Page 28 - feb-mag-2022

February 2022 February 2022

When Violins Play They play on the strings of my heart BERE REGIS WILDLIFE AND
ENVIRONMENT GROUP
When violins are playing I wish they would play on forever
Melody fills the air Everyone feels so enchanted
I want to stop and listen Hearts are all beating together. We may have a way to go to shrug off winter, but
there are already some promising signs of Spring –
Music is everywhere. When violins are playing early bulbs are starting to flower, be they garden
bulbs such as snowdrops or native bulbs such as the
Their music seems to linger My heart just floats up above yellow flowering lesser celandine; catkins are showing
Haunting with every note I wish it would last forever in the hedgerows and ponds will soon have
Playing on my heart strings This feeling of peace and love. frogspawn in them. On warmer days there may even be some early butterflies to
be seen, such as Brimstone, Orange Tip, Peacock or Red Admiral.
Just like a message of hope. Eileen Richardson

Join Us on our Conservation Working Parties
Please come and join us at the next Working Party – Saturday 12th February -
many hands make for light work; all are welcome (under 16s should be
accompanied by an adult). No experience is required, there’s a friendly crowd
and it is great fun and exercise too! Or, just pop along and find out more about
what we are doing.
There’s Trouble with this We will meet by the stream bridge near to the Scout Hut, Elder Road at 10am or
House you can find us along the river. We normally finish about 12.00. If you have some
There’s trouble with the plumbing loppers, secateurs, hand saws or a garden shears please bring them with you – if
There’s trouble with this house There’s gurgling in the tanks you don’t, no problem we’ll have some spares. Our efforts are helping to
These bricks don’t look too good There’s woodworm in the eaves conserve the best of what is already present along the riverside walkway and is
There’s trouble with this house And dry rot in the planks. intended to make the area even more wildlife friendly.
There’s beetle in the wood. I think I’ll go and leave it A further work party will be on Saturday 12th March – same place, same time.
The stairs are all crumbling Find another place to rent
There’s rising damp in the floor Or if it’s going to be like this Frogs
The windows are all leaning Perhaps I’ll buy a tent!
Now I can hardly shut the door. There are two native frogs to the UK, the Common Frog and the Northern Pool
There’s trouble with this house Frog.
There’s trouble with this house Now the wiring’s looking frail You will not find the Northern Pool Frog locally. It is only found in small areas in
The cement has turned to dust The roof lets the rain in Scandinavia and Estonia It was extinct in the UK until reintroductions from
The skirting boards are crooked So we catch it in a pail. Scandinavia to a site in Norfolk in the mid 1990s.
And the nails are showing rust. There’s trouble in the kitchen
Everything is leaning So I’m leaving with my spouse Thankfully, the Common Frog (see photo) may be seen throughout the UK
provided there are suitable breeding ponds available. For that reason garden
You could say it’s rather quaint We’ll leave a note to let them know ponds are extremely important and, of course, frogs are the gardener’s friend –
And everywhere you look There’s trouble in this house! slugs and snails being a favoured food. Adult frogs grow up to 9cm (3½”) in
It needs another coat of paint. length. They are typically olive-green or brown in colour, with a dark area behind
Eileen Richardson the eyes. That said, their colouring can vary greatly with yellow, pink, red, orange

54 27