I looked out of the kitchen windows and saw a wonderful sight. Two young Chaffinches clinging to the rusty orange fading Garlic Mustard plants that are no more than 6 feet from where I stood. It had been raining for several days so nature came to me without the need for my rain gear. They were swaying back and forth feeding on the long seed pods. I watched them fly over to the small pear tree, hop to the ground for a peck about and then make a quick departure. I was so pleased that I hadn’t had a desire to cut down the tired looking plants already. It makes me want to try the seeds myself. I have had the pleasure of noticing a few homestead successes over the past couple of days, despite quite a wet week. When visiting the chickens, I figured it might be time to have a look at the wild parsnips again to check for red soldier beetles. Goodness me, the three clumps now exceed my height and were absolutely teeming with beetle activity. Red critters galore! Once my eyes tuned into them, I started seeing them all over. I noticed a couple in the vegetable garden as well which is a great sign. What I don’t know, however, is if their proliferation is definitely down to the wild parsnips being allowed to stay or if it’s something else. Whatever the reason, I’m glad to see them and do not have much green or black fly to worry about. On that note, I don’t know if it’s just luck or what but I have seen several seven spot ladybirds and no harlequins. I had so many harlequin larvae on the nettles recently I thought they would easily dominate over any others. This delightful report may change if there is some sort of mass hatching of a new battalion of harlequins, of course. Another lovely discovery came in the form of tiny clusters and single perfectly placed butterfly eggs on my salad leaves. There were three different egg colours and types on the leaves and another light green cluster on the underside of a nearby marigold leaf. I called for the children to come share my excitement and they were thrilled. Just this week we drew and talked about the life cycle of butterflies and they were fascinated. A few days before, they had found a huge mullein moth caterpillar on a buddleia bush that sparked their interest. They also loved and were slightly scared of the peacock butterfly caterpillars we had on the nettles. To find butterfly eggs was the icing on the cake. Needless to say, we won’t be eating the salad until we can share it with the caterpillars. This afternoon saw the end of the latest rainy spell and we were treated to a blazing sunset to end the day. I plan to harvest more chamomile flowers in the morning, once the dew has lifted from this wild land. A long awaited sunny day is likely to reveal a few more unexpected pleasures. Our eyes will be open.
Tag: wildparsnip
Nettle Islands
They sting me through my gloves almost daily but they are welcomed. In the top meadow, we have allowed rafts of nettles to thrive in abundance for nature to show us what they can do. It is still easily possible to access every area of the land we want to and navigate around the nettles via a series of paths we manage. I deliberately wanted a patch of nettles next to the vegetable garden to attract bees and their friends but didn’t know what kind of insects would appear there. To our amazement, the patch that runs along one side of the chicken’s enclosure is now home to hundreds of Peacock Butterfly caterpillars. The children and I discovered them yesterday and also saw Harlequin Ladybird larvae there too. Both looked ready for battle with menacing spikes all over and in great numbers. Much like their host plants! I admit I am excited about the butterflies and not so much about the non-native ladybirds. I understand they are out-competing our native species. Today I noticed the Dunnock who have been brooding chicks in the neighbouring bush were flying over to help themselves to a few. I think they were going for the caterpillars, unfortunately. Something very exciting appeared when I turned over a seed tray the wind had blown over in the vegetable garden yesterday. A Slow worm, a coppery coloured shiny creature was hiding under there. A very welcomed guest and a sign of healthy land. This was a wonderful discovery and I was so pleased to see that nature has provided a slug and snail predator for the garden. They are actually lizards but when you see one they look very snake like. It has been humid lately which is probably what brought it out. I found it next to the nettle patch I mentioned earlier so maybe it likes them too. I have also left islands of long grasses and large areas of meadow with so many wonderful plants for beasties of all shapes and sizes to enjoy. There are even wild parsnip plants in there, only three so they aren’t harming anyone. When I identified them I thought it best to let them be due to their ability to cause phytophotodermatitis (what a word!). This plant, “Pastinaca Sativa”, can cause severe burns if you break it, come in contact with the sap and happen to be standing in bright sunlight. Even brushing against it is not advisable. On a happier note, the yellow flowers are attracting insects now and I’m hoping to see red soldier beetles taking up residence on them soon. They’re another ally in the garden but not for slugs, snails and aphids! Gardening with nature is allowing us to get an insight into the intricacy of the delicate balance that exists out there. The micro level sustains the macro. Wildlife needs the nettles and wild parsnip to survive and we need wildlife to help provide us with food as well. By avoiding too much unnecessary chopping and managing the land organically, we can hopefully encourage these silent helpers to flourish. My anticipation is growing for the next little peek into this beautiful web of life. Hopefully without any encounters with any more six-foot-tall, skin melting plants. The nettle islands can stay!
This Wild Homestead 