It may be cute but...

A few years back there was a popular video
of a pet slow loris circulating on social media.
They do not make good pets.

On a cat lovers' group on Facebook someone had posted a 'cute' video of a small marmoset dressed up, and it got lots of likes and the comment 'Wish I had one'.

This is SOOOO WRONG! Whether the animal itself was captive bred or not, images like these encourage people to think owning wildlife means they will have a 'cute' pet - no consideration for the damage to the species, the illegal trade (serious crime involved in wildlife trade from primates to orchids), and the damage to the environment they live in.

Don't think this is a big problem? Check this out - Tech companies take down 3 million online listings for trafficked wildlife. Yes, 3 million, and as well as each one of those posts, there are thousands of other wildlife traded in posts that are 'disguised' on social media (eg ivory sold as white plastic). I won't even start on the wildlife markets, but they are almost certainly to thank for Corona Virus jumping to humans.

Please - if you see a cute picture of a wild animal kept as a pet, do not hit like or share, but report it to the admins of the site/group and point out the danger of encouraging people to want wild animals as pets.

(Oh, and in case you think this is just a problem in Asia, if you go on holiday and bring back a shell, or an item made of a rare wood, you may well be committing a crime too!)

Further information:

• TRAFFIC - the charity tackling international trade in wildlife
• WWF - who partner closely with TRAFFIC to stop illegal wildlife trade
  
• IFAW/Responsible Travel - and the danger of wildlife holiday souvenirs

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• Being in Malaysia
• An overheard conversation
• A night on the Brecks

Photo credit: TRAFFIC.org

Lil' Boomer

Back in July, during lockdown,  Sheena's business premeses were left unattended for some time and became a bit overgrown. Waggytails Dog Training Centre is in the hamlet of Weston, and is adjacent to farmland. The car park is next to a huge maize field, and the astroturf and grass areas are separated from the car park by a hedge made of dead lelandii and other miscellaneous growth such as elder and nettles. Further in, behind the grass and next to the astroturf, is a large sandy area full of weeds. If you are a partridge, this is lovely foraging ground. The astroturf was full of little mossy weeds too and the grass was so long you'd lose your dog in it.

We worked hard mowing, clearing, cutting, brushing, sweeping, painting ... all those things that were needed for when the Centre could open again. The hall was tidied, social distancing for dog training implemented and barriers bought and the whole place given a deep clean (and a new kitchen).

One afternoon we were sitting having a rest in the astroturf area, in the shade near the hedge. Peep peep. We looked down to see a baby partridge pottering about. I put him back in the hedge where, hopefully, his mother was hiding. A few minutes later, peep peep. He was back. I put him back in the hedge the other side, deep in the undergrowth behind one of the outbuildings. I went back to painting.

Peep peep. He came back. No sign of mother. Peep peep. He was looking a bit tired. I picked him up, warmed him, and put him back in the hedge. Didn't see him for a bit until - peep peep. He was sitting on my foot.

By the end of the day it was clear mother had scarpered and this little chap was our responsibility. I took him into the sandy area and helped him find some tasty bugs (tapping the ground with my finger, he followed and snapped up the little protein packets). 

That evening we took him home and put him in a box - after learning that he mustn't get wet (which he did after diving into his water bowl) and having to warm him up in my hands, we left him overnight fully expecting him to have passed away. 

The following morning I went to check. Peep peeeeep. He was still with us, just, so I fed him some water on my fingertip and took him back to Waggytails. He was soon pottering about the sandy area, gobbling up the bugs and - in a humungous effort for such a little chap - ate a whole caterpillar! This was perfect timing, his stomach would be full as I popped him back into his box and took him to a rehoming expert.

Last we heard he was gobbling up waxworms and mealworms and snuggling under the breast of a broody hen. I hope he/she made it. A little fighter who had a tough start.

PS we called him 'Boomer' - because he kept coming back like a little boomerang.

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Field day

Suffolk lullaby

Pond life

Photos (C) Sheena Stebbing

How life changes

These will be cheeseboards

Apart from the things I have learned because of Sheena's cancer (see 'new skills'), I thought it might be an idea to add some of the other things I've learned/experienced over the past 18 months.  Why share this? Because I think it demonstrates that you are never too old to learn, and it's never too late to end up doing things you always thought you might enjoy, but haven't had the opportunity (or even bravery) to try.

1. Using a chain saw

Using a chain saw is a dangerous thing!  Well of course, but crossing the road and drinking vodka are dangerous things too, so it's a matter of perspective.  Like any power tool, knowing how to use it, using it properly and taking the right safety precautions are sensible steps.  Over-confidence is the danger zone!  I mostly use a small electric chain saw for cutting logs.  It's not too heavy, not too powerful, but it chops up logs and pallets quickly and with so much less effort.

2. Using an axe and a log splitter

Table decoration to be

I may have weilded an axe in the past, but not with such purpose before. Those logs needed chopping and splitting - our log burner is hungry in the winter and it's darn cold in the woods sometimes.  The axe is great for some woods, but for the stubborn ones the log splitter - a sort of hammer-shaped axe, is king. Whack! And (if you hit it right) the log cleaves in two.  It depends on the wood of course, but sycamore is like butter - so easy to split. It will need plenty of time to season though before we can burn it.

3. Using power sanders

OK, a basic DIY tool, but I never used one before. Now I've sanded about 200 ends of wood for my
daughter's wedding table decorations, and used the bench sander (oh, what a lovely machine!) too.  Making the cheeseboards out of large sycamore slices that had been chopped with the chainsaw is the hardest though - takes three lots of sanding (and next stage is applying the mineral oil) to get the right finish.

 Axle trying out the unfinished log store

4. A passion for pallets

I've discovered how much fun pallets can be - not only for providing some great kindling (using chain saw, then small machete), but also making things. So I can now build wood stores - made two so far.  Next project is a cover for the other wood stores we already have. Yes, we use a lot of wood.

5. Living in the woods

Of course this has been an absolute delight, with woodpeckers, marsh tits and siskin gracing our bird feeder along with the usual suspects. Oh, and some very destructive squirrels too.  Living in a house in the woods is just amazing, even when it rains or snows. The ever changing colours, sounds and smells mean every day is different.

6. Being a grandma

Chizel

Well this deserves more than one post, and more than just a mention, but any grandparent out there will know exactly why this was one of the most fantastic things that happened recently. Being a grandma required no effort or bravery from me, admittedly, but I am sure it will be keeping me busy over the coming years.

7. Mowing the lawn

A ride-on tractor mower, which is amazing fun.  The lawn is large, and I have to check it for doggy 'land mines' before mowing, or ...

8. Dog agility

I'm terrible at it, and I confuse the poor dog who is a veteran of agility displays, but I do enjoy it when I get the chance to run him.  Next year I will be commentating at shows, that's going to be fun
too.

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A typical English village
Georgia on my mind

Photos (C) Carolyn Sheppard

Adelong morning

It’s cold in the mornings. Rain clouds the skies and floods the roads. Sometimes the frost prickles the grass by the roadside. It’s a world away from waking in Adelong, where the musical, haunting song of the magpie heralds a blue sky day. 

The scale of distance in Australia seems different. To get a long view here, you have to go high. In Adelong, just look out the back door.  Rolling scenery draws the eye onwards, into a vanishing point that diminishes with the curve of the earth.

The clatter of timber trucks rolling by – full one way, empty the other – echoes against the tin roofs of the last houses in the town.  Crimson rosellas, loud and raucous, shoot past at speed.  Galahs, the rowdy boys in pink and grey, gather in the field and browse – feathered and feisty. The dogs bark,

Galahs

attention seeking. 

The air is warm, spring promise a comfortable temperature as the day grows and the light, clear and bright, contrasts the grey of the trees against the verdant green and almost blistering blue of the sky. A few clouds, white and distinguished, sometimes graced the scene, promising some relief, yet reluctant to do so.

The magpie warbles, the galahs chatter, the rosellas squawk and the European goldfinch – familiar and yet strangely out of place – sings his syrupy song from the telephone wire.  The air is clean, the day bringing promise of exploration.  A wood fire burns, to chase away the last of winter’s chill from the stone floors and walls. 

And now at home, the fire burns constantly, for winter has come crashing in after a false start; warm October missed as I spent weeks at the other side of the world. Now it is cold, dark, wet, and the world closed in on itself both by proximity and the need to pull close, keep warm, and shut out the weather and each other.

Photos (C) Carolyn Sheppard

Links:

Adelong

Crimson rosella

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A lovely day out
Yarrongabilly

When it snows

In the UK snow is a novelty. Sometimes it's a disaster, sometimes it's a welcome diversion. Today it snowed and, being a Sunday, most people seemed very happy to enjoy the opportunity to not do what may have been planned, but to wrap up warm and go outside.

Walking from where I live towards the heath there is a small hill approaching the station. It was slippy and several of us stopped to help push cars up the slope. It wasn't the best day to drive really, but it was quite fun pushing the Porsche (although I did get spattered in grey snowy sludge as it's wheels spun).

There was an air of pleasantry - people tugging kids on sleds, dogs eagerly trotting in smart coats, adults in hats and gloves and generally most people were smiling and willing to say good morning and look you in the eye, conspiratorial in the joy of snow.

When I reached the heath there were lots of people sledging and just having good old fashioned fun. Snowball fights, large mounds of snow being rolled in anticipation of snowmen, and dogs excitedly rushing around, chasing irretrievable snow balls. 

The sound on the heath was beautiful - the shouts and calls of happiness: people having fun in the open air,  and the echoes of voices bouncing off the low cloud whilst it continued to snow.  In the woods the sound was muffled, with the occasional 'swoosh' of snow falling from branches (and catching me unawares sometimes as if snowballed by the trees); the call of a wren, a robin, and some great tits dancing above me backgrounded by the distant calls of humanity.

I felt so peaceful being on the heath, walking through the woods in the snow.  I have many happy memories of being on the heath with my children - sledging and building snowmen - and I cherish this wonderful place that is fabulous for people and wildlife both winter and summer.

More photos here: Flickr All pictures (C) me.

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Two walks
A walk on the wild side
A night on the Brecks

No queue at Kew

A few weeks ago, one typical British summer day (wet and warm), my friend and I spent the day at Kew Gardens. My last visit there was around 1969 or 1970. I remember going on a school trip from Queenswell School in Barnet, with our teacher Mr Smith asking for “22 tuppences please” from the Conductor.  Though we had to queue to get in back then, thanks to my friend booking in advance, we didn't have to in 2016.

The Hive

We enjoyed wandering round the garden and saw the Hive, an impressive art installation mimicking nature in design, and powered by the energy of the bees. The Great Palm House is exactly as I remember it, and the borders full of flowers beautiful and fragrant.  I remember very clearly bringing home a postcard of a Bottlebrush flower for my mother, and her delight as it was a flower she'd known as a child in South Africa.

I didn't see any flowering bottle brush this time, but I was particularly happy to see the ‘Heritage Trees’ – those mighty personalities that have stood witness to hundreds of years of history.  I enjoyed ‘meeting’ the Weeping Beech and Turner’s Oak.  Going into Palm house, I looked at a lot of the plants with an different eye, because thanks to the last two years of my job, I have a greater understanding of their importance as medicines.

Plants provide so much medicine for humanity – both in their natural state and as the basis for pharmacological medicines too.  I’ve learned a lot about how wild plants provide a natural pharmacopeia for millions of people who have no access to modern medicine, and how many rely on wild plant harvesting for their livelihoods as well. 

Here’s a few that I saw at Kew, with a little bit about some of their amazing properties:

The barrel cactus is used generally as a food and a medicine.
I first saw them this size in Arizona at the beautiful
Desert Botanic Garden.  (I learned a lot about cacti in Arizona!)

Magnolia - the bark and the centre of the flowers are used
extensively for cough and other medicines.
It's well used in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The beautiful, tall and elegant Corsican pine is
used to make turpentine – all resin from pine trees is
antiseptic (hence it’s a typical ‘flavour’ in household cleaners). 
It’s also used to treat kidney and bladder complaints
as well as being useful for skin treatments.

Ayurveda, the traditional Hindu system of medicine,
uses lots of exotic and unusual wild plants.
It also uses black pepper.  The heating properties of
black pepper help digestion and is also a stimulant.
It tastes good too!

Beehive Ginger – what a descriptive name!
The major compound found in this unusual plant has
been found to be an effective cell growth
inhibitor in specific colon carcinoma cells.  

The plane tree – one you will see commonly in
London as (by shedding its bark) it can survive the polluted air! 
Its leaves can be used for sore eyes or made into a
cream for healing wounds.  It’s also handy for
treating dysentery and diarrhoea.

Liked this? Try these:

An overheard conversation
A day at the Botanic Garden 
Plants - a prickly issue for conservation
Kew Gardens
Botanic Gardens Conservation International
TRAFFIC Medicinal and Aromatic plants trade
Wiki - medicinal plants 
Herbcyclopedia
Article in the Guardian on illegal sales of wild plants
 

All photos (C) Carolyn Sheppard