Author Archives: johnanddavid

Secret Meadow John Solomon 29th May 2020 A field. Not a large field but, then again, not a truly small one. Roughly square and perhaps four hundred yards along each of its sides. Orientated just a little clockwise from North to South. A third of the way up from its Southern edge a line ofContinue reading “Secret Meadow”

A Common Blue butterfly David Beeson May 26th … still in isolation from Covid-19. We are familiar with male elephants or giant North-American buffalo fighting to hold prime mating territory. Birds are singing to proclaim both fitness and territory – all to lure the female of the species into their lair. Or is it theContinue reading “Ladies, you probably will not believe me, but being a male can be hard work.”

25th May 2020 David Beeson I do know what buzzards and red kites look like. They are around our garden all the time, so when I spot a huge bird I take a bit more notice. And, it was huge, buzzard-like wings and a stubby tail that flashed white. The bird was soaring when spottedContinue reading “Was that a Sea Eagle?”

Wayside and Woodland Flora David Beeson 5th May, 2020. Sunshine and showers are designed to make plants grow. Add a touch of nutrients (Nitrates, phosphates and potassium salts – NPK) and a well-structured soil and they romp away. However, local soils are not the best and only the worst are bad enough to be leftContinue reading “The Edge of the A303”

Youtube videos produced by Graeme Davis

John Solomon Harewood Forest, 2 May 2020. A butterfly exploration. I make no apologies for this probably being the shortest blog I’ll ever post. Ileft the house around three o’clock with one target species in mind, driving uppast Walworth Industrial Estate and taking the B3400 towards Whitchurch.Here, driving past the Arbory rest home on theContinue reading “Of Dukes and Men”

David Beeson May 2nd 2020 With a traditional garden you see mostly what you expect. With a wildlife (eco-friendly) garden you always have surprises. Sometimes they are beautiful and have one jumping for joy. Today was another one of those. Being May, the traditional aspects of Forest Edge’s garden look lovely. The trees and shrubsContinue reading “Today in the Garden”

John Solomon Longparish – 29 April It’s been raining all morning but as the afternoon appears the precipitation fades away and I begin to think about escaping somewhere more interesting. There is no sunshine but the temperature is well into the mid-teens and there will be creatures about. I set off for Longparish and theContinue reading “29th March, Longparish”

The Wildlife Garden in Early April, 2020. David Beeson While the UK ‘lock down’ for coronavirus (Covid-19) continues the natural world carries on as usual. Yet, the year has felt wetter and windier than normal – but, that is what is predicted by Global Warming. Now, as April develop, the weather has changed and weContinue reading “The Wildlife Garden in Early April”

Conifers David Beeson Conifers are a magnificent group of gymnosperm plants that produce seeds without the need of fruit or flowers. They include some incredible trees such as the Giant Sequoias of North America that can grow over 110 m tall. Conifers do not have flowers that a child would recognise. Instead they bear maleContinue reading “Scots Pine”

Rooksbury’s Dinosaurs David Beeson Best time to visit is late spring or summer. If you enter the Rooksbury Local Nature Reserve from the old Test Valley railway line and soon turn right you will spy a miniature forest of horsetails on your right. They grow up to 60cm in height. Their relatives were around withContinue reading “Dino-botany in Andover”

Moss in the Grass David Beeson And ‘Welcome’ to all you Chinese. There are as many people reading articles from there as the UK! It’s TRUE! 欢迎 Huānyíng So, how do you gardeners rid your lawn of moss? Well, you’ll have to read on to find out! When life started to emerge from the wateryContinue reading “Hello China! Moss.”

Surely you wood know David Beeson Sitting under a walnut or apple tree when the fruit is ripe is hazardous. A chunky apple or a dozen woody nuts may aim for your head. Ouch! A half-kilogram apple would certainly hurt me. Yet, the tree holds dozens of them aloft … and all the branches, leaves,Continue reading “You Cannot See the Wood for the Trees”

Understanding out local botany David Beeson As we all wander the local terrain plants come to our notice. Some people record these and dump their data onto spreadsheets. I do the same with mammal sightings. Only when this information is amassed onto a map do those sightings have real meaning. Then one can see howContinue reading “Botany and Geology”

Primula Wars David Beeson Primroses are as much part of spring as bumblebees and the first butterflies. A wander through Harewood, or any similar habitat, will delight your senses. The primrose yellow (What other colour could I call it?) of their blossoms enliven the green of the fast-growing ground vegetation. Nearby you’ll spot blue andContinue reading “War!”

Life at ground level David Beeson We often ignore our lawn biologically. Some humans, normally males, obsessively cut and de-weed their lawn and a few, poor creatures, spend time putting stripes in it. Others are idle and leave the green space to grow tall until a towel is thrown down so the occupant can sleepContinue reading “Lawns”

March 25th 2020 David Beeson The Coronavirus Pandemic continues however the wet and windy winter has changed totally. Today I awoke to a demure, clear, blue sky with an absence of vapour trails. Here, we appear to be on a major flightpath to the south and also for intercontinental east-west traffic … but not now.Continue reading “March 25th 2020”

Beavers and Knepp David Beeson If you haven’t heard of the Knepp Estate you have a positive time ahead. What they have achieved is a breath of fresh air. It is in West Sussex and is a re-wilding project. The owners have finished with conventional farming (on admittedly difficult soils) and are reverting the estateContinue reading “Good News”

Mammal mapper David Beeson When I’m out and about I record the mammals that occur in the area. Now, mammals are notoriously difficult to see. Plants are everywhere, butterflies sometimes in their hundreds and aphids coat the garden’s roses … but mammals hide away. But, if we all keep our eyes open you’ll be surprisedContinue reading “Mammal Mapping and Badgers”