http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/natureblog.html Wildlife and conservation news from our Devon Farm and SSSI Nature Reserve http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloggoldfinch12.html Untidyness by the office window has benefited the goldfinches. They are busy stripping the seeds from dead teasel heads. This picture was snapped through the fairly grimy glass, and I'm surprised it came out as well as it has. They are such beautiful little birds, cheering up winter days... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogfrogspawn12.html There's frogspawn in 2 of our ponds. I hope it doesn't turn seriously cold now. I've already seen the first primrose flowering in the hedge banks of our local lanes. That's months too early really. Overall so far it has been a mild winter. But today there was a dusting of snow. In previous years the kids have been off school because of bad weather even in February, so there's no knowing yet... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogscrubbash12.html Our hard working WWOOF volunteers have been helping us clear scrub on Popehouse Moor. This is part of our Higher Level Stewardship management to reclaim some of the culm grassland lost to encroaching brambles and willow. It's hard going, with boot grabbing mud, but you warm up once the fire is going... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blognuthatch11.html Yesterday was one of those glorious autumn days with orange on blue. I wanted to go down to the nature reserve with my camera, but there's so much to be done closer to the house. So I took the rake and swept leaves on the lodge path. I took the camera too, and was rewarded with the tap tap of a nuthatch hammering a nut in an oak just outside nuthatch lodge... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogcowsgohome11.html The butterfly display on the fallen apples has been amazing in the last couple of weeks. Clouds of red admirals dancing up every time you approach. Here's a video of the butterflies disturbed by one of our chickens - and another of the cows going home as autumn arrives for real... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogflyagaric.html I guess it's September proper when bunches of toadstools start popping up on your lawn. These fly agaric are just by the house and pretty much sprang up over night. And maybe I've found out why they're called fly agaric. When I knelt down to take the photograph a cloud of tiny flies came out from under the cap... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogsummerflowers11b.html This year with lighter grazing the cows have left more of the flowers on Popehouse Moor! Usually we keep them out of part of the grass to leave some of the later flowers. But this year, with just 4 young animals grazing both Popehouse Moor and Lower Newland Moor it has been easier on the flowers. I'm not sure we've got it entirely right yet though. Rushes are thriving and although the purple moor grass clumps have been mostly munched, there's plenty of angelica, often a sign of under grazing. We'll see, but for now I'm rejoicing in my favourite summer flower, meadowsweet, which is in full frothy bloom.... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogfroglets11.html All those tadpoles have turned into baby froglets. There are so many by our wildlife pond it's hard to put your feet down without squashing some. Here's a video to show you what we mean... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogheathspottedorchid11.html Here are the heath spotted orchids, in full flower before the cows get a chance to much and trample... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogcowsreturn11.html The cows are back to graze Lower Newland Moor and Popehouse Moor. This year it's 4 young bullocks from Higher Punchardon Farm. Our neighbours brought them on 23 May - Monday - but I've not had a moment to record it until now. They'll be on Lower Newland Moor, the field with the turbine, for a few weeks. Then we'll let them through to Popehouse Moor, once the orchids have had a chance to flower... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogdawnchorus.html May is the time to get up early and listen to the birds, so here's a clip from by the 'magic pond' on Popehouse Moor this morning at 5am... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogeasterflowers.html Delicate cuckoo flower, low growing lousewort, lacy bogbean growing in the marshy areas on on the moor, stitchwort, primroses and even bluebells in the wood. This year's lovely April weather has really brought all the flowers out... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogdunnockchick11.html The dunnock has got futher than last year's bird. Two of the eggs have hatched. She was back on the nest this morning (this shot was snatched yesterday in a moment when she was away). And the violets are out in time for Mother's Day - hidden on the banks or tucked into crevices... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogdunnockeggs11.html Beautiful blue eggs. A dunnock is nesting in the sedge again. I only noticed when it exploded out from the thicket of leaves... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogtadpoledaffs11.html The daffodils are out in force now, and the tadpoles are out of their spawn. I've seen the first queen bumblebees around the lodges, looking for food and nest sites, and I'm counting down the days until the swallows return. Could be as little as 3 weeks now... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogfrogspawndaffs11.html A lovely warm day, still wet underfoot, but spring is in the air. Or at least the frogs and the daffodils think so. Rain tomorrow, we're told, but it's always variable at this time of year. Lets hope it doesn't get too cold from now on... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloghazel11.html Alright, so it's not really spring yet, but the hazels say it will be soon. Some of the trees are simply festooned with yellow, rosy-blushed catkins. We had 7 Canada geese visit the pond and a pair of mallards are often around. The kestrel sits on the wires watching for voles, and I quite often put up a hare when I walk through Popehouse Moor. http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogsounds1.html Snowdrops are unfurling and it's a beautiful day. Kate Goodale, who is WWOOFing with us, has started an audio project to record sounds around the farm. Here's a clip of sounds by the gate onto Lower Newland Moor (the field where the cows graze in summer). In the distance you can just hear church bells, 2 miles away. http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogwinterwwoofing11.html Welcome to our latest WWOOFers, Martin, Kate and Chiara. They're here for a few weeks volunteering their time around the farm. And now there's no snow, so we can get out and about. They've started helping us on some land management in the lodge field that should make it better for wildlife as well as improving the views from the accommodation. We're opening up a view to the big pond from Nuthatch Lodge by coppicing and laying an overgrown hedge. Then there are some ash trees to pollard at either side of the field, and yet more of those pesky tyres to remove. And of course coffee breaks have to be had too... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blognewyear11.html The snow has melted at last, revealing 'bad hair day' grass under austere skies. Guests over new year thought they'd seen the barn owl but weren't 100 per cent sure. I hope they did and that it has survived these cold cold weeks. I last saw it 18 December, but then I've been away and unlike the guests, I don't directly overlook it's dusk hunting grounds... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogsnowdec10.html Proper snow today. We had to dig our way out of the drive and go the v. long way round to the station. I keep telling the kids not to expect a white winter, but so far they haven't been disappointed. http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogfrozenpond10.html What's it like in Devon in winter? Well it's usually green and it can certainly be damp, but right now it's cold enough to collect brash and firewood from the island - by foot! http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogearlywinter10.html Winter has come early. The kingfishers will be struggling to find fish. The barn owl is out more frequently during the day. But if you're wrapped up warm and have a house to go back to it's still beautiful... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogwendysdormouse.html This lovely plump dormouse has had an adventure and a lucky escape. My friend Wendy in the village accidentally disturbed a hibernation nest when restoring a very overgrown hedge and hacking back brambles. She rang me because she knew I'd got a bit involved in dormouse monitoring. I thought she'd probably found an old birds' nest, or an unoccupied summer breeding nest, but when I arrived there was a pink foot sticking out of the characteristic woven bundle of grass dormice make for their winter sleep... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogladybirdshibernate.html I think these ladybirds were hoping to overwinter without disturbance. Lucky I spotted them as I advanced, secateurs in hand... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogpopehouserecovery.html Autumn colours from a tussock of purple moor grass that escaped grazing. Now it's turning auburn, getting ready to detach from its tussock. And that's why it shouldn't really be like this... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogthistlesgo.html The thistles, which were so great for butterflies in august, have had to go. And it's been a bit of a job, pulling them by hand. I've been doing it, half an hour at a time, in the evening. That's probably why I've been seeing the barn owl so frequently... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogkingfisher.html Not great shots, as I took them from the window of Otter Cottage, but I've been wanting to see the Kingfisher for ages. So doing the cleaning had it's silver lining this time... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogdevilsbit10.html Well, it's certainly feeling like we're heading for autumn now in the mornings and evenings, but there are a few flowers left, like this beautiful Devil's bit scabious still feeding insects in the nature reserve. It will probably flower well into October if the weather stays mild enough... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloggrasssnake.html I know snakes aren't everyone's cup of tea, but this beautiful creature is a grass snake, and perfectly harmless - unless you're a fog that is. And this baby is too small for that yet. Friends found it, gummed up with glue, in a bit of damp cardboard on their wood pile. It couldn't uncoil itself, and even when helped, re-adhered itself each time it had a snooze. So they had it in a box, and were wondering what to do with it... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogdragons10.html Apples are ripening and falling on the grass, mornings are cooler and the dew lasts longer. But there are still plenty of butterflies around. The speckled wood butterflies even look fresh, presumably the second brood of the year. And down by the big pond there are still dragonflies hunting and mating... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbutterfliesonthistle.html There's a patch of creeping thistle that has run away with itself in the lodge field. All spring I meant to get on top of it. But now it has finally flowered. It looks fabulous - for now - and the mown path runs right by it. And it is just alive with bees, hoverflies, and butterflies. They are simply loving the flowers. Today in about 5 mins I saw silver washed fritillary (not common here, so that made my day), ringlet, green veined white, small white, peacock, gate keeper, small copper and some amazing-looking flies and bees which I can't identify. So here are some pictures, in defence of thistles. http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloggrazing2010.html Here's a short video that tells some of the story about how we manage our culm grassland site of special scientific interest, Popehouse Moor... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogvapourermothcaterpillar.html Sometimes it's the small stuff that catches your eye. This is a vapourer moth caterpillar that George proudly brought in. And the beetle is the gardener's friend, the violet ground beetle... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogponddipping.html Winkleigh has a new biodiversity project to look at ponds in gardens and on farmland and see how much wildlife they support. So today we started with two of ours. We dipped the big pond that we cleared of fish in 2008 and the smaller 'old slurry pit' pond where we still have lots of carp, rudd, roach, tench etc. Although I knew the fish in the slurry pit pond would have eaten most of the invertebrate wee beasties I wasn't sure whether the main pond would have had time to develop much yet... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogorchids10.html There are orchids blooming everywhere now on Popehouse Moor, both southern marsh orchids and heath spotted orchids. This wonderful piece of culm grassland is coming into its height of summer growth. The rest of the farm is lovely, but the reserve is a class apart. Immediately you step out of the trees from across the stream dragonflies and chasers zoom by and butterflies flutter in the sunshine. There's a carpet of heath spotted orchids at your feet and the taller southern marsh orchids are here and there amongst the higher grass... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogblue10.html The tadpoles have had to be returned to the pond as they were about to escape and go exploring the kitchen, having got their front as well as their back legs. But when we got down there we found the ground literally swarming with froglets. You could hardly put your foot down without treading or two or three... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogcrabspider.html This ox eye daisy plays host to a tiny predatory crab spider, lying in wait to ambush its prey... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogthirdbeeswarm.html I really thought that was it for this year, but once again the air was thick with bees... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogsecondbeeswarm.html And now this morning the second hive swarmed. At least we were better prepared this time... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbeeswarm.html The bees swarmed unexpectedly last Friday, abruptly ending our coffee in the sunshine and disrupting the day's plans... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbogbean10.html Bogbean is flowering again. It's one of my favourite plants. It should be happy this year as it likes really wet ground and we've cleared the willow away from around it. That means the trees won't be drawing the water out of the soil... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloggoslings10.html The goslings have hatched into little golden (but soon to be grey) bundles of fluff. It must have been yesterday or today. Yesterday both adults were in attendance at the nest, and today they had their brood out and about and nibbling grass... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogblossom10.html Blackthorn has to be my favourite spring blossom. It's amongst the earliest and comes out before its leaves. Blackthorn is in full force now, especially were the hedges are not cut every year (it flowers on the old wood). One of my ambitions is a full length blackthorn and hawthorn south facing hedge. I'm working on it, planting some sloes last year that are just coming up. But I think my full plan is a few years off... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogcuckooflower10.html Spring is well underway. I've seen brimstone butterflies, a tatty peacock, an even tattier comma, and now orange tip butterflies. And the orange tip's larval food plant, cuckoo flower (or lady's smock) is in flower too. As for the pond, the shallows are milling with tadpoles. We have a few on the windowsill in a huge old-fashioned sweet jar. But if you're thinking about keeping some, remember to return them to where they came from wherever possible. If you take them to another site you risk unwittinly transferring vicious diseases that are decimating amphibian populations worldwide... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogcanadagoosenest10.html Well, a few days ago we baked the swallow return celebration cake (pic for those with a strong stomach) and headed off to eat it on the little island on the pond (George's choice and never mind the nettles). We got the canoe out and set off, noting one of the Canada geese was doing a 'you can't see me if my head is down level with the water' act. OK, we thought, if we can't see you then you can't see us and we'll just ignore each other. But when we got around the other side of the island we saw we were too late... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogswallowsreturn10.html Blurry pictures,but proof positive that the swallows are back. So never mind grey skies and blustering wind that levels the daffodils and blows my sheets from the line. Time to open up the window in the workshop, cut back ivy closing up the gap in the brick work, and look forward to swallows nesting again... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbeespringclean10.html Easter Sunday, too much chocolate, but enough sunshine to have a quick look at the bees. Not a full inspection, but Ian treated for varroa mite and cleaned the floor so he can spot any mites that fall off the bees, and monitor any infestation. And he reports both hives are looking healthy which, at least so far, is much better news than last year... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogprimrose10.html This is one of my turning points in the year,the first wild primroses flowering on the hedge banks. Things are going green now, grass is beginning to shoot (good for the voles, and so good for the owls). Today was warm. Ian's bees were out working the flowers, and the daffodils are really going strong now... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogwillow10.html Spring sunshine, and the willow catkins are out. So beautiful! I had to cut a few for the house. We're not short of willow on the farm so it won't be missed. As I went out for a late afternoon walk, the kestrel was perched on a wire. Every day now I know we're nearer to seeing our swallows back too - 31 March last year. But to day I made do with the sunshine, a Mother's day cup of cofee, brewed on the kelly kettle in George's new den on the island, and my walk.... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogdaffodil10.html The end of February, and a daffodil is showing it's sunny face - plus a shield bug and a pretty pink fungus.... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogsnowdrop10.html Finally the snow drops are properly out! I'd been looking for weeks, reading reports from elsewhere, but ours were just buds and didn't really count. Then suddenly, on about 4 Feb, they were all up and open where the day before there had just been the promise... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogsnow10.html I thought last February's snow was Devon's dose for the next 10 years, but no. The children are off school, we built a bigger better igloo, and of course took lots of photos... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blognewyear10.html Happy New Year! Beautiful sunny morning here in Devon. Resolutions? Loads! Do some more hedging around the farm Grow more vegetables Make our house more of a home and less of a battle camp Join the 10 percent in 2010 campaign - that'll be a bit of a challenge as we've already cut hard Take over all the admin, leaving Ian more time to build the new low-carbon lodge Stop calling Popehouse Moor 'the nature reserve' in recognition that all the farm is managed for wildlife and 3 years work is now paying off - guests left this morning, enthusing about watching the barn owl hunt in front of the lodges, catch something, almost lose it to a sparrowhawk, but break free with its meal... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogmidwinter.html The shortest day, and with a dusting of snow... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogdecembertree.html Some winter sunshine, an inquisitive robin, and another of our mature trees... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogtreeoclock.html Two hundred new trees - part of the BBC's tree o'clock world record attempt for planting trees in an hour. Thanks to North Devon Biosphere Reserve... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbarnowlvideo.html Some video footage. Poor light but still beautiful as the barn owl hunts over the field and comes really close, ignoring me on the lodge balcony... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbarnowl.html Finally I get to see the barn owl that has been hunting the lodge field in recent evenings - but in daylight... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blognovemberwood.html November, a great time to admire the elegant 'bones' of trees... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogautumn.html It's autumn proper now, with tawny leaves against (sometimes) blue skies. Flocks of finches in the garden, late red admiral butterflies braving the bluster in search of fallen apples, and mushrooms and toadstools amongst the damp leaf litter... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloglatedragons.html Grabbing the opportunity to go looking for wildlife in the sunshine... Golden ringed dragonflies, common darters, fat caterpillars and speckled wood butterflies...... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogkettle.html A chance just to enjoy it all... butterflies, autumn toadstools, and a cup of tea brewed outside... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogflailing.html Time to flail our ungrazed grass and start scrub bashing... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloghedgehog.html A hedgehog in the garden, only the second time we've seen one. Muttley found this one and sent it into a ball, from which is us just emerging here... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloglateswallowupdate.html The five baby swallows from a late brood in the workshop are out of the nest and perched on a beam, waiting to be fed by their tireless parents... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloghoney09.html The couple of jars of honey we've just harvested might not seem much, but considering the problems the hive had in the spring we are delighted... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloglateswallowbrood.html It is 24 August but these swallows look almost newly hatched. Will they fledge in time to head south? The cows are back again for the end of the summer, and does anyone recognise this caterpillar?... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogculmgrazing09.html ...the other side of the fence. The cows did their bit, or should that be bite? We let them into the second section of Popehouse Moor from 23 Jul, but by 3 August they'd eaten all that was easy, and started looking for greener pastures. And that revealed another weekness in the fencing ... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogdragonsdamsels.html The dragonflies and damselflies are out in force, patrolling up and down the banks of the ponds mostly but also to be found over the meadows... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blog09grazing.html We've moved the cows onto Popehouse Moor to start their summer grazing. It might be a bit early, but we need to make sure it happens this year... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogflowersurvey.html Many thanks to the botanists who have updated the flowering plant survey for Popehouse Moor - the last one was from 22 years ago... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogexbatts.html George is looking after the new hens, hopefully learning a bit about how to treat animals that feed us. In return he gets to sell the eggs... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogcloverlawn.html We've got an accidental clover lawn. The bees are loving it. So was it the cutting regime or last summer's lousy weather... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogcountingcows.html The cows are back, ready to graze our culm grassland nature reserve in a few weeks time. But for now I'm wondering how hard to graze the big field... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogtyreingwork.html Thanks to the Westbury squash club mob for their hard work, this time removing more tyres from trees that are slowly being strangled... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbeesdoingwell.html Good news, the bees seem to be recovering. Local bee keeper Rashid came again to look through the hive with Ian, and although they didn't spot the queen there was brood there... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogcollectingwood.html Today was the day to collect our Norway spruce timber from Mike Moser, having seen it milled ourselves in the oak woodland he is restoring at nearby Week... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbluebutterflyandegg.html This common blue butterfly was so accommodating I wonder whether it had just emerged... And we've another blackbird nest. In the woodshed this time, so no more chainsawing for a while... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogheathspotted09.html The heath spotted orchids are coming into flower on Popehouse Moor, and of course we have painted ladies, part of this year's mass migration... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogblogbean.html This is one of the plants I've been waiting for - a bog bean, so called because its leaves look like broadbean seedlings when they first appear... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogblackbirdnest.html I've been meaning to chop down our monstrous pampas grass for months. I held off just incase there was a dormouse hibernating in there. But when we finally got out the shears we were foiled again - a blackbird has taken up residence and has a fine brood... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbeeboost.html Our single hive has been petering out because of a drone laying queen. But kind souls from the North Devon beekeeping association have given Ian brood cells and workers to rescue the colony... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbluell09.html Bluebells are just coming out in the woodland part of Popehouse Moor SSSI, and Simon Berry from the Devon Wildlife Trust came to advise us about this year's grazing... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbeesandflowers.html Spring flowers are gathering pace, and I've managed to snap the bees near Ian's workshop. Can anyone help me identify them - my tentative guess is the flower bee, Anthophora plumipes... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogdormousebox.html Last weekend it was time to clean out the nest boxes before the dormice wake up for the summer (about May probably). This is one of last year's nests... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogfirstswallow.html I've seen the first swallow of the year swooping low over farm buildings near here... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogviolet.html Violets are blooming around a gatepost, willow catkins are everywhere, but unfortunately there's a problem with Ian's bees - a drone laying queen... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogvoleandpeacock.html Three short tailed voles in a nest, and the first butterfly of the year - a peacock just out of hibernation... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogfrogspawn.html There's frogspawn in the smallest pond. Some has hatched but it doesn't seem to be surviving too well... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbeecampaign.html It's a week to bee friendly and plant early flowers... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogsustainabletimber.html We're delighted to have found not just a sustainble and very local source of timber, but one that is helping restore Devon's ancient oak woodlands... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogswaling09.html We swaled (burnt) part of our nature reserve today, but the flames didn't really catch. At least the dormice will be happy though... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogspringcoming.html Spring is on the move now at our Devon farm, with deer, a hare, and was that a jack snipe... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogmoresnow.html I was wrong about the couple of days bit... Here are some more snowy pictures, looking towards Winkleigh Wood and the ponds etc. The children even had enough snow to make an igloo... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogsnow.html It's not often snowy here - at least it hasn't been in recent years, though Andrew at the farm shop tells tales of being snowed in for 2 weeks. This time it looks like there's just a couple of days to take some winter pictures... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbettertaste.html It's official - you are what you eat, and a cow grazing a plant-rich pasture tastes better when it gets to the plate. That's the findings of a study led by Henry Buller from Exeter University... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogfirstflowers.html I've got to post a big picture because it's big news to me! The first snowdrop. Spring must be somewhere on the march http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogwintertopping.html The cold snap gave Andrew from the farm shop enough time to nip over with the hay cutter and cut the grass - it has been on the to do list since the summer but the ground has been too wet to take the weight of a tractor. Why bother this late? We're cutting and removing the grass to help deplete the nutrients in the field - and so encourage wild flowers. That's the long term goal. But I also want to sow some yellow rattle, which is hemi-parasitic on grass... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogcoldsnap.html Tomorrow might see the last of the cold for a while - it has already risen to 5 deg outside. But this morning was one of the most spectacular mornings I've seen here. The frosted angelica heads always catch my eye... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogfrost.html Still very cold,almost cold enough to walk on the pond. I wonder how the kingfisher will fare? Probably it will leave for flowing water. All the robins are puffed up against the cold... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blognewyear.html Snow drops are pushing up to welcome in the New Year. Season's greetings everyone... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogtreerescue.html We've finally found a way to rescue our now mature trees from the tyres put round them when they were planted... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogfrostymolinia.html The frost brings out the best in Purple moor grass... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogmysteryjelly.html Does anyone know what this strange jelly might be? http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloglatebees.html November isn't known for its sunshine, and we've had our fair share of grey. But when the sun comes out, so do Ian's bees, heading straight for the ivy, flowering on the old barn. You can see the bulging yellow pollen sacks on the legs of the bee in the photo.... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloghayroad.html We decided we needed to do something to counter the mud from the pond reshaping, so we've laid a hay road down to Popehouse Moor nature reserve... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogmagicpond.html Thanks to all who helped us get light back into this lovely woodland pond last weekend.... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogadmiralcomma.html It may be autumn, but red admirals, commas, specked wood butterflies and even dragonflies are still flying... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloggloriousmud.html The digger has arrived to re-shape the lake, reinforcing the dam and creating new wetland areas... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogsummerintoautumn.html The summer has slipped by,but the flowers are still out, and here's a colourful moth larvae I found crawling across the greenhouse a while back... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blognewpond.html We've started on our next project,reshaping the big pond. And it began with trying to give away some of the fish. Neither the shape of the pond nor the carp in it are good for wildlife. The shape doesn't give enough variation in depths, and the carp, being bottom feeders, dig around, uprooting plants and stirring up the silt. The plan is to reshape the pond in the early autumn, and turn more of the field over to wetland, with wet scrapes, shallow and deep open water, and maybe a kingfisher bank (that glorious flash of turquoise is back again)... http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogbetonybirdsfoot.html The July flowers are coming now. Bird's foot trefoil is blossoming amongst the long grass and betony is peeping through. Gargling with wine and a betony decotion is said to alleviate toothache. I think I'd stick to the wine myself. http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloggrowinggoslings.html I couldn't resist some more gosling pictures. Every evening the geese wander up the mown path from the big pond to take it easy and crop the short turf around the top pond, by Otter Cottage. They're not quite so golden now, but are beginning to be more elegant. http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/bloggreenhairstreak.html I think everything must be just about as green as it's going to get now. The shorter grassland is studded with heath spotted orchids, and many butterflies are out - including this green one. Well, the undersides of it's wings are green and that's what you see when it's at rest. It's a green hairstreak. http://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/blogscrubbashprogress.html Pictures of Popehouse Moor SSSI before the scrub bashing day in January) and its recovery - up to May 2008