Wind in the willows and blown-in butterflies

A painted lady on a Scabious plant I put in last year

Common spotted orchid dodging...

A red-tailed bumblebee on Speltham Down

Oldest Son showing Wild Art giraffe made of stones and buttercups modelled on baby's toy

More than 2 years ago I wove my own willow fence with kid's help to support a struggling hedgerow

My overgrowing garden and established hedge still supported by willow frame on Day 9 of #30DaysWild which coincidentally is my 9 yrs wedding anniversary i.e. my willow anniversary!

With the weather being so gusty and the ground too wet to mow I wasn't sure what would turn up today. I stepped outside the front door before lunch and was rewarded with the first ever sighting I have made in my garden of a painted lady butterfly which was feeding near a bee much to the pleasure of my 4 year-old. After lunch, inspired by this one sighting we headed up the down to do a butterfly transect, that is myself with baby in backpack and 4 yr old Isaac. We counted a few meadow browns and dodged hundreds of common spotted orchids that lay in our path. Towards the end of our survey it was really too windy so we went home to meet my oldest boy Jamie. Jamie had his own idea for a wild thing to do and quietly got on with the giraffe picture while I brought in washing. I didn't have to cook dinner as my husband was bringing take-away to celebrate our "willow" anniversary with the kids. I decided not to buy him a "willow" gift as everytime I fancied one of those posh willow picnic hampers he's made noises about how they weren't practical so instead I got him chocolate marzipans and a card. Just for the willow bit I've been posting him photos of our joint effort garden creation (he cut and helped me place the hazel stakes I wove the willow into). P.S Anyhow, needn't have worried about a special anniversary present...husband turned up with the takeaway AND a willow picnic hamper for me! (he said phew ..you didn't buy one for me then!)

Feeding Fledglings

 Day 6: Please forgive me adding too many baby photographs but Tuesdays in term-time are a baby-led day so we fit around and go-with-the-flow of the 14 month old. We get back from pre-school drop-off with an hour before any play group. Mummy has not eaten breakfast and Baby has only had one blueberry wafer out of a shiny packet as a bribe to get in the car seat. So the first thing we do at home is think of food.

 Baby goes to the window and points. He has been surrounded by blur of wonderful sights and sounds for most of his life but the new thing is that now he actually wants to point things out and talk about it. Usually he talks about trains "ch-ch-ch-ch" as he demolishes his brothers' train track which often has to be rebuilt by mummy before other children collected from school and pre-school. Today he talked about the wind in the trees "ssssss....ssss". Now he's at the window pointing. Something really good is happening....

 I go to the window and he is watching an adult Great Tit feed a beautiful newly grown fledgling. I'm concerned and surprised. We have Cuddles the rescued bird-eating cat. Quick scout to find her location. Luckily she's asleep in a warm place inside so I try and get a picture of the feeding...but too late the adult Great Tit flies off. I don't know where they nested. Our nestbox was quiet this year. If they had been in that I would have heard the chirps while gardening.

 The adults seem pretty hungry and go to our peanut feeder. Another concern...shouldn't we have emptied the nuts by now? The fledglings are pretty much full-sized and don't seem at risk of choking on the small bits of nut and caterpillars that the adults are feeding them it appears. Even so I will just change the feeder to sunflower hearts at the weekend.

 We can't wait until snack at playgroup so I whip up some plum baby porridge. As my own fledglings father is out of the way at work and not hovering anxiously with a wash cloth I decide to let him grab the spoon to self-feed and applaud the resulting wild mess

 Its pouring with rain now and all three kids are booked in to help our friends walk her dog at the woods after school. I will be too busy to blog later because I will be washing mud off boots and checking kids for ticks as they never fail to play den making in the long grass.

Will get my walk in though and a nice chat!

How the tadpoles came about and we care for them.

So, we are back at home today for our 5th wild day and the weather isn't really bee and butterfly weather is it? I got one walk in with the baby down the Wickham Railway Lane with a group of buggy walkers but was going at a brisk pace rather than stopping for wildlife or photographs. By the time I collected my oldest children from pre-school and school it was starting to rain in earnest. I was honestly a bit tired from coming back from holiday with jobs to do so supervising nature art didn't seem practical. Then I remembered: The tadpoles! It was time to give them a post-holiday food top-up with the boys. We added boiled lettuce and strange dehydrated bits of meat marketed as tadpole food that our friend had given us a half-term ago along with the tadpoles. The idea was to raise tadpoles from her neighbour's pond in our recycled aquarium ( this functioned as an ant hotel in 30DaysWild last year). Now we have several very large tadpoles that may start thinking about froghood soon. Some are still tiny and haven't caught up. We have made sure we added freshwater to the tank from a clean river at Droxford. Below are photographs of the boys collecting the water for the tadpoles using milk and apple juice cartons one day back in April. It was so wet today though that we just put our wellies on to go to the shed to see the tadpoles and back rather than run a river trip. They still seem to have enough water although the aquarium is filling up a bit with tadpole poo at the bottom the water still seems clear and there is oxygenating weed in the tank.

Day 4 of 30 Days Wild: The family complete a strenuous hike and get closer to foxgloves

 We woke up and at 7am the sun was shining and we could see the mountains from our bedroom! Time to be spontaneous. If we hadn't already done the train yesterday we would have chanced the Snowdon mountain railway...except you can't really chance it as it really needs to be booked ahead for the steam rather than the diesel train as thousands of people hike up Snowdon. But we still fancy seeing the foothills of Snowdon and drive to Llanberis after poking our nose into Conwy Falls and Swallow Falls around Betsw-y-Coed both of which require tourists to pay a few old pounds to get through turnstiles. They were picturesque but did not feel wild enough to elaborate on in this blog. We admired all the Snowdon parkers and walkers then headed to the popular and touristy Beddgelert where a famous dog is said to be buried. We had inspired our oldest after reading him the rather descriptive version of the story at bedtime last night. It is a must-read legend and it breaks my heart to think of that poor dog slain by his unknowing master every time I read it.

The weather was still fine and we needed to hike! I let my husband choose the route as he was to carry our 1 year old plump baby all the way while I steered and encouraged our oldest two. I had convinced him 3 days earlier that every walker needs hiking boots not trainers to enjoy Snowdonia and thankfully he'd agreed to this as well as the 2 ordnance survey maps covering North and South of our cottage in case we just "felt like exploring". So, off we set on what appears to be an easy tarmac track beside the river at Beddgelert. It soon turns into a boulder trail with hand-holds drilled into the river cliff that greatly excite the children. This is when I ask my husband what grade walk we are doing and he says "strenuous". "Oh", I say and think ..."well if the weather turns we have snacks and can turn back this bit has not been too bad".

We get really high in the mountains and have views all around. We follow old miners tracks and amazingly find a stream glugging out of its source hole. This proves to be a valuable reference when we turn too early later on the track and need to re-think our route.

It was not a long distance but we had  to go in a circle over a mountain ridge called Mynnydd Sygun so there was still some rocks to negotiate on descent (not climbing just hard walking). I was extremely proud of our 4 year old, who while has been out of a pushchair for a couple of years still finds even flat walks tiring at times. The boulders had given him and his brother a real sense of adventure.

So I could see why the walk was classed as strenuous but my husband coped very well with the backpack, never faltering...until we reached the kissing gate...the kissing gate on descent that no large people or backpack could negotiate. This is his expression as he climbs over the gate having failed to get through it!

After the train yesterday our 4 year old desperately wanted to "wear" a fox glove so here he is near the river walk poking one. We had all watched the said foxglove for 5 minutes to check no bees were hiding in it! LOVING 30 DAYS WILD.

Day 3 of 30 Days Wild - We take the train through mountains then walk to the beach to find a jellyfish (Day 2 was counting sheep)

You may be asking ...well what happened to Day 2? We were "en route" from Gloucester where we had a family room. It was a beautiful journey (by car) to our cottage in Snowdonia 3 miles out from Betws-y-Coed  which we were hiring from the National Trust. It had been a last minute deal saving us a good %15. Although small for three children the views from the cottage were amazing. In fact Sir Edmund Hilary the Everest Conqueror himself had once stayed in that very place!  I asked my oldest what was wild and inspiring about the car journey on Day 2 and he said "Counting Sheep". Yes, all the family were inspired by the sheer amount of sheep that populate Wales. There were a good few more than we meet at home on Speltham.

So, with only a week  and a bit since we found out we were actually going to Snowdonia and over 20 years since my last visit  our research on the region and what we actually intend to do weather-depending has been limited but we do know one thing: all of our kids love travelling by train and we need to do at least some walking or running around after yesterday in the car. With the holiday budget saving of leaving everything last minute we find we can afford to travel on the FFestiniog railway that takes in stunning scenery. There is a lot of finger pointing from the baby and we are stunned by waterfalls, wooded valleys, slate pits, mountains and the rest.

 It is very easy to spot wildlife from the train. We spot Foxgloves in vast swathes, Cottongrass, Buzzards and several sheep again (we can include sheep as wildlife can't we?) The parents decide to just do the one stop at Porthmadog (end of line by harbour) so we have three hours to walk before last train. As we approach the Harbour and the mountains descend to sea and estuary views we spot Mute Swans, Shelduck and Oystercatchers through the window. We have effectively introduced our kids to a huffing, puffing bird hide when they thought it was just a train!

Porthmadog is an exciting place for the children. There are people eating icecreams and children catching crabs off the harbour wall. As we are wild tourists we head into the tourist office to ask the locals whether our plan to head to the beach before the train back is feasible. They have much useful tips such us when high tide is (this can make it difficult to walk between Borth-y-Gest..the nearer, smaller beach and the further Black Rock beach) and the bus you catch if you're out of time to walk home (https://bustimes.org.uk/services/GYCO099 )

Feeling optimistic We walk past marinas towards Borth-y-Gest. There are very few people and it is very pretty. We have time so we take the cliff path a little and reach Black Rock Sands above.

We scramble on rocks to get views still wearing our hiking boots and explore slatey pools. This is when we find a decomposing jellyfish. Although I'm trained as a marine biologist I'm not %100 sure what type it is so we take a specimen photograph. Once home a couple of days later we email a jellyfish expert who answers mummy promptly while the kids are asleep. It is a barrel jellyfish! They can reach enormous sizes and are food for turtles. They can sting to stun plankton but not a really horrendously dangerous sting (just one that gives a rash) The kids did not touch it!

Day 1 of 30 days wild (we couldn't wait so we started 31st May !!)

Common Blue Butterflies Out

So, we get it...it's 30 days of spontaneous random acts of wildness to back the Wildlife Trusts Campaign that starts the 1st June. However, We have a journey up to Gloucester onwards to Snowdonia planned that day and planning isn't too spontaneous with small children travelling. Sooo.. We started a day early and I took the three boys on half term out in the sunshine to a much-cherished local patch: Speltham Down in Hampshire. We counted butterflies, checked out Elder Flowers, climbed and swung on trees and generally had a great time. Even after the natural playground the boys wanted to go to the small playground in the nearby village of Hambledon. This is small, local and there are no public toilets. Mummy is aware of this so we head over to the lovely pub aka "The Vine" where the boys can go to the toilet and Mummy buys a lime soda to drink in the courtyard garden. Happily this post ends on a butterfly note. You only need to pop into this pub to see Holly Blue butterflies dancing above the holly bush in the courtyard at the moment.

Loving our home

Something inspired me to get back to my blog: my six year old son. Last week he told me he'd learnt about the world last week. He couldn't remember which countries though. Today I asked him if he'd learnt about the world. He answered "no mummy ..I've been learning about the deep sea creatures" His face lit up on further questioning "I learnt about the Dumbo Octopus, the blob fish and micros that glow in the dark". So here I am a poor mummy has-been marine biologist who barely has had time to watch Planet Earth or any t.v thanks to baby teething and I'm googling these creatures. To my surprise they really exist they are not just cartoon names. I don't remember learning about them before: I specialised in shorelines. Thank you so much to my son for taking me to the deep sea. I feel so at home now since we returned from Baby Art's first trip across the sea to France. I'm not sure he thought he was ever coming back and to see his little face as he recognised home was wonderful. Here are some photos of mainland  "home" nature. Watching my son's pond dip at Hillier gardens, as excited as me to be shown a newt. Baby Art having a walk in backpack at Bracklesham Bay the weekend before Easter. The Best thing we explored nearest our home: an ancient yew tree near Boarhunt Church where people have sheltered over a thousand years. Home.

Sweetpeas and Seaside

Baby boy still has deep blue eyes, denim-matching, heart-breaking, sea-gazing blue eyes. We have had an amazing start to our first ever school summer holiday with all three boys. When the weather is warmer than 30 degrees I always miss living on the Isle of Wight, really near a beach but I have now adjusted to the places we can drive to from our home here if the weather is hot. We have visited Stoke's Bay in Gosport recently, eaten chips and played at Lee-On-Solent and picnicked in 100 acre wood. I am actually quite impressed that the baby has settled so easily that I've actually managed to grow a few things in our back garden (while lifting a heavy bag a day from the front). Sweetpeas have been good this year although a few were slug-attacked in the early days. Here are some:

Sweetpea Aurora Borealis

Sweetpea Spanish Dancer

Sweetpea Air Warden

So I'm typing now while baby A. naps. and will post more garden developments later. One of our best seaside outings was on a rainy day a couple of weeks ago...that turned into a sunny day. We visited Bournemouth aquarium followed by the beach. I took a few photographs and experimented with a polarizing filter on my camera.

Three boys for thirty days wild...and one is very new!

We have started the 30 days wild challenge. A challenge indeed with a newborn baby! Today is day 6 and we went to Woodend stream at hundred acre wood to play stone throwing to cool down on a sweltering day. That was, myself and all three boys aged under 5!

Bringing the Outside In....

So, a lot of my blog has been about the outdoors..the environments I've lived in. But now, 36 weeks pregnant I have the urge to home-make and organise. Here are two photos morning and evening of part of our kitchen where I have been thinking out the interior with my husband. Note the beautiful mother's day card and flowers...thanks boys. Our kitchen was looking big and bare and tiled before the arrival of our new dresser which has made us feel like we have a new room at a fraction of the cost! The bulbs on the left of the dresser are from valentine's day so I will need to find them new homes in the garden soon. The pine table is simply covered with wipeable cloth and my pine chairs were painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint in "Provence" colour. They have also been sanded and waxed by myself. This is thanks to J'adore La Maison shop in Wickham who presented me with a £20 voucher after I won a raffle at the Taste of Wickham festival over a year ago. So, while I'm not doing the heavy gardening and big travel/exploration I favour in life at the moment I am enjoying playing "Country Living" with our new (ish) home (ok. we've been here nearly a year and a half now but things take time and money!) and bringing the beautiful outside of spring indoors. There are Nelson Sweetpeas and Dianthus sprouting in my propagator above the washing machine and a guest room now finished with the staircase painted in varying shades of green gloss. Will add more photos soon...depending on how the rest of my organising goes of course!

Family Additions!

Welcome back to my long-neglected blog. This is a photograph of a family of ladybirds that had starting hibernating in the corner of my ensuite bathroom window! I had to relocate them with Isaac's help to a snug corner of my potting shed. This was harder than first thought as they warmed up and starting flying away before we could put them in a container for transport. Isaac, being only 2 found this really interesting. So, for those on my social networks that do not yet know I am expecting baby no. 3 and am 23 weeks pregnant. If you would like to be one of the first to know if I'm having a boy or a girl then you will have to send me a sensible (!) comment about my blog to this post (not facebook!). I will preview all comments. You might need to register with blogger first...I don't know. It can't be that hard surely? x

Day 5 #30DaysWild

It is not too hard around here to do a #30DaysWild challenge with two small boys. Even by a car park they can find a tree for entertainment without even needing to go to a playground. This Sweet Chestnut tree seems to have been managed or coppiced providing a perfect game zone. This is Jamie in the centre.

Ducklings and Cygnets in the rain

About a month ago we had a fantastic rainy day starting off with toddlers at The Meon hall in Meonstoke. Caught up with a couple of friends we met 2 years ago through Liz who lives there. We'd missed the snack but had time to play and make caterpillars out of egg boxes. A lady we met called Sian helped us to hatch a plan to duck watch in the rain. Have you heard of the North Pond at Bishop's Waltham? Sometimes it is dry but at the moment it is full of water and there are ducklings. Best of all, unlike Petersfield Heath Pond there is a railed footbridge making it less likely kids will go straight in the water or be pecked by Canada Geese. With a little bit of sat-naving we parked near the town centre and walked round to the pond with some food. Not only ducklings but also cootlings and cygnets. The boys were over the moon!

Today is day 2 of

This is a challenge set by the Wildlife Trusts to get us all into nature. Although I'm a naturalist there is nothing better than a blog challenge to explore new areas or think up new activities. Yesterday I made lemon balm tea as my wild activity. Today I hope to look at worms in our wormery with Isaac as it is blowing a hooly and raining outside.

May bank holiday

We have had a wonderful, quiet weekend getting our veg. beds underway. Samuel has been busy with a rotavator. One afternoon last week I let the boys help me plant Charlotte and Annabelle potatoes and Ambassador peas. Amazingly they are good at using their little tools without managing to hit each other at the moment. The weather has not been amazing but today we managed to cycle to West Walk play area from our house. Isaac was on Samuel's bike seat and Jamie was on his balance bike as we took a footpath/dirt track rather than the main road. We visited a charity garden show at Durley yesterday and bought some plants and plant supports including Heuchera's that I'm looking forward to planting out as soon as I can. We had a very windy walk at Hill Head on Saturday and have just been pottering about at home, cooking from scratch and enjoying our new cat Cuddles.