Spring, birds and my final Lenten penance
Spring is slowly percolating through the valley. We have a bit of a weird microclimate here which means that we are usually colder than surrounding areas. Driving to church yesterday I noticed the trees there are a week or so ahead of ours and the temperature was 3 deg C higher. That’s pretty normal for this area, the difference can be up to 6 degrees!
Plum blossom: the blue sky tells you that I didn’t take the photo this year…
Parts of the valley actually qualify as temperate rainforest; we have ferns growing on trees, lichen and moss a-plenty. We’re used to the rain but it really hasn’t stopped since July last year and I’m completely sick of it now.
The incessant rain means we have a strong population of snails and slugs. The snails here can reach huge proportions, some snail shells are over an inch in diameter. Last year I heard a knock at my door and opened it to a delivery man who stood well back from the door and looked terrified. Let’s just say he was not a native of these parts. He held out my package at arms length and pointed at the doorbell, saying “Be careful!” I looked and three large snails had positioned themselves next to the doorbell to spend the day sleeping, hence why he hadn’t rung the doorbell but knocked instead. I laughed because snails are harmful only to my vegetables, but he was deadly serious!
In my constant battle to grow fruit and vegetables despite the rain, the slugs and the snails, I have employed a polytunnel. My first one got blown away three times in the winter of 2022-2023 due to the easterly winds, so last year I took the cover off it to prevent it going again. In March I moved it elsewhere on my plot, took out the most damaged section and shortened it. A new cover, and it is now sheltering my early sowings.
So my last Lenten penance this year was to erect a new polytunnel for my tomatoes. These things seem to require at least 5 hands, but I made do with me and my helper. We squelched around in the mud for 3 hours. I was over-confident. Having put one of these things up before, I thought it would be easy. I failed to read the diagram carefully and realise it was built slightly differently than the last one. As a result, there was a certain amount of tightening and then untightening bolts. I apologised to my helper for the third time for my stupidity. He replied “Well, if I was doing this I’d be in the pub by now.” You do have to be persistent, that’s a fact. It was a suitable project for Holy Week!
We were both exhausted by the time it was finally completed; it has been filled with manure and now I am waiting for the mud to dry out a bit so I can prepare it. Already it’s a good temperature in there when we get some sun, though there’s not much of that about yet, in truth. The new one is the green one at the back; it will get sun for 18 hours a day at the height of summer so gets hot. The white one gets shade for about 5 hours in the middle of the day so will be used for things which don’t like so much heat.
In a few months the new polytunnel will look like this. For now, I’m going to have to sow more seeds in the polytunnel than I would like to, simply because the ground is so saturated and I can't plant outside. I’m hoping it will start to dry up by the end of the month.
It’s now peak bird nesting season. Until a few years ago, I had starlings nesting under my roof every year. Some of you may shudder at the thought, but I love hearing the babies as they grow. There is a small gap between the main beam of the roof and the ridge tiles; it’s completely enclosed and separate from the house. Then one year they didn’t come. I thought that maybe it was due to the evident population decline in starlings locally. Later that year I saw a small discolouration in the plaster, which grew over time into a large splodge and I realised I had a leak in the roof. Presumably this had put off the starlings.
Last May I got a roofer to come and fix the tiles. Here’s the roof edge - the spot where you can see a curly metal bracket (which stops the tiles sliding forwards) is the entrance hole.
Here is the inside. The beam runs from the corner to the top of the roof - early 19th century simple construction (but notice the old 1950s shilling hammered into the beam on the left for good luck). You can see the discoloured plaster - it’s dried out now so I can repaint it this summer. The nest sits forward of that spot, on the corner of the room in the small gap between the beam and the ridge tiles.
So, would they come back now the roof was fixed? Yes! A week ago I heard a familiar starling “ping” and looked out the window to see a bird picking up some dead vegetation from the ground and flying up to the roof with it. A few days later and this was the view from my door.
The male builds the nest, and sings outside it, flapping his wings to attract a mate. As he’s been back every morning and evening for the last few days, I assume he has a mate. The females finish the nest with nice lining before laying the eggs. they generally raise 3-4 birds here.
Some people don’t like having birds sharing their living space with them. When I was looking up starling nests, I discovered that they are considered a pest in the USA and lots of pest control sites waxed lyrical about the mess and unhygienic nature of the birds. Really? There is a little bit of bird poo outside for 4 weeks of the year, it’s really not the end of the world and humanity has survived alongside birds for more than a few years. They are perfectly contained under the roof and in the UK they are now an endangered species, in part thanks to people blocking up holes in old buildings. I’m happy to provide a home for them. I also have jackdaws nesting every year in my unused second chimney. I’m not quite so fond of them, but everyone needs a home.
When the starlings fledge, the adults try to tempt them out by withholding food. Once all the birds are out, they make their way by tree-hopping for couple of miles up to the moorland, where they join a large flock of the birds for the summer on the hills. They’re a glorious sight, so I wish my house starlings well for the breeding season.