehead
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Mia Rose Whitehead was born on Monday 19th December 2005 at 11.31am (GMT), weighing in at 9lb 3oz.

My brother put it perfectly "She's beautiful...are you sure she's yours?"

She is mine - evolution in action!!

Good for the soul

2005-12-16T20:17:00.000Z

sunrise over parlington
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

One of the few compensations of going to and from work in winter is the frequency with which you get to see fantastic sunrises and sunsets. This was yesterday's sunrise over the Parlington Estate, in watercolour pencil.

I drive past here every morning, there are shorter and faster ways to work, but none that are so good for the soul. Remembering a quote from Rachel Carson "Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the Earth are never alone or weary of life", I had to stop the car to dwell on this view.

On the way home a less impressive dusk was made special by a red kite quartering the fields by the road.

Oh Christmas Tree

2005-12-11T16:12:00.000Z

pine cone
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Here's a seasonal one, with Christmas looming - a pine cone, in black and brown indian ink.

I like pine cones, and pine trees too. I've started a few sentences with 'I like...' on this blog. That's because I find so many things I do like, and it's much better than 'I hate...'. Most of my 'I like' things are running simultaneously in my head for a while before I condense them into a sketch and an entry.

Well, back to pines. I know lots of folk aren't keen, thanks to the Forestry Commission planting huge swathes of pines, in the place of more native plants. These plantations are often wildlife deserts as well, which doesn't improve the public's perception of them. But none of this is the fault of the pine.

The trees and cones themselves are a feast for the senses. The texture of the cones and the scent of the needles are so unusual yet pleasant, and the shape of the young trees instantly brings Christmas and goodwill to mind (I'm not big on pesto though). That's why our Christmas tree is plastic, goodwill to all pine trees at least.

Against the clock

2005-12-07T10:53:00.000Z

hedgerow
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I'd like to subscribe to the go-slow movement, but it's been one of those weeks where time is at a premium, so not a lot of time for seeing or drawing nature. Not helped by going to work before it's light and coming home after dark. Not alot of prospect of getting any more time, with our new baby due in the next fortnight, obviously nature and drawing will have to take a back seat.

No worries though, I often spend too long on the fiddly details, quick pics will add a bit more looseness and spotaneity. The last entry was a quick one. Well, at 5 minutes, this oil pastel sketch tops it. World record attempt to follow.

As for the subject matter, I like hedgerows. They're so varied at the moment, some are bare, some are still in leaf. They look so different in different lights. I just love that low winter sunshine, it gives the colours such a zing. And they're so good for wildlife, robins in full song, blackbirds clucking away and the odd redwing over. This bit of hedge is near Knottingley, and in summer will probably provide perches for singing corn buntings.

Room with a view - in colour

2005-12-01T11:23:00.000Z

colour view
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I seem to be revisiting old topics this past week. I last blogged this view in July (see 'Room with a view - Thursday'). This is the same view in watercolour, painted in 15 minutes during my lunchtime. It surprised me how little seasonal difference there appears to be. Just the sheep and a few leaves are gone. Maybe that's a comment on modern farming.

Anyway, after a bit of snow earlier in the week, Tuesday was glorious. If anything, the view looks better here than it did under grey July skies. I dare say this view will appear here again, unless they point my room in a different direction, so watch this space.

A sky full of snow

2005-11-29T21:35:00.000Z

gulls
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I pass this field, near Barwick, every morning on my way to work. Every day I count the black-headed and common gulls in this field. Sometimes there's fifty, sometimes there's none. I keep a record in my nature journal, with the hope of eventually finding a pattern. Maybe it's seasonal, maybe it's to do with the weather. Anyway, yesterday there were four.

The sketch was done with watersoluble 8B pencil, and smudged with licked fingers (my son, Nathan, makes a similar looking mess on clean walls). It was good for a sky that looked full of snow. Confirmed when we had our first snow and sleet of the winter later in the day.

Ewe two

2005-11-28T13:47:00.000Z

sheep 2
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I last blogged a sheep sketch in September (Rosemary and lamb), which looked like a kangaroo. I was recently looking through 'Henry Moore's Sheep Sketchbook' from the art department at work, inspiring me to have another go at drawing them.

Well here's how I've progressed with sheep, this one has an air of wildebeest about the face. Nonetheless, wildebeest are closer to home than kangaroos, both geographically and genealogically.

The view from the cliff

2005-11-22T11:18:00.000Z

the peaks
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

We've had such a fantastic week of clear, sunny, cold, crisp, still days, I could go on. The sort of days that make winter a pleasure, make you glad to be alive. So at the weekend, I went up Garforth Cliff (which is the rather impressive name for the hill at the end of our road) and sketched the view.

It was about an hour before sunset and the sky was just starting to go pink. The northern edge of the peak district was soft shades of grey and the foreground (Kippax village) was autumnal shades of brown and green. I feel very privileged to live so close to such a view. Breathtaking.

Fungal foray

2005-11-19T14:12:00.000Z

bracket fungus
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Why did the mushroom get invited to all the parties?
Because he was a fungi (fun guy)!!

Sorry.

This bracket fungus looks like it might be on a stump in the middle of some ancient forest. In fact, it was on the edge of one of those raised beds, planted by the council, next to a row of shops. There's a chip shop and a hairdressers not 30 feet away. Proof that nature's right under our noses and it gets on and does its own thing despite us.

Despite grey skies

2005-11-15T14:12:00.000Z

ash trees
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Here's more of the view from my window at work. The ash trees are still looking particularly green, regardless of the yellow and brown tinges. This is more evidence to show the protective value of the urban microclimate. These trees still have plenty of leaves, protected as they are by a slope and surrounding houses. Compare with the virtually leafless ash trees on the eastern edge of the Leeds conurbation.

This sketch cheers me up because, despite grey skies, some of the colours are almost spring-like, courtesy of school's nice, bright coloured pencils

Flower Show

2005-11-12T12:58:00.000Z

gazania
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I saw just 3 minutes of 'Autumnwatch', the other day, this is the BBC's programme charting the progress of autumn. I would have watched the rest but a hungry child waits for no-man, certainly not Bill Oddie (the programme's presenter), so I went and made Nathan's tea instead. Nevertheless, I did hear Bill say that this autumn had come early and had been a long, mild one. This certainly matches with my observations. Back in an earlier post, I mentioned the early onset of the season. This week, the unusual length and mildness of this autumn really struck me. To be more precise 'flowers' struck me, or their presence did.

There isn't huge profusions of flowers, but they are there. I expect to see a few dahlias and the solanum always manages a good show well into November. What about gazania, delphinium, impatiens, red clover and gorse though? All still in flower as we near November's third week. I've never known a year like it. Is it global warming? Is it just a warm autumn, due to chance? Maybe it's down to the protection afforded by the microclimates of towns and villages hereabouts.

I hope it's just part of the wonderful seaonal variation that we get in Britain. The variation and lack of extremes that makes me so glad to live in this temperate little corner of the world. I'll stop there, before I start singing 'Jerusalem'.

Counting kestrels

2005-11-06T14:13:00.000Z

kestrel
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Counting kestrels is one of my favourite in-car pastimes. Obviously you need to keep your eyes on the road but kestrels have the decency to hover over motorway verges and to sit on top of street lamps, making it a much safer hobby.

I once read a letter in a wildlife magazine from a bloke who claimed to have driven from Devon to Scotland and only saw one kestrel all journey. He cited this as evidence that kestrels were struggling. All birds need all the help and attention they can get but I think he was either a poor kestrel spotter or a very conscientious driver. My record count for a single journey is four, over the eleven miles to work. He should have driven through Leeds.

This is the female of the pair that holds territory at the end of the road, where the housing borders onto open fields. She was sat on the lamp-post this morning, presumably looking for a meal to scurry by.

The Lime Avenue

2005-11-01T13:45:00.000Z

lime avenue
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

We went to Thorp Perrow Arboretum at the weekend. I can’t recommend a visit to an arboretum highly enough, especially at this time of year. I love the autumn colour as I’ve said before, and the lack of strong winds in these parts so far, has left the leaves to colour up nicely.

Richard Bell describes it brilliantly, and so much better than I ever could, “there's autumn colour around, especially in the ashes, rowans and horse chestnuts, which glow as if they'd been illuminated from within but there's also plenty of dull drab green - the colour of waxed jackets and hiking trousers.” (Click here to see the full entry with illustrations.)

You can add ‘lime trees’ to that quote. The sketch is my impression of the Lime Avenue, an impressive stand of mature lime trees, spectacular and stately in the watery sunshine of late October.

The Alternative Bird Garden

2005-10-25T12:30:00.000+01:00

the stand off
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

We went to Lotherton Hall & Bird Gardens at the weekend, between the downpours. Whatever your opinions on captive animals, I feel that animal collections serve at least two good purposes. Firstly, all of the ones I’ve been to are involved in captive breeding programs for some of the world’s rarest animals, usually rare because of human activity. Secondly, it’s very hard to care for something that you’ve never experienced, so these places allow people, especially the young, to see animals close to. Some collections do it well, others less so. Lotherton doesn’t do it badly at all, with breeding programs, an education centre, frequent enclosure improvements and it’s free to get in.

After all that, we didn’t go to the bird garden today, we visited the adjoining deer park and went around the formal gardens. The red deer are well into their rutting season, with four impressively armoured males laying claim to a small territory, each one apparently centred on one of the equally impressive oak trees that abound in the deer park. With the sound of bellowing stags and a hint of mist in the air, we could have been in a highland glen rather than a half hour drive from Leeds city centre (you just had to put the distant cries of the whooping cranes, from the bird garden, out of your mind). You can certainly see why Landseer was so inspired by the stag.

In the formal gardens, the least contrived wildlife spectacle was in full flow – migration. Redwing were streaming over, there must have been four to five hundred, dropping into the trees to feed. This thrush is one of my favourite winter visitors, they arrive from Scandinavia in large numbers. The redwing joined good numbers of titmice, starlings and a single siskin. In the surrounding fields, there were an equally good number of fieldfare – another Scandinavian migrant thrush. All were feeding like their lives depended on it, which they probably do. So maybe we did go to the bird garden after all.

Who's laughing now?

2005-10-18T14:48:00.000+01:00

BH gull
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Twitching is like eating chips, I know its wrong but I still like it once in a while. Twitching is chasing after rare birds that someone else has found, it's more of a lazy sport than anything to do with nature so I try to limit my twitching to local rarities. This has lead to me spending lots of the last week trying to see a Laughing gull that's been hanging around the Pontefract and Featherstone area. Well, the bird's laughing - at me, and I should think any north american readers are laughing - because it's probably very common over there.

I finally caught up with the gull yesterday evening, got the adrenaline rush, watched it for half an hour then went home for tea. I was very happy.

The other upside to this tale is that I've basically spent a week watching flocks of common and black-headed gulls. I've improved my skills, I know common and black-headed gulls in all variations of winter plumage, and from all angles, in flight and on the ground (not that you'd know it from my sketch, perhaps). I've spent more time than I normally would simply being closer to nature. There are worse ways to spend your time.

The Therapeutic Jungle

2005-10-11T11:05:00.000+01:00

my jungle
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

In the book ‘The Therapeutic Garden’ by Donald Norfolk, the author tells of the many beneficial effects of gardens, gardening and of just being within sight of plant life. This sketch shows some of the plants I keep in my classroom, drawn in biro whilst the class did a test. Kept for no other reason than they're good for the soul and I love ‘em. Its tough love though, I’m afraid. I tell myself that forgetting to water and feed the plants is just a form of natural selection, survival of the fittest, and that as Alan Titchmarsh once pointed out, an underwatered plant can always be saved but an overwatered one is lost. Good job too.

On more natural matters, the trees (outside!) are starting to colour up nicely, with definite tinges of gold and rust beginning to appear. This seems quite early to me, I just hope we don’t get any strong winds for a few weeks so we get to see the colours develop. Maybe the colour coming early will give it a better chance before the autumn winds really get started. It bodes well at present.

Talking about plants and jungles, congrats to Castleford Tigers Rugby League, for roaring back to the Super League, through the play-offs on Sunday. Sorry for the awful pun and the tenuous link (the Tigers play at ‘The Jungle’, although it’s still Wheldon Road to me).

For the record

2005-10-05T08:57:00.000+01:00

mistle thrush
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

As well as this blog, I write a 'Bird of the Month' column for a local magazine, the Rothwell & District Record. A nice magazine, ran by nice folk. Anyway, I also illustrate the column with my own artwork. This is a mock up of next month's probable bird, the mistle thrush. It's a rough attempt, the bill and legs are the wrong colour and the markings on the head are too imprecise. But it's still better than some of my subsequent drawings, better get a move on - 15 days to copy deadline, and counting!

Mistle thrushes have been a peripheral presence ever since I started thinking about them around a fortnight ago. It seems like thinking about them has made them appear. Everywhere I go, a mistle thrush hops across the path, flies overhead or rattles from the depth of a bush. I'm now going to start thinking about fox sparrows on my bird feeders....

A different kind of flyover

2005-10-01T21:17:00.000+01:00

study of canada geese
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

It's official - it is autumn! It's been autumn since Wednesday morning at about a quarter to seven, because that's when the geese flew over for the first time since last spring.

From late September through to early March, a small flock of 30-60 Canada geese fly directly over our house from... er, somewhere to... erm, somewhere else. They usually fly south in the morning and north in the evening, but sometimes it's the other way round and today they flew south both morning and evening?! There's plenty of fields around to feed in, not that I've ever seen them during the day, but I don't know of anywhere in the vicinity that they might roost on dark nights.

To be honest, I don't know where the geese go and I don't care. Just like I don't care they're an introduced species that some folk don't care for, and I don't care it's not Islay or north Norfolk numbers. That's because each time I hear them, I still excitedly rush to the window or door, hoping to catch a glimpse of the geese flying over. My spirit flies with them.

Sheffield Thursday

2005-09-30T13:49:00.000+01:00

sheffield
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I had to go on a course in Sheffield yesterday. It was held on the 9th floor of the Hallam University, so at least there was a good view. South Sheffield made up the main and the Peak district was just visible on the skyline. This distant view made my day more bearable. If you've read any of my previous posts, you'll know that the Peaks are a constant presence in my life.

The sketch was done on the back of my delegate folder, using a free pen that was in my delegate folder. I made sure they didn't go to waste.

Rosemary and lamb

2005-09-26T13:53:00.000+01:00

sheep
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Last week was a trying one at work. On Thursday, between the end of school and picking up Deb and Nathan, I just drove around for an hour or so, stopping a couple of times to sketch whatever I felt like drawing. It did the trick and lowered the stress levels. This black-faced ewe looks like it's been crossed with a kangaroo, not too bad for a first sheep, close up, though.

Still, this was better than my go at the victorian-style lamp post and municipal shrubs, from Staples car park, or my last resort - drawing the blower fitting from my car dashboard. The last one had a Nobbsian look about it, but not as good, obviously (follow the link - right - to Michael Nobbs' site to see how it's done properly).

Back to unnatural history matters, we went for a walk round the block last night and it was interesting to see a rosemary bush still in flower so late in the year. Ours is long over and done with flowers. Along with the memory of the diascia we managed to overwinter, not once but twice, it just goes to show how gardens can form such individual microclimates.

The UK's number one...

2005-09-19T20:38:00.000+01:00

woodies
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I like woodpigeons. There's plenty that don't. Farmers aren't keen because they damage crops, gardeners ditto and twitchers because they're so common probably. Unlucky, because apparently, woodpigeons are seen in a larger percentage of British gardens than any other species of bird. Good, as I said, I like 'em.

I like them being common, I see lots of them every day in and around the fields on my way to work. There's even a pair that nest in the laurel bushes on one of Leed's busiest roundabouts - the Gyratory, too good a name for just a roundabout don't you think? I like the fact that you can identify them from a mile away, on the ground or in flight, thanks to all those white flashes. I just wish that, at half past five in the morning, they'd sing a little further down the street.

Panda food

2005-09-11T20:22:00.000+01:00

bamboo
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

This was just a quick sketch of the black bamboo (phyllostachys nigra) that stands in a pot, outside the back door. I drew it yesterday whilst I worked up the energy to go out in the rain and split it for planting up in more pots.

Deb bought the bamboo when it was only 2 feet tall, about 7 or 8 years ago, and at £5 we thought it was a bit pricey. What a bargain it turned out to be. It grew to around 8 feet tall and we've split it to make new plants several times since then. We've got a few ourselves and we've given a few away as well.

The bamboo and its offspring have done a great job of screening next-doors' dilapidated fence. It hasn't done much for the wildlife though - unless we get any passing pandas.

Mists and mellow fruitfulness

2005-09-04T11:11:00.000+01:00

willow tit
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Whoever described September as a month of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’ could have been writing about this morning. It’s a perfect late summer morning, with a hint of autumn in the air. There actually is a faint mist and a delicious chill, with the added soundtrack of woodpigeons and that wonderful rippling tic-tic-tic call of a robin that you only ever seem to notice at this time of year.

Talking of robins, one of this years’ young robins has been a regular in the garden for the last week, getting ever more red-breasted. It’s looking well on the food we’ve been putting out for it, bags of special robin food from Swillington Nurseries. It’s the best place to buy feeder food as well, just the job for our new birdfeeders. We’ve just replaced our old feeders with some nice new ones from the RSPB shop at Fairburn Ings (I get discount because I’m a volunteer - at a local mine reclamation site that’s going to become a RSPB reserve eventually, and more of that another day).

The greedy greenfinches certainly seem to approve, there’s never less than a couple on the feeders at any one time. There are plenty of collared doves picking up the dropped seed too, I’ve seen up to eight in and around the garden recently, so a good breeding season for them then. The rarest visitor lately has been a willow tit, what a great bird to see in our garden, having never seen one nearer than 5 or so miles from Garforth. Those new feeders are doing the trick.

Buzzards from my bed

2005-08-29T12:19:00.000+01:00

cob pools
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

We’ve just got back from our holiday. We went to Anglesey and stayed in a cottage overlooking the sea, at Porth Nobla, just outside Rhosneigr. It was a naturalists’ dream, certainly ours’.

At the front of the house was a beach, flanked with rocks. There must have been a dozen species of seaweed of all shades of green, brown and red. It was swarming with crabs the size of your thumbnail. There was the usual assortment of waders, gulls and wagtails, plus the odd heron or two, and on calm high tides grey seals popped their heads out.

At the back was scrub and farmland, with buzzards and kestrels often in view. One morning I even saw two buzzards flying over the beach, from my bed – I shall have to start a ‘bed list’. Ravens were feeding in the sheep paddocks, and in these days of falling starling numbers, it was good to see around two hundred sat on the telephone wires. In the evenings, four to five hundred greylag geese could be spectacularly seen and heard coming in to roost on the nearby lakes.

A moving part of the holiday for me, was to visit Shorelands at Malltraeth, the home of the late artist, Charles Tunnicliffe. For those of you that don’t know, he was the original illustrator of ‘Tarka the Otter’, and he also illustrated the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign posters and lots of the nature ladybird books, but his first love was birds. I felt privileged to see where he lived and painted, it has the most amazing view overlooking the Cefni estuary. Equally impressive are his original paintings at Oriel Ynys Mon, the museum built principally, I suspect, to house Tunnicliffe’s work, despite a local campaign in the late 80’s to prevent what was then seen as a waste of municipal money. Anyway, the museum is more than that now, housing displays reflecting all aspects of Anglesey life. Tunnicliffe’s art is breathtaking, all the more so as he never intended it to be displayed, it was done for pure pleasure. I hope the campaigners now see its’ worth.

Follow the link to see my Anglesey Sketchbook.

Long-tailed Tits

2005-08-20T08:46:00.000+01:00

long-tailed tits
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Behind our house there is a large brick yard, where they make and dispatch bricks and blocks of all kinds. This has several down sides, such as the dust, the large number of lorries that go past the end of the street, occasional rats and the low level, but almost constant, industrial hum. The local residents' association keep them in check.

However, there is an upside. The site is surrounded by mature trees and hedgerows, and at our end their is a small area of scrub and low woodland. The birds and insects love it.

I try to go along the footpath between the back of the house and this area regularly, just to see what's about. I have to be careful not to loiter so I don't look like a peeping tom. Nathan helps me here, when he's with me I look much less suspicious.

We walked past during the week and were treated to a flitting fly-past by a family party of long-tailed tits. These are one of Deb's favourite birds, and I can see why. They're like a fluffy pom-pom on a lolly stick of a tail, and their contact calls can only be described as a purr. I only wish we saw them in the garden more often.

Dark Peak

2005-08-12T16:19:00.000+01:00

Strines Moor
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

You can see the northern edge of the Peak District, Britain’s first national park, from just about any high point in Leeds. I see it every day on the way to or from home and it’s been calling me for the last few weeks. So yesterday, I went up onto the moors of the Dark Peak, or the northern half of the Peak District.

The Dark Peak is predominantly acidic peat moorland overlying gritstone, which pokes out to form rocky outcrops. The dominant plant is heather. This is particularly impressive about now, colouring whole hillsides a purplish hue and doing so on a huge scale. Otherwise, the only obvious sign of life is the red grouse, constantly calling ‘go-back, go-back’, with the occasional ‘seep’ of a meadow pipit. On an overcast day like today, with a blustery wind, this is an evocative place.

After doing some sketching, I drove down into the wooded valleys and ate my dinner at Fairholmes, overlooking Ladybower reservoir. With tits on the birdfeeders, nuthatches calling in the trees, tame ducks taking crusts and walkers and cyclists setting off/coming back, it was pleasantly busy (and warm) by comparison with the moor tops.

(I even made it home in time to see Shane Warne take his 600th test wicket.)

Blacktoft Sands

2005-08-04T21:44:00.000+01:00

avocet and redshank
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Today I spent the day at one of my favourite places, the RSPB’s reserve at Blacktoft Sands. The great thing about this reserve is that it’s not ‘in your face’, there’s plenty of comfortable hides in easy walking distance, there’s no ‘experience’ being rammed down your throat but there is info available if you want it. Blacktoft does get some ‘twitchers’ birds’ but on the whole it’s a breeding ground and a spot for migrants to rest and refuel, a place to see plenty of wetland birds very well. Anyway, it was peaceful and warm, just the job for doing some drawing and for simply being close to nature.

There were all the birds you’d expect to see here, dunlin, ruff, redshank, greenshank, lapwing, plus a few Blacktoft specialities, avocet (of RSPB logo fame), bearded tit and spotted redshank, but no marsh harrier – maybe a bit windy for them today. There was the added bonus of a spoonbill, unusual enough, however this bird had been ringed (i.e. had plastic identification rings put on its legs) as a chick in Holland two years ago, so a bit of life history to add interest.

I was glad of a few years of birding experience to identify the many wading birds present. Present in all stages of plumage, summer, winter, adult, juvenile, and all points in between. So I felt for a mum with her 3 children, trying to identify the birds when she couldn’t even understand the order used in her field guide (divers, grebes, shearwaters, etc.) – a free gift for new members of the RSPB! You do learn the crazy taxonomic order over the years, but it doesn’t exactly encourage newcomers or the young. In future, I’ll be far less scornful of field guides ordered by size, colour or habitat.

Click on the link the see the other sketches I did today – Blacktoft Sands Sketchbook.

Starlings

2005-08-01T20:56:00.000+01:00

starlings
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

I sat on the bench under the hawthorn, this afternoon. Half a dozen or so starlings, adults and juveniles, sat above, quietly clicking and whistling, nothing too raucous. Lovely.

1 for sorrow, 2 for joy, 18 for…

2005-07-31T20:30:00.000+01:00

magpie
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Good news, there was a juvenile robin on the patio yesterday. I’m convinced it’s from the nest in the hawthorn (no good reason, I just want it to be). Fortunately, there hasn’t been too much magpie activity in the garden (our only regular chick eater), there’s been no shortage of magpies, they just haven’t been in the garden – perfect.

Don’t get me wrong, I like magpies, they’re smart looking birds and they rattle with attitude. I’ve noticed a couple of ‘SOS’ car stickers around Leeds. SOS stands for Save Our Songbirds, an unpleasant campaign or organisation that promotes the destruction of corvids, like magpies, and birds of prey, under the guise of protecting the ‘songbirds’ whose chicks they eat. In reality, it’s gamekeepers, pigeon fanciers and the gullible, trying to put a respectable front on killing for their own benefit. I say 'campaign or organisation' because I don’t know which it is. Try searching for it or them on the internet, there isn’t even a website. Strange.

Magpies can be predators, live with it. Magpie numbers respond to prey (songbird) numbers, not the other way round. High magpie numbers is good, it means that songbird numbers must also be high, and vice versa. The percentage of chicks eaten will always be about the same. Songbird numbers are more affected by loss of suitable habitat.

At work, a couple of weeks ago, I was looking out of the window and counted 18 magpies on the field. Every time I see magpies I subconsciously say the rhyme, even though I only know as far as ‘4 for a boy’. Maybe it’s ‘18 for a successful breeding season’.

Mr McGregor's Garden

2005-07-26T20:42:00.000+01:00

large white
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

At the end of June, Barwick has an open gardens day, where a dozen or so residents open their garden to the public for a small entrance fee (which goes to charity). Deb and I have been for the last few years because we love gardens and we love to nose in other peoples' gardens.

Obviously, all of the gardens are well kept and many offer ideas for our own ideal garden, but there was one garden that stood out. Situated in a part of the village that looks like it is of post-war construction, and generally looks less well cared for, the front garden looked ordinary enough with marigolds, petunias and a neat lawn, but the back garden was the surprise. It was like stepping into Mr McGregor's garden, of Peter Rabbit fame, row upon row of regimented vegetables, carrots, cabbages, beans, lettuces and so on. At the end of the garden was a ramshackle greenhouse, full of tomatoes and cucumbers. It brought back many happy memories of my grandad's vegetable patch.

As I drove into Barwick at the end of last week, a large white butterfly flitted along the hawthorn hedge, next to the cornfield. I thought of Mr McGregor's cabbages as his garden isn't more than 200 yards away, and because they aren't called 'cabbage whites' without reason. Fortunately, he was going the wrong way.

Taxonomy by Nathan

2005-07-20T20:54:00.000+01:00

ladybird
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Last week I took my 6th formers outside to do some fieldwork. Although the school is an inner city one, there is a surprisingly diverse band of scrub and rank vegetation around the edge of the school field, including gorse, hawthorn, elder, bramble, nettles and, believe it or not, bluebells. There are a number of mature trees scattered around, such as ash, field maple, oak, goat willow and a variety of more ornamental plantings like Lombardy poplar and cherry. There used to be more but half a dozen got cut down the other year because they blocked the sight lines of the then newly-installed security cameras, a great shame.

In reality, we counted dandelions, plantain and white clover because that was all they could recognize easily (after instruction) and it was all that was present in sufficient quantity to require quadratting to estimate numbers.

Whilst they were counting , I scanned the taller vegetation for anything interesting. Having read the bit on ladybirds in this months’ BBC Wildlife magazine, I was pleased to find a 2-spot ladybird. In my ignorance I thought I’d found a rarity, but the magazine told me it was ‘common and widespread’. Not in my garden, I’m sure I’ve only seen one on two or three occasions. I’ll certainly look more carefully in future.

Nathan will help me look, he’s interested in all things living, an interest I intend to fuel. At 20 months he’s already got a taxonomy system that would put most of those up to Linnaeus to shame. Two legs is a ‘quack-quack’, four legs is a ‘doggy’, six or more legs is a ‘spider’ unless it flies off, then it becomes a ‘bee’. Next stop, Cladistics Department at the Natural History Museum.

Room with a view - Thursday

2005-07-11T11:11:00.000+01:00

view from my window
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

After the awful events of Thursday, I just didn’t know what to say or do. Everyday folk, like me, just have to get on with it or bombers achieve what they set out to do.

For a few minutes, I escaped into the landscape, this is the far view from my window at work. Drawn with a black biro left by one of the kids on cartridge paper, it’s fairly pastoral, considering the fact that I work at an inner city school. The tallest building on the horizon is Morley Town Hall, I believe.

(Read Simon Barnes' column from the Times on Saturday, about the solace to be gained from nature).

Room with a view - Scarborough

2005-07-11T11:09:00.000+01:00

roof
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

On a lighter note (and in a separate post because I can’t work out how to put two pictures in one post), we went to Scarborough on Saturday and stayed at the Crown for the night. Deb’s mum and dad were staying too, so we got to go swimming and to go the beach together. The sea breeze tempered the heat and made it a really pleasant weekend. It was a wrench to come home on Sunday afternoon, to the sweltering inland heat and to the thought of stifling work clothes like socks and ties.

We didn’t have a sea view as it cost an extra £25 (and I’m too mean) but as the receptionist said to us, understandingly, “well, I suppose you only need to step out the front door, don’t you?” During quieter moments I managed to draw part of the view from our hotel window. This view is fairly urban, considering the proximity of the North Sea. I sketched the chimney pots and roof, then I had to wait an age until a herring gull landed on it so I could complete the drawing. I struggle to leave even a sketch without something living in it.

Massive Skies

2005-07-06T15:08:00.000+01:00

north of sheffield
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Went to a wedding at the weekend. Deb’s cousin got married and the reception was at Thurcroft, near Sheffield. It was a nice day, with nice food and lots of kiddies for Nathan to go and play with. Again there were swifts everywhere I went, with a top count of well over fifty, hawking for insects, above one of the road junctions between the church and the reception.

Driving home in the evening along the M1, you could see the Peak District, beyond Sheffield, backlit by a low sun and beneath a towering tiered bank of grey cloud. It made me think of the BBC series – Picture of Britain. Having had no artistic or literary training myself, I wouldn’t know cubism from impressionism, I’m a great fan of this program, I feel like I’m getting just a little bit of an education. I also envy David Dimbleby getting paid to drive round in a Land Rover, and a Defender at that – dream transport! But, and this is the thing, top marks go to the photography, it’s fantastic, it doesn’t seem to matter where he is, he’s always topped by massive skies and the most awesome cloud formations. Words don’t do it justice, you’d just have to watch the program.

I must finish this post with a tale of Yorkshire folk. Deb helped her mum and dad to book a weeks’ holiday in Scarborough at the Crown Hotel. Deb was just saying how they’d need to get a taxi to the hotel from the railway station, as it’s a bit far to walk with bags, when her mum said “Aye, but I’m not telling them I’m staying at the Crown – they’ll charge me double! I’ll get them to drop me at the Belmont, round the corner and I’ll walk from there.” There’s no answer to that.

A Blaze of Red

2005-07-02T21:34:00.000+01:00

poppy field
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

It's a great time of year for two wild flowers that give a really impressive display - ox-eye daisies and poppies.

Ox-eye daisies are common in these parts. Just about every roadside bank is covered with a drift of daisies. Common certainly doesn't mean ordinary, they're spectacular and, for me, a sign of high summer.

Less common, and far harder to predict their location, are fields of poppies. Not a few along a verge, I mean a field FULL of poppies, a blaze of red. This year there's just such a poppy field on my way to work between Barwick and Scholes. It's definitely not there every year - I've travelled that route for over 8 years, so those poppy seeds must have laid dormant for some time, as poppy seeds often do. There's a few daisies in amongst the poppies and some yellow flowers that I haven't even tried to identify (I'm a poor botanist). The field isn't very big but the impact is.

Wild flowers, wild man!

A Connecting Thread

2005-06-29T21:24:00.000+01:00

swifts
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Swifts seem to be a connecting thread throughout my life at the moment. I seem to see them wherever I am. Not tens or hundreds of them, just two, three or four, and not for long either, but enough to know they’re there. As I was laid on my back lawn watching clouds go by, one warm evening this week, all of the airborne insect-eaters (swift, swallow and house martin) flew through my patch of sky. On my way to work, as I drove past a field of poppies at Barwick, swifts flashed in front of my car. From my window at work in Armley, the unmistakable black sickle shapes screamed over the school field. (I even saw them on the way to the chip shop in Rothwell).

I can’t help being fascinated by swifts. Aside of their speed and agility, they lead an extraordinary life, almost entirely on the wing. At night, swifts fly thousands of feet up and sleep as they glide. They can travel many miles during the night, yet at the speed they fly they can be back where they started in next to no time. Swifts mate in flight and then need to build nests on ledges and other high places so that they can drop from the nest, in order to get up the speed needed to fly, so much so that a grounded swift will shortly be a dead swift, unable to take to the air from the ground. And then there’s the chicks to feed, a swift can fly thousands of miles in one trip to find enough food for the chicks. Whilst mum and dad are away, the chicks can go into a kind of torpor, slowing their metabolic rate down, to survive for up to ten days without food.

Swifts head back to Africa fairly early compared to other migrants, any time from August onwards. It’s for this reason that the last swift you see is one of the harbingers of autumn being used by the BBC’s Autumnwatch. Until then, I’ll be listening for those piercing screams and looking out for that characteristic black silhouette and flickering flight. Perhaps I won’t need to, they’ll come to me.

Robins' Nest

2005-06-24T08:53:00.000+01:00

robins
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

Yesterday morning was warm enough to eat breakfast al fresco. I was treated to the song of a common whitethroat, previously unheard in the garden in the 8 or more years we’ve lived here. However, I didn’t catch so much as a glimpse of him, thanks to the density of the hawthorn, but I could hear his song get progressively more distant as he presumably moved away along the row of lombardy poplars behind the house.

Something I did catch a glimpse of was a jay, as it swooped right in front of the car, as I drove past Temple Newsam on the M1, on my way home.

In the evening, it was nice to watch the pair of robins that are nesting in the ivy on the hawthorn at the bottom of the garden. They’re always to be seen with beakfuls of food for their chicks. They both sit in the buddleia before going back to their nest. The parent birds are the only birds that will still feed in the garden whilst my little boy is tearing around with his rake or some other such ‘weapon’. Those chicks must be hungry!

We all know how round and tubby robins look on Christmas cards so it was unusual to see how sleek and skinny they both looked. Hopefully, it’s just because of the warm weather, making them flatten their feathers down to keep cooler.

A Free Concert

2005-06-22T13:45:00.000+01:00

With the weather being so humid this weekend, it was hard to get enough fresh air in the house, so the double doors at the back were open from first to last. This brought the reward of a free concert, courtesy of our regular garden birds. From early evening through till dusk, collared dove, woodpigeon, robin, blackbird, song thrush, dunnock, chaffinch, chiffchaff, wren and greenfinch could all be heard singing their hearts out. Add to this, cameo appearances by goldfinch and, less musically, by housemartin and swift. Nothing less than spirit lifting.

Clematis & Welcome

2005-06-14T15:13:00.000+01:00

clematis
Originally uploaded by wherethewolvesare.

These were the last of the clematis flowers, drawn last night. 'Were' because the petals had been blown off by the wind by this morning. Such is the ephemeral nature of nature, eh? By the way, welcome to my new blog.