30 Days Wild - Free the Human

It's just a few days since I finished my 3 days wild. I've seen so many surprising and lovely things, from Bee Orchids on waste ground in Birmingham to the creatures that visit our Uckfield garden.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't reflect on and analyse my 30 days wild. So here is a wordle based on my #30DaysWild tweets.


As you can see, I've been observing nature in my home town of Uckfield (in Sussex) and my current place of work, near Birmingham. Although the weekly commute is a chore, it's given me a chance to be wild in both the city and the countryside. Given the challenge to find wildlife every day motivated me to really look at places near the office and hotels giving me some unforgettable encounters.

Young house martins at the Arden Hotel

I notice that two words I used a lot were love and enjoy. I had an absolute ball trying to find nature every day. It gave me the impetus to explore new places. It also gave me a reason to really look at familiar friends like my favourite bee.

Patchwork leaf cutter bee in my Uckfield garden.

All this searching for wildlife is a pleasant way of taking exercise. Tiny interludes, like a teleconference taken outside or visiting a pond next to the office, can make the working day less stressful and more fun. At work, we recently received an email suggesting we spend a few minutes outside in the sun each day to top up vitamin D levels. Who am I to argue?


Topping up vitamin D as per my employer's instructions.

I've been exploring outside wherever I find myself - not just waiting for holidays. In Birmingham, I discovered a huge park just opposite one of the hotels I use. Closer to home, I visited Chailey Common properly for the first time. I hope to be exploring both places much more in the future.

Ellie-May and Hamish bracken rolling at Chailey Common.

Some of my wildlife encounters came about because others were generous with their knowledge. When a fellow commuter at Uckfield station realised I was interested in the local wildlife, he told me where to look for a pair of grey wagtails. In turn I showed some of my colleagues where to find orchids in a surprising place.




Bee orchids at Trinity Park business park, near NEC Birmingham.



I just have to do it - 30 days wild in numbers:

• 76 Tweets
• 12 blog posts
• about 100 photos shared out of a thousand taken
• 3 drawings.

Drawing of Tern in front of an NEC hotel.

I've learnt so much from 30 days wild. Obviously, I've learnt about the wildlife around me but there is much more. Just one example - getting the photos that told the stories I wanted to share, really pushed my photographic skills.

I've even found that I am using my senses more.  I like to observe things but my observations have tended to be visual. Over the 30 Days, I've been listening much more to the twitter of house martins arriving at their nests, buzzing bees and swishing grasses. I've enjoyed feeling the wind and rain on my face, tasting the sweetness of strawberries eaten straight from the garden, touching rough barked trees and soft fur.

Taking a few minutes out of the working day to get wildlife photos.

So will I continue my wild life? Of course I will.

30 Days Wild - Day 21 - Working Horses at Chailey Common

Day 21 gave me a chance to see some old friends. Monty, Ellie-May and Hamish are three Ardennes horses that I have previously seen logging in Wilderness Wood. They belong to the Working Horse Trust and can be seen doing various types of work around the area. This weekend they were bracken rolling at Chailey Common.  The Uckfield FM article, Working horses join the fight against invasive bracken, explains this conservation work.

Saturday, 21st June

I parked on the road just below Chailey Memorial Common and enjoyed seeing the wild flowers along this peaceful stretch of road.

Foxglove by huge oak trunk.

 Swinging off the road, I encountered a dampish patch full of lush ferns and red campion and caught a glimpse of a female blackcap.

Ferns and red campion.

I followed a little path through some woodland and up a slope covered in bracken and heather. I was just beginning to wonder where the horses were, when I saw them. The people from the Trust were putting their harnesses on, ready for work.

Monty - nearly ready.

I enjoyed watching the whole patient process sheltered from the wind by a sturdy oak. While I waited, I could hear a family of blue-tits calling to each other from within its welcoming branches.

Monty (Nearest) and Ellie May - Chailey Heritage in the background.

Monty and Ellie May (Nearest) rolling bracken.

The teams walked up and down, pulling the rollers that crush the bracken stems and weaken its growth. The drivers exert amazing control over these powerful creatures using just a few words and gentle touches on the reins. I was briefly distracted when I heard a shrill cry overhead and saw three buzzards overhead.

Hamish with the other team in the background.

Hamish up to his knees in bracken.

I managed to get a bit lost on the way back to the car but fortunately the Working Horse Trust people are as patient with daft, stray humans as they are with their horses and they got me back on course.

Summer bus trip

We’re all going on a summer holiday …

Thank you to Leilani Mitchell of the Link Centre for saying "let's bring a holiday feel into our working week this week shall we? How will you do it ?" So far things I've done have included:

• remembering to look over the top of my laptop to see the flowers and birds in the garden
• strolling rather than scurrying to get the paper.

Just very simple things that don't cut into work time but bring a holiday moment into the working day. On Wednesday this was tested a bit. Not only did I have to do my commute to Leatherhead but the trains were cancelled. Eventually, a bus turned up and whisked us off to Haywards Heath.

Rather than getting annoyed at the detours and delays I thought I would enjoy the impromptu summer bus trip. After all, sitting high up in the coach, I was able to see so much more than I usually do when driving.

 

First - a flash of blue seen from the Uckfield by-pass.  A jay had flown across the road. There are plenty of flowers to see here. Ox-eye daisies, buttercups and, best of all, the unexpected treat of blue meadow cranesbill - I think that's what it was, we were going a bit too fast to see it properly.  As we swept on towards Haywards Heath I was able to see over hedges into fields with contented black and white cows and sheep. Near Chailey Heritage, I spotted the Exmoor ponies that graze the common, keeping the vegetation under control.

Wild orchid amongst flowers and grasses like the ones I saw from the bus.

Some fields are ungrazed and rich with white and yellow flowers stud the ripening, hazy purple-gold of the grass. Just before we entered Haywards Heath I was thrilled to see a field full of wild orchids.

Now that was better than getting steamed up about the delay, wasn’t it?