Page 55 - feb-mag-2022
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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

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