March/April Nature Musings 2024

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the January/February 'Nature Musings Blog' - a chance to look back over these last 2 months and remember and honour what nature has shown us and continually teaches us.

We had some amazing but brief sunny days in March and a few in April...in amongst the constant rain and strong winds!  Winter certainly has held fast in the south-west this year.

One of the most striking things I watch every Spring is the flowering of the trees.  There is so much to see if you look up and watch the different colours and displays from our native trees - the ash with its bursting, almost firework, display of flowers, the drooping Maple flowers, and Oak flowers in abundance well before Ash this year..... 

If the oak is out before the ash, We shall surely have a splash,
If the ash is out before the oak, We shall surely have a soak

The natural world has come to life, and for someone who spends a lot of time outdoors that greening seemed to literally happen overnight!  With the greening of the land, comes the return of new life, new beginnings and new ways of being for us all.  The hedgerows are now lush with the green leaves and flowers of Blackthorn and Hawthorn, the delicate new leaves of Beech, Oak and Hornbeam, and in the boggy areas of land where I work the Alder's are pushing forth their new leaves.  The unhidden landscape of winter is now becoming hidden once more, shrouded in lush vegetation. 

There have been many awe and wonder moments these last two months, and also a halt to many of my outside adventures as an ankle injury has left me grounded now for the last 3 weeks.  Being made to stop is frustrating but I'm leaning into that frustration and learning from it as much as I can.  I'm noticing the smaller details around me, the little insects that I normally would have zoomed past, now get my attention.  Perhaps this transition from Spring into Summer for me will be more snail pace! 

I hope you enjoy reading this journey of nature occurrences that have really stood out for me...

I was invited to attend a Nature Connection group at Alfoxton in March with Barn Owl George in tow...luckily he was inside his box when the encounter occurred.

As I was walking up to where the group were seated a stoat/weasel suddenly appeared less than 2 metres in front of me with a baby rabbit in its mouth.  On seeing me it stopped, went up on hind legs, dropped the rabbit and continued on its path for about a metre, stopped and then really looked at me.  I just had to stop and watch...what else could I do?

This beautiful little animal was mesmerising.  Totally not afraid of me or what I was doing.....at this point I had decided to kneel down and just watch the little creature.

It bounded (bounced really) back to where it had dropped its food, and again watched me.  It even came down the path towards me, now within a metre in front of me.  George made a sound in his box and it bounced back to its food, picked it up and before bounding off into the undergrowth, watched me again and went on into a thicket of undergrowth some 2 metres off the track.  As it disappeared with its food I sat, transfixed on the spot where it had just disappeared, and was again rewarded with a viewing of its little head popping up into view just to check if I was still there.

I was so struck by the silkiness of its fur and inquisitiveness of this little creature.  So bold, yet playful, with piercing eyes.  That whole encounter really had a massive impact on me for the whole day, and even recounting it here I am just in complete awe at the encounter.  

And was it a stoat or a weasel?  Well actually it did have a black tip to its tail and it bounced a lot!!!  So it was a stoat.  Not sure George would have marvelled at the experience in the same way.

I have since seen stoats at Alfoxton several times now, always in that same area, and always when I am just sitting being mindful of nature around me.  A beautiful encounter and their medicine for me was definitely that boldness, but also grace and agility.  

"a weasel is weasel-ey recognised and a stoat is stoat-ally different"

Ferns have to be one of the most amazing, ancient plants that live on Mother Earth, with some species first appearing on Earth some 360 million years ago!  I have stood under the very large tree ferns of New Zealand and felt so humbled at their sheer size and symmetry, and yet marvel too at the unfurling fiddleheads of Bracken, Lady Fern, and Hart's Tongue ferns in our woodlands.

They hold such symmetry and wonder as they begin their journey growing out of a tight clump in the ground.  From March onwards, as soon as the temperatures start to rise, our hedgerows and woodland start to come alive with these amazing plants.

As a child I used to try and unravel these tightly held fronds and watch them bounce back with such indignant force...poor ferns.

Commonly found in rainforest environments, and warm moist places with plenty of shade; ferns are everywhere you look. 

I remember during my time as a 'scientist' that ferns were being used to help remove arsenic from polluted soils through bioremediation - locking the heavy metal into the roots and leaves of the ferns as they grew.  The ferns when harvested, allowed the soil to be free of the heavy metals.  The ferns were also good ecological indicators of arsenic contaminated abandoned mines.

Ferns are favoured energetically for their protective properties, and are a symbol of renewal and rebirth.  Their graceful fronds in the spring represent the emergence of new beginnings and the opportunity for personal growth.  They also thrive in shandy and damp environments symbolising resilience and adaptability.  

But the connection I love the most with ferns, is their deep-rooted connection with Mother Earth.  Ferns for me are the guardians of the forest, bringing harmony and balance to the space around them.  Their beauty too is something to behold with open arms.  Their wisdom and teachings is so vast...bringing us in to welcome our own wisdom and journey of self-discovery.

Both the Blackbird and the Thrush come from the same family of Thrushes, the "Turdidea".  Both have amazing voices which makes them easily recognisable even if you don't see them.

I have been really fortunate this year in that a pair of Blackbirds decided to nest really close to my Barn Owl's aviary, allowing me the chance to observe the rearing of their young.  Not sure my Barn Owl George appreciated the noisy neighbours as the young were pleading for food, but he seems to have been fascinated by the comings and goings of the parent birds.

Their nest was built from the feathers of my birds that were moulted and dropped on the ground, from the silver birch bark peelings and moss from the garden - a very luxurious nest for bringing young into this world indeed!  And both parents were completely unfazed by me each morning and evening carrying my Birds of Prey directly past their nest site.

Week by week I watched the nest being formed, then the female sitting on her eggs, to the constant high pitched noises of the young calling for food.  The local magpies became interested at one point and I watched from the bedroom window as the male blackbird attacked a magpie that was certain it wanted those chicks as food!  The sheer power and force of the male in protecting its nest and young was amazing to see.  

It did seem a bit like the M25 on some days as I would have to wait for the male to come in with food and exit before I could walk past the nest site.  Constantly going back and forth the adults always look so haggard during this frenzied feeding time.

Then came the day of fledging!!  One stumbled out of the nest and hid on the ground...at which point all my birds stared at the spot where it had landed (easy for me to pinpoint it!).  Another chick managed to balance precariously on a branch of Honeysuckle before moving rather awkwardly onto the fence posts, to be met by its mother.  A crazy and dangerous time for these birds as they try and gain wing and body strength.  A time that I'm really glad my previous neighbours cats are no longer there!!

I have since seen the young several times in the garden now.  Two very fat and healthy blackbirds, that are still following their parents yet gaining their wing strength so well - a joy to witness.

Then the beautiful, melodious Song Thrush, a constant visitor on the land where I work and on the walks out along the river Tone.  Their song always stops me.  I love trying to see them, and as the weeks have gone by and the trees have become more green their silhouette is becoming more difficult to pinpoint...but their song!

I could happily sit and listen to the Song Thrush for hours...and it's interesting when you sit and listen to the song how it repeats certain patterns.  For me this bird is the Mozart of the song birds.  A beautiful melody of nature presented to our ears by the Song Thrush.  

One of the ways I tune in and ground myself when visiting the land before clients arrive is to sit and listen to this bird.....and to feel its song run through every part of me.  It lifts my soul, and I feel connected to the elements so strongly through working with this bird, and it has so much to share if we just listen.  

Blackbird energy has been the real focus for students on the Spring Well-being Programme, and I've introduced the essence of Blackbird to the Healing Share group and Drumming Circle - such an ideal bird ally to work with in Spring, bringing us the courage to sing our songs out into the world.    

"There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter."

Rachel Carsonis

The Practice of Deep Listening...

If I gave you a jar and asked you to go and collect a sound of nature, a sound that has real meaning to your connection with the natural world, what would it be?

For me it would have to be capturing the wind on top of mountains......an experience on top of Ben Nevis in Scotland, and Ben Lomond in New Zealand both brought the magical nature of wind to every atom and cell of my being.  The sound of the wind at these places was all that was, no other sound was present....it felt ancient, raw, stirring, uncomfortable, lonely, invigorating, alive!  And I loved every moment of just being present with it.

I love too the sound of the wind in a forest as it builds through the trees and approaches from a great distance.  That build up of sound before the trees start to move is so great to witness....that would have to be in another jar.

And another sound would have to be the call of an eagle soaring above my head....a sound that brings me to a standstill and immediately look up to view this majestic beast.  A call to my spirit to soar.

So what would your sound, or sounds, be and why?  Look out for a social media post soon where you can post your answers, x.

Days are lengthening and slowly getting warmer....and the world around us in the Northern hemisphere is becoming more active.  How will you manage this increased energy in your lives these next few months?

With more daylight hours and more outside activity what are you most looking forward to as we move into summer?  What sounds and smells remind you of this time and you long to sense again?  What activity awaits and perhaps has lain dormant during the winter months?  There is excitement and almost nervous anticipation of what will come through this year......much like the seeds I planted for my garden.

Whatever comes through these next two months, enjoy that connection with the natural world and the more-than-human.  Allow that connection to deepen and enrich your lives.  

Thank you for reading my nature musings for the last two months.  I would love to hear your connection stories with the natural world, and the plants and animals that have helped you too - send me an email or respond via Facebook. 

Look out for the next Nature Musing Blog which will appear in your email boxes from end of June.  A list of what is going on re workshops, talks, etc., will appear as a separate 'newsletter' which should already have flown into your email boxes.  

Enjoy your own nature musings throughout May and June...enjoy the bounty that Summer brings!

Nature Blessings,

Karen x