30 Days Wild Days 27 & 28

Day 27
It was unexpectedly sunny yesterday, so I took the opportunity to do some yoga in the garden. Here I am (or my shadow at least! 😃 ) doing tree pose, which is a bit difficult when you're trying to take a photo at the same time. 😉

You can just about see my little companion to the right doing his own version of yoga, which seems to involve laying down with your eyes closed. 😊🐈😴

Here he is actually on my mat "helping" me. He's thinking about doing cat pose. 😉

I began practicing yoga a year ago after I had some really bad back pain, but haven't really done much outside. To do it in the fresh air with the breeze on you and the sounds of the world all around is quite different from being cooped up inside. There's a different feel to it, a freer feeling as you take the time to breathe and stretch in the open air. There's also the feeling of all the birds around watching you and wondering what you're doing! 😃🐦


Day 28

I saw the hover flies again today in the garden and managed to get this photo of one, but it's a bit blurry because the flies move so fast. Even when they're hovering in the same place, their little wings are beating many times a second and are impossible to see. This was the best I could do.

There are only two days left of 30 Days Wild now and I'll be disappointed to finish, but with those two days, there's still more opportunity to do Random Acts of Wildness.
Remember to take a look at the Wildlife Trusts website: wildlifetrusts.org/30DaysWild

30 Days Wild Days 24, 25 & 26

Day 24

If you saw my blog before I began 30 Days Wild, you may have seen a fungus I found called Many Zoned Polypore.
Here it is:

On Saturday, I went back to look at it and found that the white parts have now turned greenish:

I assume this is because it's older and it changes colour through time. I also found these mushrooms growing very nearby:

I haven't managed to work out what type of mushroom they are although I've searched to try to find out. There are so many and quite a few yellow ones, so I don't want to guess without being fairly sure!

Day 25

Yesterday was quite sunny here but not hot, which I was grateful for after the heatwave, so I took some time to meditate in the garden. I've been trying to practice Mindfulness for a few years and try to meditate regularly, but I haven't done so outside.

I tried to concentrate on the sounds of the birds and the feel of the breeze on my skin. It took a while to get into it, but when I did it was a lovely experience and very relaxing. To listen only to the birds and not be occupied with my thoughts going round in my head was a great way to clear my mind and put some things into perspective. I think everyone should try this for an inner sense of calm and a deeper connection to the world around us.

Here's a clam picture I created to kind of represent peacefulness in nature.

Day 26

The rain stayed off again today so even though it's a bit cloudy I had my lunch outside. It was only a sandwich, juice and a banana, but it was a welcome change to the usual routine and I think food tastes different out in the open. Why is that? The difference in the air?  🍹🍌

It reminded me very much of when my parents used to take me on picnics in the country when I was a child and when we used to have lunch in the garden in the summer. Back then we seemed to have sunny days all the time and we'd sit in the garden on our folding chairs with the sun umbrella and the table, enjoying the food and the fresh air. We'd be outside all day. I wouldn't come in until it started going dark! (The only problem was the flies landing in our squash. 😃 )

But I couldn't stay outside today. Things need to be done and so I had to tear myself away from the birds flitting about. 🐦

30 Days Wild Days 22 & 23

Day 22

A few years ago, I tried an exfoliating scrub for the first time, but then after only a few weeks of using it, I found out about microbeads and how damaging they are to the environment and aquatic life. The little beads are made of plastic and can hang around in the sea for a long time, being eaten by animals. When I checked the one I had it contained microbeads, so I stopped using it.

Looking around for other types, I noticed that a lot of them also had chemicals in them, parabens, etc. So I thought about trying to make a scrub myself, using the ingredients I'd seen on the label of one. I bought sea salt, an avocado and a lime to experiment with.

I put the avocado flesh and the lime juice into a food processor so it's all mushed up, then I mixed it with the salt and came up with this.

I think it works just like the ones you can buy in shops and it's completely free from all chemicals and plastics, so it won't hurt the environment. All together it only cost me £2.87. Much cheaper than a scrub you can buy and it lasts quite a while providing I keep it in the fridge. 

I don't expect everyone to make their own scrub, but please check the label on anything you buy to make sure it has no plastic microbeads in it, only natural exfoliants. If you do try to make your own, I'm sure there are lots of websites out there with information, but please note that if you try this one, you do so at your own risk. I made this for myself so I don't know how it will work for anyone else. 😊

Day 23

"I've looked at clouds from both sides now....." 🎼 🎵🎶 🎹🎸 😀

Yes, I've taken photos of different types of cloud - all in the sky around my garden within about 15 minutes. It's amazing how many types can be in the sky at once, from whispy thin tendrils to big puffy cotton wool mountains and soft looking blankets. 

If you look closely at this one, you can see the small speck of a fly that flew past just as I took the photo. Just below it, the cloud looks a bit like the head and neck of a dragon I think. 🐲

I love the way the sun is shining on the clouds here. The bright spot was a reflection on the lens. 

A hill with a castle on top? (to the right.)

These clouds look like waves in the sea to me.

A link to the Wildlife Trusts: wildlifetrusts.org/30DaysWild

30 Days Wild Days 20 & 21

Day 20

I found this caterpillar on a rose yesterday. I've seen this type of caterpillar before but I'm not sure what species it is. I think it's a moth rather than a butterfly. I love to know that these creatures are living and growing in my garden, even if they eat my plants! 😉

Day 21

Today, on the summer solstice, I saw this bee having a rest on a leaf. She's the only one to stay still long enough for me to take her photo.

A few weeks ago before 30 Days Wild began, I saw a bee in the garden which wasn't moving at all. I gave her a gentle nudge with a blade of grass and she moved her leg, so I knew she was still alive, but maybe tired. A while ago I'd read that you can help tired bees by giving them a sugar and water solution, so I mixed some up, put it on a shallow saucer and held it in front of her.

Within just a few seconds she stretched out her proboscis in search of the solution and drank quite a lot of it with breaks in between. She began to move around then and to buzz her wings, so I put her safe on a plant. When I checked later, she was gone, so I hope she had recovered and flown off.

I wish I had a photo of her, but I didn't have my camera with me and when I thought of it I was holding the saucer for her. 😞  I'm really glad I was able to help her though. Our bees need as much help as they can get.

With just over a week of 30 Days Wild left, there's still lots of time to do Random Acts of Wildness and you can find more ideas on the website: wildlifetrusts.org/30DaysWild   😊💚🌼🍁🌻🌷🌳🐦🐚🐾🐝🐞 

30 Days Wild Days 17, 18 & 19

Day 17

I was looking at one of my pressed sycamore leaves and thought it could look like a peacock's tail if it were blue, so what did I do? I painted it blue. 😊 Then I drew a peacock, created a background and put it all together. This is the result, my second wild work of art!

Day 18

While in the garden yesterday, I found a fly on it's back nearly drowning in my cat's outside water bowl, so I saved it. I couldn't just leave it. Here it is on the ground.

I was worried it might get stepped on as it was so wet it couldn't fly properly, so I put it on a leaf to dry out. It used its legs to wipe its wings and then walked about for a bit until it was dry enough. Here it is on the leaf.

Some people may say it's only a fly, but it's a little life that's just as wonderful as anything else.

While I was watching this fly, another came along and landed on a nearby blade of grass. It's a different type of fly as it has different markings and colours - white around the head - but I haven't yet worked out what type of flies they are. This is the second one.

Here's a slightly better photo of the second fly on a leaf. You can see the sun reflecting in its eyes. 😁

Day 19

I woke up really early this morning and realised that the dawn had just arrived, so I got my camera and took this photo.

There's a rosy hue to the sky at the bottom left corner and the last quarter crescent moon is still there. I hope you can just about see it!

As I watched, I heard the robin singing, then the blackbird, sparrows chirping and a collared dove cooing. The male and female blackbirds were flitting about and it all felt quite peaceful and serene. Then the traffic began, but I could still hear the birds. They make the other everyday human-made sounds a bit more bearable and listening to them makes you feel better about whatever's happening. I think, if I could, I'd just lie in a field all day listening to the birds doing their thing.

30 Days Wild Days 15 & 16

Day 15

For my Random Act of Wildness yesterday, I spent some time in the garden and watched the birds flying around. I managed to get some photos of them. 

Here's the male blackbird who I see quite regularly and who sings his beautiful song from the trees.

I've also seen a female blackbird, so I assume that these two are a pair and I've seen a young blackbird: brown with a brownish beak. It's lovely to know that birds are bringing up their chicks here.

This is one of the female chaffinches I've seen. I know the photo is a bit blurry, but it's the best I could do in the time she stayed at the feeder. 😊

Here's one of the collard doves who visit every day, peeking through the trees at me. She knew I was there.

Here's another on a branch in silhouette.

And here they are both together.

Finally, here's one of the woodpigeons that I see every day.

Day 16

I actually did two Random Acts of Wildness yesterday as last night I wondered how quickly the sky changes. So I decided to take photos of the same patch over about an hour and a half. I wanted to see the differences in the sky, the clouds and the light and colour.

Here you can still see blue sky between the grey and white clouds.

This is about fifteen minutes later and the deep grey/blue clouds have rolled over.

Here the clouds seem to have a purple tinge with gaps showing the still blue sky.

The clouds had covered the sky by fifteen minutes later.

Then the greyness of twilight had set in.

30 Days Wild Days 13 & 14

Day 13

I did a small survey of my garden to see what insects I could find there. I found quite a few!

There was a ladybird.

I can't tell which one it is though, a 14 spot?

I also found a Speckled Wood butterfly, a species which I see frequently fluttering around.

There were two types of snail, I'm not sure what this one is:

But this one is a Garden Snail (I think! 😉).

I also found some cuckoo-spit on a few of my plants, so there are plenty of froghoppers about!

I once accidentally brushed against some cuckoo-spit and found the small green nymph on my hand. It was tiny, smaller than a pinhead. I looked at it for a while then put it back on a plant.

There was a web with shiny stuff on it too.

I'm assuming that it's slug or snail slime which has stuck to the web, but it's very pretty, almost like an abstract work of art or something fairies would leave behind.

On top of these, I saw several hover flies, which I couldn't get a photo of because they kept darting about, a few bumble bees who wouldn't keep still and woodlice which scattered when I moved the pot they were under along with a whole load of landhoppers which hopped too quickly to see properly. 😉😃

Day 14

I decided to look at things from a different point of view, perhaps a worm or insect's eye view. 😊