Peppermint Rats

Rats are one of the most common pests in the world, with their population numbering in the billions. They carry diseases such as leptospirosis, salmonella, and hantavirus, among others. Therefore, it is crucial to keep them out of homes, offices, and other areas where humans live and work.

There are several ways to repel rats, including the use of traps, pesticides, and electronic devices. However, many people prefer to use natural methods to keep these rodents at bay. One such way is by using peppermint oil.

Peppermint oil is a natural plant-based product derived from the peppermint herb. Its antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties make it a popular ingredient in various products such as toothpaste, mouthwash, and even food items. However, not many people know that it is also an effective rat repellent.

How Does Peppermint Oil Repel Rats?

Peppermint oil is a natural deterrent because rats cannot stand its strong scent. The pungent odor of this oil acts as an irritant and discomforts the rats. They avoid the area where the oil is present, making it a highly effective way to repel them.

Several studies have shown the efficacy of peppermint oil as a rat repellent. According to a study published in the International Journal of Industrial Entomology, peppermint oil was highly effective in deterring rats from food bait. Another study conducted by the University of Buenos Aires found that peppermint oil was as effective as commercial pesticides in repelling rats.

How to Use Peppermint Oil to Repel Rats

There are several ways to use peppermint oil to repel rats. Here are some of them:

1. Spray peppermint oil around the perimeter of your home or office. This will keep rats from entering.

2. Use a diffuser to spread the scent of peppermint oil around your house or office. This is especially useful if you want to treat a larger area.

3. Soak cotton balls in peppermint oil and place them in areas where rats are likely to be present, such as near garbage bins, in basements, or near attics.

4. Mix peppermint oil with water and spray it on areas where rats are likely to be present. This is especially useful in areas where there is a high rat population.

5. Use peppermint oil in conjunction with other natural rat repellents, such as cloves, cinnamon, and garlic.

Possible Side Effects of Peppermint Oil

Peppermint oil is generally considered safe for humans and animals. However, it can cause irritation if it comes in contact with the skin. Therefore, it is recommended to use gloves when handling peppermint oil. Also, it should not be used near the eyes or in areas near the nose as it can cause irritation and allergic reactions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, peppermint oil is a highly effective natural way to repel rats. Its pungent odor masks food smells and other scents that typically attract rodents. Its effectiveness as a rat repellent has been documented in several scientific studies. Moreover, it is safe for humans and animals when used according to instructions.

Therefore, if you are dealing with a rat infestation, consider using peppermint oil as a natural way to keep these pesky rodents at bay. And who knows, you might just have peppermint rats instead of regular ones. Just kidding, there's no such thing as a peppermint rat. But they will definitely stay away from anything peppermint scented!

Don't Eat Daffodils; Headlines in Spring

Daffodils bloom the pages of news sources every year for their striking appearance, economic value, cultural symbolism, and for their potential to poison pets.

Daffodil bulbs are highly poisonous to animals but those same toxins taste repulsive, even to dogs. Deer and rodents won't touch them.

Yet, as we'll see, their toxic taste has been masked by onion soup at a school.

Good news: symptoms also start with immediate vomiting, which flushes the stomach before complete digestion.

Most animals just vomit and leave the repulsive plant alone.

However, this didn't stop some kids in Suffolk, in the UK, from supping some deadly daffodil soup.

"School Children in Poison Scare"

According to the RHS, people 'regularly' mistake them for onions, which sounded absurd until I found *this article* about a dozen children falling ill from daffodil soup at a school:

"The soup had been made in class using onions dug from their vegetable garden, but a daffodil bulb was also unearthed accidentally by one of the children and put in the dish. Around a dozen Year Five pupils began vomiting in bowls and toilets, while others suffered stomach cramps."

"Drugs from Daffodils"

In this edition of Chemistry and Industry, ancient Greek cultures used narcissi as a topical numbing agent and as a way to induce vomiting:

"Daffodils have been used regularly in folk and traditional medicine, for in addition to the well-documented sickness-inducing properties, extracts can produce numbness, hallucinations, convulsions and cardiac effects. Applying juice or aqueous extracts to burns or open wounds can result in numbness."

The 1931 book A Modern Herbal expands upon this usage:

"It has been used as an application to wounds. For hard imposthumes, for burns, for strained sinews, stiff or painful joints, and other local ailments, and for 'drawing forth thorns or stubs from any part of the body' it was highly esteemed.”

“The Daffodil was the basis of an ancient ointment called Narcissimum.”

“The powdered flowers have been used as an emetic in place of the bulbs, and in the form of infusion or syrup, in pulmonary catarrh."

So those schoolchildren accidentally ingested an ancient emetic - which worked as expected.

Lucky for them, the dosage was low.

Pictured in this blog are the 'Jetfire' variety of narcissi growing in my garden, a type which have won an award from the Royal Horticultural Society.

"The Cult of the Daffodil"

According to this Spectator article,

"Spring is the season of supermarket daffodils."

But those who pick the flowers for a global market sometimes suffer for their work.

"A skilled picker can expect to earn upwards of £30 an hour. Many of the fastest harvesters avoid using gloves, which makes them susceptible to a condition colloquially known as ‘daff rash’."

"Distribution of Daffodil Pickers' Rash"

"Daff' rash" is explained by this published study, which concludes daffodil rash is from repeated or prolonged contact with the sap inside the daffodil's stem.

"The method of picking and then gathering the flowers explains the development of the rash at the points of contact of plant sap with skin. Crystals of calcium oxalate in the sap, in conjunction with alkaloids, act as an irritant, and also cause the characteristic sores."

"Do Daffodils Kill Other Flowers?"

Further to this toxicity, Chemistry educator Andy Brunning revealed on his website that daffodils need their own vase, else they'll suffocate other flowers.

"Placed in a vase with other flowers, they can cause premature wilting and death. Compounds in the mucilage are to blame for the effect daffodils have on other flowers."

Sap from the stem - the same sap giving people daff' rash - is released into the vase water. These alkaloids either poison other flowers outright or else create a sugary environment for bacteria to blossom, blocking stems from drinking water.

There are exceptions however:

"Interestingly, some flowers have more tolerance for the daffodil’s alkaloid poisons than others. The vase life of irises, for example, can actually be enhanced by the addition of a daffodil. This is because a particular alkaloid, narciclasine, slows down the creation of proteins which control ageing and degradation of plants."

"Welcome to The Daffodil Society"

The toxicity doesn't put off the devoted collectors of daffodils, such as the Daffodil Society established in 1898, and now a registered charity for all to support.

"Established in Birmingham as The Midland Daffodil Society in 1898, The Daffodil Society is the specialist society of Great Britain for all who are interested in the Genus Narcissus, by way of exhibiting, breeding or just lovers of the true heralds of spring."

"Daffodils are one of the most popular of all garden plants and appear in over 80% of British gardens." 

In conclusion,

Don't eat daffodils.

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What are your own experiences with daffodils? Let me know in the comments below

Is Buddleia Bad Despite RHS Awards?

Buddleia, or buddleja, isn’t dangerous in the usual ways.

It’s not poisonous to dogs, for example, but it has been designated a ‘noxious weed’ by the Royal Horticulture Society despite awarding the plant a Garden Merit Award many times since the late 1800’s.

Butterfly charities such as the BCB recommend planting butterfly bushes only in “proper areas” so that the invasive plant does not outperform local plants. Such as has happened to the ‘special area of scientific interest’ Folkestone Warren chalk grasslands in Kent.

Dead-heading, a process of removing dead flowers before they become seedheads, is the softest approach recommended by the RHS.

Harder approaches, taken by rail companies to remove the infrastructure-damaging plant, include digging up roots and spraying weedkillers on the site. A somewhat understandable yet sad outcome.

The out-of-control success of buddleia in the UK relies on its ability to produce many seeds during times other plants would either not spread as quickly or where other plants would be less aggressive to infrastructure.

Buddleia branches are long, flexible spears which:

• Root if they touch soil,

• Spread large quantities of seeds wherever they reach,

• Harden into woody stems thickening enough to crack concrete

  and

• Constantly grow shoots from every part even in shady areas.

It’s easy to be worried. Many experts would say: rightly worried. But if grown in a controlled environment (the antithesis to a natural ecosystem) then buddleia is brilliant for butterflies,

or is it?

I thought so, from the obvious evidence that monarch butterflies love it. I have pictures to prove it. But it’s the not-so-obvious evidence that matters in the long term.

There are plenty of rarer butterfly species that are gradually losing their habitats to the fast-spreading buddleia, which itself needs no special habitat.

RHS Recommended Alternatives to Buddleia

The Royal Horticultural Society recommends a number of alternatives to buddleia.

• Heathers

• Lavenders

• Thyme

• Dogwood

• Viburnums

• Hebes

These, rather than hinder other plants, grow quite well as part of a diverse garden. One filled with a rainbow of fluttering (and not just the monarchs)

How to Manage Buddleigh

Perhaps you want a buddleja, despite the risk, or simply can’t bring yourself to remove such a charming plant.

• Remove flowers once brown before they become seed heads

• Cut back the buddleigh once it finishes flowering

• Buddleia loves being cut back.

  It’s extremely difficult to kill and will simply grow new shoots from even a small stump.

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH INVASIVE PLANTS LIKE BUDLEJA?
COMMENT BELOW

Do Robins Reuse Old Nests?

European robin, AKA “Robin Redbreast” in Great Britain

British (European) Robins nests are protected by laws that provide people with factual guidelines for helping birds.

Whether it’s a nest built by a robin or a nest-box made by a human, how can you tell if a robin will reuse the nesting spot?

It depends on:

• Whether the nest is made by a bird or by human

• The area around it: food, shelter, other animals plants, materials, etc

• The other nests the robin has built…

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Robin Nest Facts

• Robins prefer nesting closer to the ground than other tree-dwelling birds

• Robins like tight spaces in quiet places: hedges, holes in tree trunks, log piles

• Females construct, males forage and help collect materials

• Robin eggs are a beautiful blue colour

• Each nest will contain a maximum ‘clutch’ of 5 or 6 eggs

• Each clutch weighs about the same as the robin who laid it

• A robin will consider it a good year if 3 or 4 clutches are laid

• 4 days to complete a cup-shaped nest around 4 inches across; made from branches, moss, hair, fur, feathers, and other insulative materials

Nesting Habits of European Robins During…

January begins with robins choosing partners while scouting out locations to build nests when it’s warmer

February can be warm enough for early nesting (and sometimes warm enough in January) but food is still scarce, so most robins will still be scouting nest locations and marking out territories

March is when nest building usually begins, taking roughly 4 days to complete a cup-shaped nest around 4 inches across; made from branches, moss, hair, fur, feathers, and other insulative materials.

April will see one egg every morning per robin (if fed sufficiently) and each nest will contain a maximum ‘clutch’ of 5 or 6 eggs. A robin will consider it a good year if 3 or 4 broods are laid, with each clutch weighing roughly the same as the robin itself.

May, June, July are egg-laying months; full of all the perils of life: weather, predators, and humans

Robins in August are moulting: shedding and replacing feathers during these warm times ahead of winter

Robins in September are feasting (if not still moulting), dressed in fresh plumage, fattening up before cold kills crops and frost hardens the ground

Robins in October, November, and December are either hunkering down or collectively shifting to warmer regions, replaced by robins from colder regions. Robins don’t migrate in the usual way because a lot of them don’t budge from prime territory.

Do Robins Migrate?

While many don’t, robins can have winter nests in other parts of the UK/Europe.

But no, the majority of British robins don’t migrate at all.

Some, mostly female, just hop the English Channel, while some continue further south, which is part of the larger movement of bird species.

Also, robins you see in winter could actually be robins escaping colder climates (like Russia, Scandinavia, etc)

Information on Robin Nesting

Do Robins Mate for Life?

No, Robins do not mate for life, but they do remain ‘monogamous’ for the entire breeding season, including feeding and caring for fledglings.

It’s monogamy the way humans do it - multiple partners, but one at a time.

However, there’s no reason a pair can’t hook up multiple years if the right factors realign.

How Long Does it Take for Robin Eggs to Hatch?

Healthy female robins will lay once a day, with every robin egg taking around 13 days to incubate and hatch.

Mothers immediately eat the shell tol restore essential calcium used in forming eggs.

Temperature and the health of the mother impact incubation time. While predators, human activity, and normal environmental changes all decide the fate of the clutch.

As such, robins will lay multiple ‘clutches’ of eggs; with males often taking over the previous nest while the female lays the next bunch.

How Long Do Baby Robins Stay in the Nest?

Baby robins are blind, naked, vulnerable.

After 5 days their eyes start to open, opening fully around day 8.

By day 10, they are feathered; day 14 sees them physically equipped to fly but not without some practice and maybe a day or two of fattening up first.

Both parents will share duties, with the mother usually handing off when laying a new clutch.

Can You Touch a Robin’s Nest?

Robins have their own personalities and individually learned behaviors, so a robin may abandon any nest a person or predator is seen close to, immediately - or the robin may not care at all.

It will certainly notice, and might not return next year as a result because no potential threat is forgotten, even if the experiences so far were fine; less attention is always safer for nesting.

You won’t and can’t know the mind of the robin, and how it will interpret your actions, but you can know ahead of time that UK law will punish anyone for threatening the nests of these birds.

Protecting Robin Eggs

Robins are unsurprisingly protective of their eggs, even failed or empty eggshells are precious stores of calcium carbonate, a material they have labored to source bit by bit. Robins need their calcium creations far more than any collector does.

Yet, 40% of robins die every year, so ultimately many eggs will be abandoned, becoming food for the next bird.

Even keeping (especially trading) robin eggs in any form is illegal to protect robin eggs from capitalism, so destroy abandoned eggs found in nestboxes during September and January, else they will rot the box.

Cleaning Robin Nest Boxes

Think of nestboxes not as actual nests, but as a great place for a nest (and to hide in winter).

Such a good location that, ideally, the robin won’t need to do anything, but chances are that robins will build a nest in the box no matter how unnecessary.

In order to be used again, the box-for-nesting-in needs to be cleaned of everything that accumulates in ever the tidiest robin’s nest: decaying organic matter, parasites - threats to infrastructure and future brood health.

Clean Your Nestboxes in Autumn (Not Winter)

Cleaning a nestbox is a job best done in the autumn between nesting times and the coming winter months.

Robins mostly stay put in winter, so it’s highly likely they will use a nestbox to shelter during cold weather.

According to UK law, you are allowed to clear out old nesting material and deserted eggs between the first of August (better to wait until sept) and January 31st at the very latest.

• Remove all organic materials to prevent rot, mold, stank

• Use boiling water to destroy invisible parasites, fungi spores, etc

• Eggs must be disposed of and can be composted, or simply returned to nature to break (Robins, like many birds, will eat eggshells in order to gain back some of the calcium they spent laying them, so most birds will be equally happy to eat them)

Wear gloves and a facemask as, even in tidy nests, harmful bacteria can breed quickly.

Why Vegan Photographic Film Does Not Exist

You Can’t Get it

Photographic film for vegetarians or vegans isn’t something you’ll find for sale.

Plant-based photographers wishing to use film must either willingly, or ignorantly, use byproducts of slaughterhouses; boiled-down: skin, bone, ligaments.

Why doesn’t vegan camera film exist?

Because film technology relies on the properties of gelatine, which a single alternative doesn’t offer.

Doesn’t Exist, Or Can’t Exist?

It’s a bit like substituting a chicken egg in a recipe, a complex component which requires multiple ingredients to replace all of its combined qualities.

You can select a single alternative based on one needed function (banana as binder & thickener, for example) but no single vegan ingredient can quite (yet) replace the unique qualities of an egg.

In many recipes, an ingredient you don’t want to use, can just be dropped from the recipe; without using an alternative, but the gelatine in photographic film is essential to the way in which that piece of film works.

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“Unfortunately, we do not know of any film that is made without gelatin. Over the years, PETA has pressured film manufacturers to find a gelatin substitute, and while Kodak and Fuji have researched non-animal alternatives, they still claim that they cannot replace animal gelatin in film.”

— PETA

“Gelatine has unique characteristics which act as a membrane matrix for the silver crystals but also interacts with the crystals as they are formed. Substitutes have been attempted such as vegetable substitutes or PVOH, however to date, none perform to the same standard as gelatin.”

— Illford Photographic

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The Alternative Is… Digital?

Yep, with all the same complicated ethical issues of how and where materials are sourced to build batteries, computer chips, and factories full of slave labour; digital is as close to vegan as possible in the year 2021.

Even the controversial, yet undeniably dedicated organization, PETA, admits to knowingly using gelatine-film before digital cameras were invented, in order to document abuse and collect evidence, taking the lesser evil of using animal products to enact direct change.

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“In the past, however, there was little choice, and we made the decision to use film—with the knowledge that it contained gelatin—to document cruelty (e.g., in the case of the Silver Springs monkeys) and to educate people. It was an imperfect decision, but we felt that, ultimately, taking photos with film served the greater good by bringing the plight of animals into the public eye.

PETA does not actively campaign against watching movies or taking photographs for pleasure, but we do encourage you to write to film manufacturers and movie studios about your concerns and encourage them to implement alternatives to gelatin.”

— peta.org/about-peta/faq/does-film-contain-gelatin

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It seems the only way to function as a human being is to make some uncomfortable decisions while doing our best to be better in ways accessible to us.

Buy secondhand, source your energy from green sources, maintain equipment so it will last, and keep up to date with alternative methods of fixing images such as USING LEAVES?

Why Are Leaves Green?

Why does a blue sky plus yellow sun make green leaves? Well, it’s not actually because adding blue and yellow make green; but, because after removing blue and yellow, green remains…

In short…

Leaves look green because they prefer blue and red light, leaving (some) green light to reflect into our eyes and camera lenses.

A leaf looks leaf-green from photosynthesis, which absorbs blue/violet and yellow/red parts of sunlight, including some lower and higher energy portions of the spectrum outside of visible light which we cant see.

‘English Ivy’, Hedera Helix, from the same plant

Think of it like this…

1. Picture a jar full of sunlight that has magically settled into layers of colour - a rainbow. Shake it up, mix those colours together into pure white light, just like it came out of the Sun (before we bottled it for this imaginary experiment).

2. Now, using a leaf as a spoon, scoop out the sunlight into another jar. The leaf is great at scooping up the blue and yellow parts of the white light, along with purples and reds, even some invisible to us like ultraviolet and infrared - but green, less so.

3. As you keep scooping, the remaining light in the jar looks green. Not because the leaf doesn’t scoop any green, but because it’s just better at scooping the colours (wavelengths) on either side of what our eyes perceive to be the colour green.

That’s why leaves are green.

Hedera Helix

So Why is the Sky Blue?

Blue light prevails for most of the year because our atmosphere scatters blue light 10 times more than it scatters red light.

Plants generally use that diffused blue light to produce leaves/vegetation and then, during the long summer days, they enjoy the longer periods of more direct, yellow light.

Yellow and red light is what triggers and provides the extra energy for plants to grow more complicated forms such as flowers and then fruits.

By comparing quantities of blue vs yellow light, plants can regulate themselves to stay in rhythm with the length of the day, which keeps them in tune with the seasons.

Why Are Humans Sensitive to Green Light?

Humans do, of course, also see more than just green light.

We see all the colours of the literal rainbow, as long as we’re talking about the ‘visible light’ part of the rainbow since they also include colours we can’t see outside of the visible spectrum.

Green-yellow light is what humans and many other plant-eating or omnivorous animals have the greatest ability to analyze because this sensitivity lets animals better detect fresher, more edible parts of plants before they become more difficult to digest, such as when waxy or stringy and so less worth the effort.

New shoots and leaves contain the most nutrients in the most digestible form for a hunter-gatherer, but thousands of years of agricultural selective breeding has allowed us to focus on growing more easily digested versions of the end-products of plants (less stringy squashes, juicer fruits, etc) rather than focusing on fresh shoots and crossing your fingers hoping to find a few large, ripe-enough berries. Still, there is a huge amount of that are eaten today from bamboo shoots to beansprouts to salad leaves and even unripe flower heads are all examples of our diet’s benefit from analyzing green light with our eyeballs.

The difference between healthy, green veg and diseased or toxic lookalikes, is a critical survival skill.

Tell me in the comments, have you ever foraged for your own food?

Sakura Cherry Blossom's History of 'Hanami' Culture

Winter Wait

Japanese culture has spread cherry blossom trees across the globe both intentionally as a symbol of friendship, as well as through the clockwork charisma of its blossoms, anticipated by billions of humans and uncountable trillions of pollinators every spring.

Following a season of uncomfortable cold, cherry blossoms are the dawn chorus of springtime: sudden, fleeting, and orchestral, conducted by a celestial guide 8 light seconds away: our Sun.

Humans and trees must pay attention to the changing length of today in order to predict tomorrow’s temperatures in order to track and guess coming weather patterns.

Animals stock up on resources, trees shed delicate parts; animals find a warm spot, trees cover their roots.

Then everything waits.

Spring Satisfaction

After months of leafless landscapes, bare branches, and brown vistas; any sign of spring is a beautiful omen but cherry blossoms are the star of the show.

Daffodils in the UK, garlic in Iran, tulips in the Netherlands; everywhere has its traditional sign of spring.

For the Japanese, there was Sakura: the ornamental cherry blossom, which has now spread to be a global celebration of cherry blossom festivals.

3000 Gifts of Pre-War Sakura

3020 trees of 12 varieties were donated in 1912 to Washington DC by Tokyo, after an earlier attempt resulted in the hugely important gift being piled up and burned.

Since the second donation wasn’t riddled with invasive pests, America replied with an unspecified quantity of dogwoods, destroyed during World War 2 after America responded to the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese army.

America could only bring itself to vandalize 4 cherry blossoms four days after Pearl Harbour, renaming the remaining trees as: '“oriental trees” presumably to protect them, while also reflecting the loss of these tree’s association with international friendship.

Berlin Wall Replaced By Blossom Walk

In November 1989 a concrete effigy to conflict between nuclear-armed governments was brought down in front of a watching world, Japan included.

The Berlin Wall fell, Germans reunified, and cultural pollination returned.

Japanese citizens, via a TV show fundraiser, showed their support for this reunifying event by once again donating cherry blossom trees, which now populate many areas of Germany including parts once occupied by the Berlin Wall.

“Donated by Japan, cherry blossoms grace the paths where a wall once stood in Berlin. Walls divide. Flowers unite.”

— Khang Kijarro Nguyen

Further reading: https://www.berlin.de/senuvk/umwelt/stadtgruen/stadtbaeume/en/sakura/index.shtml

Earlier Every Year

Every year, an overabundance of people flock to walk and picnic under cherry blossom trees which only flower for 10 days - give or take, depending on weather, wind, and wildlife.

The best spots are so precious you should be prepared to wake before dawn in order to secure your place at the many public parks around the world: Tokyo, Washington D.C, Berlin, etc

Otherwise, expect to pay exclusive prices at famous locations such as the Samurai District of Akita in order to be seated beneath rows and rows of some of the best cherry blossom blooms in the world.

That’s Hanami

Not just a trendy word borrowed from Japanese in order to sell self-help books in English; Hanami is already embedded in western cultures thanks to other cultural concepts we share: gifting, friendship, and conservation.

Hanami is about walking to, relaxing under, and viewing cherry blossoms; while eating pre-prepared food alongside family and friends, in order to fully appreciate the temporary nature of life.

Some specific inspiration for under-blossom activities include:

• Eating cherry blossoms (sakura onigiri, made with salted cherry blossoms)

• Chatting under the influence (sake, beer, cocktails)

• Spring fruit (strawberries are popular, berries in general)

• Tea (obviously)

Stuff I Made Out of Soil During 2020 Lockdown Gardening

Tomatoes in Nkuku basket

Vegetables in charity-shop-purchase basket

Stacked Pumpkins on reclaimed table

Basil, a necessary counterpart to tomatoes

Vegetables in late spring

Apples bursting from the branches

This Black Cat Climbs Laurel Trees

Tarka in his usual tuxedo and white socks, in Tristford laurel woods, 2020

Tarka in his usual tuxedo and white socks, in Tristford laurel woods, 2020

Tarka in his usual tuxedo and white socks, in Tristford laurel woods, 2020

Do Robins Recognise (and Follow) Humans?

Have you noticed that some birds watch some humans more than others?

• Robins, first to the dawn chorus, do indeed watch some people more than others
  

• They recognise humans as part of remembering patterns such as where and when food is
  

• Robins like humans who fill bird feeders, dig around in the dirt, and have relaxed body language

How to See More Robins

See the evidence yourself: get a bird-feeder and a bag of robin seed; the seeds disappear while small birds appear, often, you’ll even spot them doing it.

Start feeding their needs regularly enough, and they’ll quickly learn to rely on you - especially during January and February.

So keep your new friends in mind - they’ll never forget you.

Leave a feeder to sit empty for a day so that birds will clean up the dropped seeds and be reminded that this might not be an infinite supply, urging them to forage for & remember other sources of food, using the extra energy you provided.

Treat them respectfully and don’t creep about too much, if they get herbivore vibes from you, they’ll get surprisingly close.

If you move like a sneaky predator, then your unstealthy human body will broadcast a threatening signal to every bird paying attention (all of them).

What Does a Robin Following Me Mean?

It means you’re not acting like a predator, at least in the opinion of a robin.

Robins follow larger animals who disturb the ground with their movements, possibly scuffing up grubs, or just making it easier to dig for worms by moving leaves and other debris out of the way.

Do Robins Recognise Humans Faces?

Robins can definitely recognize you by your movements, schedule, and possibly other signals possibly including your face.

Studies specifically show that pigeons and crows can recognize human faces, hold grudges against those humans, and will voice their opinions of you to other birds.

So not only are bird brains smart, robins have been recorded to live up to 19 years, giving them plenty of time to get to know you.

The problem is, Robins have a high mortality rate in their first 2-3 years, while they get wise to the world.

So if you want to make lasting friends, help them out so that they live long enough to remember your face.

Lure Robins for Free

Mark a patch of soil that you can turn over regularly to give the birds fresh access to lots of worms and other bugs, as well as loosening the soil for them to dig themselves.

It’ll also warm you up in the morning.

If you have an open composting system, are preparing soil, or are clever enough to mulch the soil around your plants in order to feed & protect them, you’ll also give the birds a reason to hang around and eat unwanted bugs which threaten your crops.

They’ll also pick their fair share of berries if you let them; which is fine as most plants that grow berries are inedible to humans.

However, strawberry growers should take steps to protect their tempting crops.

How to Get More Robins in Your Garden

All you need is seed in a feeder, or some soil you can toil regularly.

Soon you’ll be recognizing their faces.

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“Stay, little cheerful Robin! stay,
And at my casement sing,
Though it should prove a farewell lay
And this our parting spring.

Then, little Bird, this boon confer,
Come, and my requiem sing,
Nor fail to be the harbinger
Of everlasting spring.”

William Wordsworth, To a Redbreast, In Sickness.

Robin on a fork with a grub in mouth, Devon, UK

Robins are symbolically associated with spring and subsequent associations with rebirth, particularly remembering the dead, especially those lives lost during winter. In legend, they often serve as messengers of gods across multiple religions.

Robin feasts on grubs from upturned soil, Devon, UK

Robins can be seen all year round, but their behaviour changes with the seasons, just like humans. Seeing a robin means letting them get close to you, which requires not trying to sneak around, or staring at them too much. Sideways glances mimic herbivore behaviour better. Sometimes, they just won’t be in a social mood - we can all relate to that.

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What are your own experiences with robins? Let me know in the comments below

Rows of Garden Roses to Raise Your Rainy Spirts

Garden Rose

Roses evoke in me the same feeling as when I spot a deer or interesting bird, something incredible in my own ‘back garden’ which feels rare despite being relatively common most of the year, and almost a daily occurrence if like me you have access to a rose garden.

Despite the overgrown rose garden immediately outside my front door, which blossoms at times when it feels like it, I’m perennially amazed at every flower.

Identification by AI applications, like the one on my phone, simply deliver a verdict of ‘Garden Rose’ or ‘Common Rose’ (which I think are the same thing) for most; else, ‘Tea Roses’ for others.

It’s an ongoing project, as is photographing them.

See the results of my astonishment in these images which I dedicate to a good Canadian friend of mine, a great lover of roses.

TEA ROSE

GARDEN ROSE

Assorted roses

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Inky's Beach Hair

Imogen and I took Inky to Teignmouth beach after a visit to a great dog-friendly cafe (Perrylicious Coffee and Cake Rooms) where she took on floor cleaning duty with single-minded focus.

She’s a dog of the beach but not a fan of the sea; a river dog who loves to dry in the sunlight.

Waves terrify her :p

She's Magic (Without the Coloured Candles)

Trees in the Foreground of a Moon Scene

Watching the purple sunset from 384,000 miles away, the crescent moon.

Lit dramatically by the same sunset for which it turns its face to enjoy.

An Autumn View from the Avon Dam on Dartmoor

A view from the Avon Dam in the South of England, on Dartmoor.

What an Avalanche Fears

Once, there was a patch of darkness that chased her everywhere she went; yet once she escaped that shadow, to her horror there was something else behind her: some fluffy snake which tailed her constantly, even when she ran in circles to escape.

Also, there’s probably someone outside the bedroom door at 3am almost every night.
Would you have the courage to bark at an invisible monster which sometimes/always takes the form of our cat: Olympuss?
I didn’t think so.

Book Review: Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs

Henry Carroll’s written tome is one of those well-designed books that explains itself and the concepts within with expert clarity. “If you can’t explain it to a 10 year old, then you don’t understand it yourself” goes the saying.

Well then it’s clear Henry Carroll understands photography; which means he understands that every photographer has their own selection of knowledge regarding the tech and art of picture making, and he can explain it to all of them.

Since photography is a collection of abilities and knowledge, “Read This if Your Want to Take Great Photographs” is both a linear and non-linear education depending on your reading habits; beginning with the camera as a cardboard box with a hole in it, and advancing from there, providing as minimum of a technical crash course as possible using infographics to maintain its referable, pocket-manual form.

Read it backwards, or pick at a random chapter each day, even if it’s a chapter you’ve already read; each section is a timeless nug of wisdom, stripped to the essential truth for anyone to understand.

Photographs included in the pages are exclusively masterpieces, and each one is necessary to directly illustrate the techniques and considerations explained in the book, often being referred to in other sections as to reuse prior references as well as tie chapters together into one whole - excellent - book.

A book I highly recommend.

Mine was gifted to me by my good friend Kai’a, and rather than being on my bookshelf, it’s tucked in my camera bag for inspiration on the road.

Again, highly recommended for any photographer of any skill level.

“Split into five sections, the book covers composition, exposure, light, lenses and the art of seeing. Masterpieces by acclaimed photographers – including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Fay Godwin, Nadav Kander, Daido Moriyama and Martin Parr – serve to illustrate points and encourage readers to try out new ideas. ”

— Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs