My last blog post seems to have struck a chord with a number of people so I thought maybe I should post some weekly highlights of my daily attempts to notice nature more.  Some days this week were easy, like the amble round the Botanic gardens on Thursday with my like-minded friend Heather, when the sun suddenly appeared after we’d had lunch.  That was a multisensory feast, with sunshine pouring through fresh green bamboo leaves, swathes of snowdrops on sunny banks, birds singing their hearts out and the scent of early flowering shrubs in the winter garden. These early flowering shrubs are not just a delight for us but an important source of nectar and pollen for the earliest emerging insects.

Other days were harder, like Monday when Storm Isha scuppered a much-anticipated lichen hunting adventure with Sue.  I talked myself into walking up to and around Crowtrees LNR at lunchtime instead, despite the overcast and windy weather – it’s too long since I’ve been into the reserve rather than simply running round the outside.  I marvelled at the mud produced by the Exmoor ponies currently grazing the reserve, knowing full well that when they leave the vegetation will have benefitted from their trampling as well as the addition of quite a lot of organic fertiliser!  The bulrushes are shedding their fluffy seeds everywhere around the ponds too.

Other days I was busy at work so relied on what I spotted on my bike ride in, or on the walk up ‘Cardiac Hill’ to the department.  The antics of the grey squirrels always bring a smile, even if they are a non-native species (see below for my reading this week) and seeing the first Bluebell leaves poking up through last year’s leaf litter fills me with happy anticipation of the carpet of blue to come.

And then there was an early morning ride along the river to the boat club with a breathtaking sunrise and charms of goldfinches enjoying the last of the thistle seeds by the path on the way home. So much to see and enjoy even in a gloomy January morning!

I’ve just finished reading The Next Great Migration by Sonia Shah, a book which traces how species have migrated over the globe since their earliest origins and argues convincingly against the idea of plants and animals, including humans, ever having had fixed locations.  It strikes a welcome note of balance in this time of rigid border enforcement and hysteria about migrating people but also asks interesting questions about how much we should be concerned about ‘invasive’ species of plants and animals.

In the garden the Japanese quince is bursting into bloom and more and more snowdrops are appearing. When the first few emerge I always think lots must have died over winter, only to be amazed by the swathes which eventually cover much of the garden.

We ate delicious lamb stews (Ghormeh Sabzi and Bademjoon) at Persia, in Newcastle, before a Lankum gig at the Boilershop.   I’m a vegetarian 99% of the time, for reasons of environmental impact and sustainability, but just now and again I can’t resist a little meat when it’s part of such a delicious cuisine….