ABC Wednesday Round 6 F is for Ferns and Fiddleheads

Much of the Forest is covered in large, sharp-edged Ferns known as bracken. At this time of year, February, last year's plants lie brown and dry (or would be if it would only stop precipitating) while under the soil new growth is awakening. Bracken Fern is one of the oldest known Ferns with Fossilised remains pointing to its existence over 55 million years ago. It has a widely spreading rootstock from its rhizomes, maybe as much as one metre underground between individuals, from which large triangular Fronds emerge. When they first appear they are tightly-curled and known as 'Fiddleheads', resembling the Fiddlehead (scroll) of a violin. Bracken Fiddleheads are used in Oriental cookery, cooked Fresh, salted or pickled, or sun-dried. Rhizomes and fronds have been used to make beer, and starch from the rhizomes has been used as a substitute for arrowroot or as Flour to make bread.

By late Summer the plants can be as tall as 8' (2.5m) Though not impenetrable they can present a Formidable barrier, particularly when wet. Dogs and deer, Foxes, badgers and smaller mammals have little difficulty but humans are sometimes deterred by them (well, this human is . . . )

Ferns have neither Flowers nor Fruits and reproduce by means of spores on the undersides of the leaves. Bracken spores are linear rather than the more common circular Form of other Ferns.
Bracken is toxic to cattle, horses, pigs and small rodents, though usually they will eat it only when there is nothing else available. It also allows little else to grow because of the chemicals it produces, though bluebells, wood anemones and mosses are unaffected.

The Fiddle, or violin, has several Fs. The scroll is often called the Fiddlehead, there is a Fingerboard made from ebony, two F holes and often Four Fine-tuners.

 

Finally, in February, I expect to Find Frogs in the garden pond. Thus Far, there are none! I suspect they are sensibly still hibernating in the deep mud. The Fish are becoming more active though many of the Sticklebacks didn't survive the cold spell. Perhaps this year the Frogspawn will be more successful!

Thanks go to the ABC Wednesday team for their hard work in hosting this meme. Click here to see more Fs!

Six Word Saturday

I can't believe it's Saturday again!

Where does the time go? I mean, it's not as if I go out to work any more! I know that seems to imply that I work at home but I don't. I do the bare minimum.
I'm not a slob - I'd be houseproud if I weren't so lazy - but there are more interesting things to do and ponder. For instance, I often ponder doing some gardening. In my imagination I have a gorgeous plot bursting with beautiful blooms and graceful trees, my fish swim around their pond with fishy smiles on their fishy lips, the frogs croak greetings to me, the birds thank me as they gratefully partake of the food I have so generously provided for them. Even the squirrels pause long enough in their tree planting to express gratitude for the food they share with the birds. The patio is clear of leaves, the path is swept, the tree trunks brushed and polished, the plants dead-head themselves and the spiders do their work outside and never dream of stepping foot (or feet) indoors. (I think I've seen too many cartoons!) Sigh . . . In reality, everything in the garden is fighting for supremacy, the flowers have run riot, the fish are invisible beneath the rampaging pond plants, the ground is so soggy it's like a giant mud sponge and I feel I am fighting a losing battle. Then, suddenly, everything will be barren again, sunk below the surface to plot fresh attacks in the Spring. of course, if I were a proper gardener, I would be working all year round, whatever the weather, to keep my little piece of England neat and tidy, productive and profitable - but when it's cold - or hot - or wet - or windy - I stay indoors and gaze out at the wilderness. Actually I love my garden - it's natural (well, that's one way of putting it) It attracts an abundance of wild life and the flowers and shrubs yield their beauty and scent freely to whoever passes.
Thank you to Cate from 'Show My Face' for hosting this meme.
To satisfy your curiosity why not visit other participants here?

Wandering in the garden, camera in hand ...

Our back garden is not large but there are distinct differences between the two sides. The left-hand side as I look out of our patio door enjoys sun for much of the day and we can be confident that daffodils and tulips and sun-loving plants will thrive and flower there. We grow herbs on that side as well - three different varieties of mint are rampant! The right-hand side gets less sun and we refer to it as our 'woodland' area which is rather too grand a name for it but it is where hellebores, lily-of-the-valley and aquilegia grow happily. Cutting down two large oak trees has meant that a lot more light is allowed in and this may alter its character. Wandering along this side the other day I noticed that the Mexican Orange Blossom (Choisya ternata) was flowering for a second time. It has done this before but not as profusely. The insects are enjoying the sweetly-scented flowers.

I watched a Greenbottle (Lucilia caesar) basking in the sun on a hydrangea leaf and another one on a blossom perhaps sipping nectar. Bees and hover-flies were also much in evidence.

As I looked more closely I saw spiders in a rather messy web. I couldn't tell which were predators and which were prey - it's unlikely they would be working together.

The crab-apples are heavy with fruit. Our weeping crab-apple, Malus x scheideckeri 'Red Jade' has red fruits and Malus x zumi 'Golden Hornet' has yellow fruits (You'd never have guessed either of those from the names, now would you?)

Malus x scheideckeri 'Red Jade'

Malus x zumi 'Golden Hornet'. This flowers slightly later than 'Red Jade' and the fruits are a little larger. They will turn golden-yellow in the next few weeks.

The first time I made crab-apple jelly I separated the fruits from the two trees but the resulting jellies were the same rich translucent red even though books and articles claim they will look different. The only trouble is that all those hundreds of tiny apples produce a very small amount of jelly - ah, but it is delicious!

I was about to go indoors when I noticed movement in the grass. Lo and behold - a tiny frog! We used to have hundreds of froglets every year - they would leap away from advancing feet, paws, lawnmowers. Crows would come and feast on the larger frogs in the pond - and still do - but the frog population has dropped markedly. I'm sure it's the fault of the sticklebacks I introduced three or four years ago. Their breeding programme is remarkably successful and I think they eat the frogspawn. Next Spring I shall try netting off part of the pond to preserve the spawn and see if froggy numbers increase. We're always told that frogs and fish cannot live in the same pond but before the sticklebacks joined the throng they lived harmoniously together.

Common frog (Rana temporaria) He was moving very quickly, desperate for cover - hardly surprising when so many frogs become snacks for sharp-eyed birds. Poor frog - he has no defences other than an ear-piercing shriek and I've never yet seen a bird startle at that and release its capture!

Spring has sprung - further

Okay – just a quickie– or maybe it's a slowy– in any case it's an update. We now have about forty frogs in the pond that I can see so probably double that for the ones unseen under the surface of the water. They are fairly enthusiastic but not incredibly noisy as in the past (maybe they know someone is watching) No more clumps of spawn so far but there should be thousands of froglets later in the Spring.

Happier now!

Spring has sprung – in parts

My favourite time of the year? Spring is my favourite period, but as each season is succeeded by the next, so my loyalties change, and each in turn becomes the one most cherished.
Our garden is not looking its best at the moment – in fact it more nearly resembles a building site-cum-municipal dump. Unkind people might remark that this is how it normally appears. Even so, the signs of Spring are everywhere and we are confident that it will recover as it has had to do so many times in the past.

After the excitement of seeing a couple of frogs in our pond the other day there has been a sense of deflation because the expected influx of amphibians has not happened. The water remains ominously calm and the night warblings are missing.

All else in the pond appears to be as it should be. Water plants are beginning their sprint to cover the surface and all adjacent hard areas. Myriads of insects both in and out of the water are busily fishing, flying and doing all the things myriads of insects normally do. The fish are more in evidence as the days grow longer and warmer and bask in the sun, simultaneously keeping a weather eye out for visiting grey herons. The local crows are taking an interest in the pond, looking for a quick meal of grenouilles – indeed, not being connoisseurs of haute cuisine, they grab the entire luckless beasts and fly off with their wriggling prey. On occasion, the frogs manage to escape from the pitiless talons and plop moistly to the ground, often to live to hide (for they are woefully ill-equipped to fight) another day. However, for the moment at least, the crows must look elsewhere for their snacks.

Otherwise, Spring is coming along apace. The buds on shrubs and trees are swelling, daffodils are nodding their golden heads, hellebores are in full bloom. Yellow and purple pansies offer their faces to the sun as the last snowdrops begin to fade; crocuses show their jewelled colours, the wonder of the tulips is yet to come. The brown and yellow and grey of winter are yielding to the crisp green of new grass and shoots, azure sky, spinnaker clouds and gentle breezes. Naturally, all this can change and probably will but Nature is resilient and adept at resisting cold snaps of frost and late falls of snow. It is heartening to see the days lengthening – an extra fifteen minutes a week – and the cold clear nights allow a splendid view of bright Venus, shining improbably brilliantly.

Spring has sprung

Today I saw the first frogs of 2009 and just as I was thinking they hadn't started 'singing' yet, so they did. The next few nights will be filled with the melodious, insistent, loud croaking of mating frogs and the surface of the pond will be a mass of heaving bodies. Sometimes in their frenzy the frogs get caught in the pond plants and drown. Sometimes, so many males will be trying to gain access to one female that they all appear to sink under the weight.