Spring has sprung! (Days 51 - 60)

Amazing how a little sunshine makes everyone feel so much better.  Being able to go for a walk in just a jumper and leaving the back door open to allow the fresh air to blow through, without a puddle in the porch. Not that all of the last 10 days has been lovely!

Day 51 - First day of spring

It seemed fitting on the first day of spring to photograph one of my many daffodils before they got smashed to the ground in high winds and more torrential rain.

Day 52 - Mist netting to ring birds

The return of Siskins and Goldfinches to my garden tempted the islands only licensed bird ringer to put up a mist net as I had noticed that none of my birds had rings.  My garden could easily be mistaken for an Alfred Hitchcock set when large flocks have a feeding frenzy.  It's not unusual to have over 100 birds at the same time. Needless to say, the birds aren't quite as stupid as we think and many managed to avoid the nets.  I did however, find out that I have a lot more Coal tits than expected - 17 in 2 hours - and I still see lots without rings.

Day 53 - Beach hut at Dougarie

Monday is my busiest day of the week and I ended up snapping a shot of the beach hut at Dougarie. Believe it or not this is a listed building.  I always thought that a building had to be 'special' to get listing status so I'm not sure how a beach hut qualifies.

Day 54 - Shovelling seaweed at Machrie Bay Golf Course

 Work continues on the island to repair damage from the earlier storms, and this could take months if some of it is ever repaired at all! The Machrie Bay Golf Course sea defences are badly damaged allowing the sea, rocks and weed to collect on the first tee.  So much debris was deposited, the only way to clear it was to bring in a digger.

Day 55 - Uninspired

 Wet, windy, cold and feeling a bit grumpy (due to having a cold), I totally lacked inspiration or energy.  The dog walk was short and although I had my camera, my head was down as I trudged along a path.  Barbed wire seemed a fitting photo to illustrate my mood - especially as I didn't make a good job of it!

Day 56 - Dried 'thistles'

I keep seeing these thistle type dried seed heads on my walks.  I have no idea what they are, but I quite like the look of them.  What you can't see in this photo is the little bit of blue sky, that sets them off perfectly (I'll have to post that one on my facebook page).

Day 57 - Brodick Bay 

For anyone who follows my facebook page, this photo may seem familiar.  It's on one of my regular walks and last year I took a student to this point for some landscape work.  It's a lovely view but it was a bit windy - actually more gusty than windy.  Once gust actually rocked my tripod, and its not a light one!

Day 58 - Budha

Weekend again, but no rest for me as I had holiday cottages to photograph and a few other requests including hens and this Buddha. After balancing on a beam to photograph a mezzanine floor, used as a bedroom, without incident, the calm of the Buddha and meditation area were lovely.

The news tonight was dominated by the highest temperatures of the year so far and how people were out on the beaches, typical of a 'Londoncentric' BBC broadcast.  We, meanwhile were still wrapped in cloud and rain. Meanwhile I found some fungi on a rotten log to photograph. But next week is looking good.

Day 60 - Hen

The hens previously mentioned on Sunday (Day 58), were not overly cooperative, although I did get quite a nice shot of the cockerel.  They are all Rhode Island Reds - lovely birds and good layers.  I will keep going back until I get the shots required, and the hen did come out of the scrub on my last visit - although she kept turning her back on me I did manage this shot. 

Day 58 - Cockerel 

Had to put in the extra photograph as he was strutting his stuff so well!

Snowdrops - the flower of hope

Snowdrops in woodland on Arran

The scientific name is Galanthus nivalis, which means snowy milk white flowers This very delicate little flower is the harbinger of spring across Europe and is found both in the wild, and in gardens.  Its wild habitat is mainly woodland, but it can also be found in meadows, pastures, on stony ground and near water. 

A new Snowdrop 

One of the reasons the snowdrop is popular in gardens is its ability to survive most environments without any interference from the gardener!

Snowdrop - The head emerges and initially stands upright

Now I have to admit being a little confused by the literature on this little plant as it is described in some texts as being ‘near threatened’, yet it is easy to find in most locations and there are millions of plants sold each year in garden centres, but these are of the ‘non threatened’ variety. Overall there are 19 types of snowdrop.

Snowdrop - Drooping into the classic pendant

All snowdrops are found in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna).  Under this convention, restrictions are put on trade to prevent over harvesting particularly from the wild. 

Snowdrop - The flower head starts to open

In most countries it is illegal to collect bulbs from the wild, although there are a few minor exceptions with a CITES permit. Horticultural nurseries tend to use stock from bulb offsets or seeds with many collected from estates around the UK in a managed way to ensure sustainability. Like most species at risk, it is due to loss of habitat from building and recreational ground.

Now I may have been confused by how threatened, or not, the snowdrop is, but that is nothing compared to trying to decipher the technical description of the flower.  Apparently it does not have petals! 

A Snowdrop has tepals and not petals

So just what are those white things that look just like petals (to me). The flower head is made of 6 perianth segments or tepals. Whatever the bits are called, it is truly beautiful inside.

The leaves are smooth and slender and nearly as tall as the flowering stalk.  Each bulb produces one single flower which initially stands tall before drooping to the classic pendant we all recognise. 

Snowdrops have an attractive centre

These little white pearls hide a beautiful centre which can only be seen if you take the time to grovel on the ground and gently lift the drooping head.  

Snowdrop - the beautiful centre is often missed

The common snowdrop does have some medicinal uses as it contains galanthamine which can be used to treat traumatic injury to the nervous system and Alzheimer’s.  But it also contains lectin which can be used as an insecticide.  So although it may have medicinal properties if large quantities of the plant and bulb were eaten it is poisonous to humans, causing vomiting and diarrhoea. But lets not dwell on unpleasant subjects.  

Gorse bush

Other plants coming into flower include the gorse bush and wild raspberry canes.

Wild raspberry cane

Oh and in doing my research I found out that some places in Scotland do starlight snowdrop walks - how lovely.