29 September. 2013. 

It's windy and fresh today but the sun is still out.  There are no rainbows because it is not raining.

Last week we were driving home in the dark and a bat flew into our windscreen and got stuck under the bonnet.  The next day, in the morning, it was still there so we got it out and put it in a tub.  Sadly, it was dead, probably from the impact and it had a damaged wing.  It had a very cute face and it was very fluffy.  We looked it up on the Internet and discovered that it is a Long Eared Brown Bat.    
Facts about them.
1.They eat moths, beetles and flies on the wing.
2.They fly close to the ground which makes them vulnerable.
3.In the winter they hibernate, usually on their own, in caves, cellars and tunnels.
4.They live for an average of 4-5 years but have been known to reach an amazing 22 years old.


It is blackberry season.

Blackberries are also known as brambles.  If you mix them with raspberries they are called loganberries. You are not supposed to pick them after Michaelmas, which is today, because the Devil is supposed to have claimed them.  You can use the stems for making strong string.  Things you can make from blackberries: 
1. Jam
2. Blackberry and apple pie
3. Wine

Caspar's Camera Trap:  Experiencing technical difficulties

20 September 2013
I took these photos yesterday afternoon.  It was quite sunny with a warm breeze, it had rained in the morning, so everything was nice, clean, dry and fresh.  It almost still feels like summer.

I just found out that ferns
are one of the oldest plants in the world.  I think this is a Male Fern, there is another sort of fern called Polypody, but it doesn't look like one of them.  This one is about a foot tall, they can grow to 3 or 4 feet tall.  This is a small one because it was growing on a south facing bank, they prefer the shade.
Ferns reproduce by growing spores on the backs of their leaves.
My book tells me that they used to be used for treating tapeworms, but do not try this yourself because they are poisonous and will give nasty side effects.

I found this ivy while I was walking with my brother.  It can be found growing up things from big grand houses to walls and trees.  When they are older the three pronged leaves blend into one single lobe.
It has many medicinal uses. The Collins book of Herbs and Healing Plants says it can be used to treat coughs, wooping cough and bronchitis, fever and worms.  It says it can also be used homeopathically for over-active thyroid, gallbladder complaints and bronchitis and as a poultice for rheumatism and sciatica.  This is very remarkable because I thought it was very poisonous and know one ever used it.

I always notice this horse which lives in our village and I decided to share a picture of him with you because he is so beautiful.  He is called Ianto and he is 40 years old.  Which is quite amazing because I think he looks quite young.







Caspar's Camera Trap:  Experiencing technical difficulties

Friday 28 June .

We have an oak tree in our garden, it is one of our favourite trees because we have attached a swing to it.  Today me and my brothers placed a white sheet on the ground underneath the tree, Leo and Caspar shook it as hard as they could to see what would fall out.  I was quite excited because quite a few things fell out, then I realised that most of it was leaves and bits of tree, only 3 were creatures.  This is what we found; an unidentified tiny spider, an unidentified tiny fly and a Striped Oak Bug.  We have learnt that the Oak Bug eats other bug nymphs and aphids.  When it is a nymph in the springtime it feeds on baby catkins.  The adult bug only lives from May to July. 

         

We are very lucky to have Curlews nesting in the field opposite our house.  Their haunting call is one of the happy signs of spring that we  look forward to.  They arrive in May  to build a nest in the long grass and when they have hatched and raised their chicks they go back to the coast, at the end of July.  When Mum found this photograph, I was really surprised by it's long beak. We think it has a long beak because it eats shellfish, worms and shrimps which it might have to push it's beak underground for and it's legs are long for wading, therefore it might need such a long beak to reach the ground. 

Caspar's Camera Trap: This week we caught a fox (which we think looks quite young) and a squirrel which looked like it was searching for food.
 These are the first animals I have caught on the camera :) 
 As this seems to be a good spot I have left it there for another week.

 

24 June Monday. Sorry my update is so late, everything has been greening up over the last few weeks.  Look at the oaks for instance.


There are a lot of Buttercups around this year, my brother Leo took this picture in the field next to our house.  They are poisonous so don't eat them.  However if you hold one under your chin in the daytime and it makes your chin go yellow you probably like butter, or so they say.
My Mum told me a story about her tortoise called Henry, he loved Buttercups so much that if you held one in front of him he would run towards it and eat it very quickly. He lived for many, many years eating Buttercups, so they can't be poisonous to tortoises.

Caspar's Camera Trap Update
I found a new spot for the camera last Friday, pointing along a well trodden path (well trodden by animals not people!).

30 May - I (Maddy) went outside, on this very sunny morning, after the mist had cleared to take some pictures of wild flowers.  In the hedgerow opposite our house there are big swathes of Cow Parsley.  Cow Parsley is a white flower, it is edible but tastes disgusting, I know because I just tried it.

I found these Bluebells on the same bank.  I have learnt that they are also called Wild Hyacinths. People think it illegal to pick them but I just learnt that it is only illegal to dig them up.  I love bluebells.

 Alongside the Cow Parsley and Bluebells is Greater Stitchwort.  I knew that it must be used as medicine because it has 'wort' on the end.  I discovered that it was used for people with a stitch (you could still use it for this).  It is very edible and looks lovely in a salad.  I just tried some (I think it tastes horrible).

24 May - I (Maddy) noticed how late the Oaks are this year - hopefully they will change soon as the weather is getting warmer.  Although my big brother thought there was a frost last night
These Oaks are at the bottom
of the garden

Caspar's Weekly Camera Trap update:
Nothing caught this week.  I noticed it was pointing at a tree,  I have  now moved it so that it is pointing down the river towards some rocks.  (Hoping to catch the Dipper we saw there)

17 May 2013 - Me (Maddy), my 3 brothers, my Mum and Dusty dog went down to the Sawdde (small mountain river) for a walk. We were just about to open the gate into a field when we saw a hare coming from the field, it stopped to look at us and then ran away when it spotted our dog.  My eyes were drawn to it's ears because they were very big.  When it ran it leaped, it was a grey, brown colour.  The fact that it's ears are so big must mean it could hear us from a long way away (as we are so noisy), which makes me wonder why it was running toward us.


Facts I have learnt:
Hares bread all year, but mostly in March
They are our fastest UK land mammal (unless we have big cats!)

A male is called  Jack and a female is called a Jill

Caspar's Weekly Camera Trap update:

Strapped camera to tree today pointing towards beach on edge of river.