This is without a doubt one of the most fiercely cold Winters I have endured in Scotland. Luckily, I get to go into a lovely warm and welcoming house to escape it! Not so for our wee furry and feathered friends, who have been having a hard time of it as the Winter peaks.
“Only two more months and it’ll be over...” I keep telling myself. Our wildlife can’t just pop along to the Supermarket when food or forage is scarce, nor, I suspect, would we all welcome them on the bus or train. Those of you, who, like me run a Cafe in their gardens for the birds will likely have noticed a singleness of purpose in the birds’ behaviour which seems to imply it’s a case of ‘eat or die’ and, in these extreme temperatures, that may just be the case.
Something I had previously neglected though, is the drinking water, figuring that somewhere, the birds will manage to get some - but with pipes in the house freezing and water supplies once taken for granted, being lost, I empathise with the wee feathered fellas’ plight. I will now try to put a bowl of water out for them - who knows? It may even stay unfrozen for more than 20 minutes!
We always know when it’s rough out there, as the Deer - usually high on the hills - deign to visit us and strip all the greenery from the garden! The last 2 weeks have provided an exclusive insight into these shy and, perhaps, secretive creatures’ lives.
As we have observed the individual animals’ behavioural traits, I find myself making that classic human mistake and naming each of animals that visit.
They are not pets - nor will they ever be to me, however, when I’m talking to my partner about them, it does make it easier explaining which animal I’m referring to! All the Does have female names, beginning with ‘D’ (among our ‘regulars’ are Doris, Denise and Deidre) the stags are being named using ‘S’ (originally there was just Stuart, but now there’s Sean - a younger and smaller stag who has either shed his antlers or not grown any yet beyond a pair of 1 inch ‘spikes’ on his head).
Doris with Stuart in the background
The most I’ve counted about the garden in one night (before the snows) was 4 Does and 3 Stags - who knows how many more will venture in from the cold, snow-clad hills before the thaw?
With the passing of the Winter Solstice, the back of the year is broken, and we are once more heading into the light, the next spoke on my own Wheel of the Year is the 1st of February, the old Celtic Spring starts then (not in March like modern times!) though I’ll likely have to wait until the modern Springtime to see the budding greenery, assuming the snow is gone by then that is...
Stay warm, stay safe!
Jim
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