A garden visitor and Allan Bank, Grasmere

Last Monday afternoon the sun decided to put in an appearance and so I took the opportunity to cut a few dead flowers from the rose bushes. I'd only just started the job when the phone rang and when I answered a voice at the other end said excitedly "We have a red squirrel in our garden! It's the first one we've seen for several years!" This was good news indeed as the garden in question isn't far from our own which means the little reds are continuing to repopulate our area.
The owners of the garden suggested I bring my camera and try to get a few pictures, but I'd have to be quick as these little animals don't hang around very long.

I threw down my secateurs, grabbed the camera and made a dash for the garden in question and as you can see, the little rascal was in no hurry to leave as it had found an excellent source of tasty peanuts.

Many people have these bird feeders in their gardens but a squirrel doesn't need a bird's beak to access the nuts inside as its long front teeth will do the job quite adequately and will often gnaw right through the sturdy metal wires.

 

I'm guessing this small squirrel is from a fairly recent litter as it is a similar size to little 'Kennut' the Kentmere squirrel I featured recently. 

 

Photographed through glass the quality of the pictures isn't too good but they were good enough for me and I was delighted to see this little creature looking so healthy.

The winter ahead will be long, cold and damp here in the Lake District and red squirrels need all the nourishment they can get before winter arrives. They don't hibernate but forage for food every day throughout the year.

Amongst the shelves of bird food in a local pet shop I was pleased to find this red squirrel mix. It contains hazelnuts, monkey nuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts and a calcium supplement. I think any red squirrel would be delighted to find it.

 

Finally this week I'm showing you an old photograph of a house named Allan Bank in Grasmere which isn't too far from my own home. This was the home of William Wordsworth from 1808 to 1811. These days it is owned by the National Trust and has recently undergone much renovation. This Sunday (18th August) it will be featured on BBC1 at 5.35pm. The programme entitled Britain's Big Wildlife Revival looks at some of our most endangered species. As red squirrels are now being seen again in the garden at Allan bank and all around the Grasmere area I think you'll  be able to guess which animal will take centre stage in this particular part of the programme. . . . .  I will be watching!

Click HERE to discover more about Allan Bank

Wray Castle and giveaway winner

Greetings from a sunny Lake District. I should like to thank all those of you who chose a name for our little Kentmere Squirrel. There were some great choices and even one in remembrance of a beloved grandad who liked to eat nuts and was always dashing around hither and thither just like a squirrel (what a fun grandad he must have been). Sadly there can only be one winner and on this occasion the on line random generator has picked number 7. And the winner is Lesley with the name Kennut and I think it suits that cute squirrel very well. I have a feeling little Kennut will be spotted again soon, probably on the wall looking for more nuts and of course if I receive a photo I will pop it into a future blog post. 

Message to winner Lesley - can you pop your email address into the comments box at the end of this post and then I can contact you.

 

'Kennut' the young Kentmere squirrel

Time for us to take a short trip to Wray Castle

Looking across Windermere you can see the heavily wooded western shore of the lake. Tucked behind the trees is Wray Castle where Beatrix Potter stayed in 1882.

The road to the castle passes through rolling green fields and hills that are peppered with wild flowers and mature trees. The Lakeland fells rise majestically on the hazy blue horizon.

 And here is the 'Welcome' sign telling us that we've arrived.

 

Travelling along the driveway to the castle we pass a small country post box similar to the one we saw last week in Kentmere.

 

Wray Castle is just ahead of us. It was built as a private house in 1840 but is now owned by the National Trust and is open to the public. The castle and extensive grounds are open to visitors throughout the year.

In 1882 Beatrix Potter's family spent their summer holiday at the castle and her father took the photograph below. It was Beatrix's first visit to the area and it ignited her lifelong love affair with the Lake District.

Today we will be walking along similar paths to the ones taken by the Potter family 130 years ago. The weather is much too warm to spend time inside the castle so we'll take a gentle stroll to the lake shore. I know there are several red squirrels in the woods around here so we'll keep a watchful eye for one.

There is a large oak tree shading the path. The tangle of twigs and branches would provide perfect shelter for furry tree dwellers don't you think!

Perhaps we are being watched as we pass underneath.

Here we are at the lake shore. In Beatrix's day the only people to visit this spot would have been family and friends but today the area is available for us all to enjoy.

Unfortunately we haven't spotted a squirrel which is a bit disappointing but I'm guessing there are too many people around so we must come again in the autumn when it will be quieter.

Watch Lakeland red squirrels in the nearby wood
Rob Clarke, who works as a Community Ranger at nearby High Wray, has put together a short video of red squirrels and birds in the wood close to his office. It is only a short video lasting just over two minutes but it paints a lovely picture of a typical Lake District wood. To watch the video simply click here.

Rob Clarke writes:

Nestled in its own private wooded grounds, High Wray is the National Trust’s full time volunteer centre in the Lake District. We’re proud to be part of the South Lakes property, a gloriously diverse area that covers everything from lake shore to high fell. Our area includes famous beauty spots like Tarn Hows and Windermere lake, Beatrix Potter’s house Hill Top and even a castle. With 15 working farms and a wonderful network of paths linking all this together that’s a lot of land to look after!

Luckily, our small ranger team doesn’t have to do all this by themselves, we’re here to help with an ever willing army of volunteers from all walks of life. We aim to help people feel they’ve contributed something towards a beautiful place, learnt some new skills and had some fun doing it!

Volunteers working with us range from local schools and colleges to drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres, inner city youth charities and local volunteer groups which is why we believe there’s no such thing as a ‘typical volunteer’. Our Facebook page aims to show the variety of people we’ve worked with as well as to say a big thank you to each and every one of them. It’s also a great place to report on some of the wildlife we see out and about, or on our grounds like the resident red squirrels which many of our groups enjoy watching on our feeders.

High Wray Volunteer Centre

Choose a name (blog giveaway)

It is summer in the lovely Kentmere valley. 

After a gentle evening stroll along the lane we reach the little post box into which local folk pop their letters. The mail is collected every day from here just as it is from all the other country post boxes around Britain.

Wild flowers bloom in profusion along roadside verges and the pretty heads of ox-eye daisies nod as we pass.

Field boundaries are made from stone which has been gathered from the surrounding hills. They are known as dry stone walls as no cement has been used to hold stones in place. Each stone is carefully placed on top of the one below. This method of building has been used for several centuries and some walls are several centuries old.

These dry stone walls are home to many living things. Tiny ferns grow out of damp crevices whilst foxgloves thrive in the soil below.

Let's scatter a few hazelnuts on top of a wall and wait to see if anyone finds them. We don't have to wait long before a tiny red squirrel comes bounding along to examine the offering more closely.

These nuts are a favourite food of squirrels. After a quick sniff this little character decides a nut will make a jolly good meal and scampers back along the wall with it firmly clasped in its mouth.

On the nearby grass the nut is taken from the mouth.

Now a suitable hiding place must be found for it. Nuts, acorns and seeds are often buried in readiness for winter but of course they are rarely found again by the same squirrel. Squirrels regularly search for food that has been hidden in this way and eat any tasty morsels that they come across. This carefully buried nut will no doubt be discovered later in the year by a completely different squirrel.

I'm guessing this young animal was part of a litter born this spring. Youngsters leave the nest to do their own foraging when they are around seven weeks old and this little Kentmere squirrel will need to eat plenty of food and get a lot plumper if it is to survive the cold wet winter ahead.

BLOG GIVEAWAY

Can you think of a name that would suit this little cutie?

If you can think of a suitable name for this young squirrel and would like to be included in my blog giveaway then please write the chosen name in the comments box below before Friday 2nd August (only one name per entrant please).

On Friday 2nd August I will transfer all the names to a new blog post and give each name a number. I'll then use an online random number generator to pick a number and the name that corresponds with it will be the giveaway winner.

I'm hoping bloggers from around the world will enter a name.

The winner will be sent a 38 page booklet about the Lake District plus a bar of traditional Lakeland mint cake. Its not actually a cake but a sugar-rich minty-flavoured bar that gives extra energy to mountain climbers and people walking in the great outdoors. (Also suitable as sugary treat whilst relaxing in a comfy chair watching TV !!). Finally, as a little keepsake I will print a small bookmark showing the squirrel's picture, name and date.

I'll look forward to seeing which names are chosen.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE

(Thank you to my friend Ian for photographing this young Kentmere squirrel)

Lakeland summer and red squirrels

Greetings from the Lake District. Here in England the school holidays have just begun and for the next six weeks our beautiful National Park will be at its busiest as many thousands of people arrive to relax and enjoy a little bit of ‘life in Lakeland’.

Today a July heat haze hangs over Windermere, our largest and busiest lake.

Stone built properties of all ages nestle among the trees on the lower slopes of the surrounding hills.

We live in a traditional stone built house that has walls half a metre (20 inches) thick.

Stones are plentiful here and our shallow garden soil is full of them. After many attempts to grow juicy fruit and vegetables we've given up and now let nature 'do it's thing.'

Rhododendrons have shallow roots and don't seem to mind the stone filled soil. The damp climate suits them really well and they grow like weeds rewarding us every spring with a riot of colour.

Although shrub roses aren't fond of our regular rain showers our rambling roses appear to like it here. This delicious pink one is named 'Rural England' and it clambers enthusiastically up the pergola outside the study window.

Summer flowers spill over the sides of pots on the terrace (as long as we remember to feed them regularly).

 

We like to encourage birds and insects and so let certain areas of grass grow long before cutting. Edging the lawn are these ox-eye daisies that flower each year through June and into July.

Several years ago we were unable to mow a large area until mid July due to very wet weather and a temperamental mower. What a surprise we had when an orchid suddenly popped up. Since then we've let the grass in that particular patch continue to grow well into the summer and now we have several more orchids together with a number of other wild flowers.

Bees and butterflies are not as numerous as they once were, partly due to the extended winters we've had recently. But this small tortoiseshell must have spotted the flowers on our sedum plant and decided stay for a while.

Our garden is edged on three sides by ancient woodland which would happily take over the entire plot if it wasn’t kept in check. Bluebells carpet the woodland floor in May and fill the air with their delicate scent for several weeks.

The wood is home to many different birds plus roe deer, foxes, badgers and rabbits. Until 1997 red squirrels could have been added to the list but not any more. The problem began over 100 years ago when a few Victorian visitors to America returned to Britain with a number of grey squirrels. These eventually made their way into the British countryside with tragic consequences. It was quickly discovered that the larger greys not only devoured much of the food in the red squirrels' woodland pantry but also carried a deadly disease to which their red cousins quickly fell victim. Red squirrel numbers have declined so substantially over the years that they are now classed as an endangered species here in Britain and could very soon become extinct on the mainland if urgent action isn't taken.

Both these red squirrels were photographed by Peter Skillen who lives in the northern part of our region where small numbers of reds are managing to survive. A link to Peter's website can be found in the sidebar.

In more isolated areas, especially where coniferous forests are found, reds can still be found and local action groups are working to protect them from further decline. The only way to do this is to control the grey squirrel population in order to create a lot more areas where reds can live safely and their numbers increase.

I live in the south east region of the Lake District where just a few isolated areas of woodland have continued to support reds over the past decade. But now things are beginning to change thanks to the work being done by volunteers in the Westmorland Red Squirrel Society (WRSS). Reds are being seen in several more places and although they haven't yet reached my area in Windermere I promise to tell you all about it when they do.

Meanwhile, to raise much needed funds I have created a dolly knitting pattern. ALL PROFIT from the sale of each pattern will go to the Westmorland Red Squirrel Society.

This is Little Nellie Nutkins

Little Nellie Nutkins likes to feed hungry red squirrels so she gathers acorns and pops them into her little bag that has an acorn appliqued on the front. The pattern includes Little Nellie, her dress and cardigan plus her bag and acorns. She's a real cutie and is sure to appeal to all little girls.

DOLL HEIGHT: 30cm (12in)
NEEDLES: knitted on two 3.25 mm needles  (US size 3)
YARN: DK (double knitting) yarn (USA - light-worsted/Australia - 8 ply).
SKILLS REQUIRED: cast on, cast off, knit, purl, increase, decrease
PATTERN: 16 page PDF file with plenty of pictures and step by step instructions

If you purchase a pattern you will receive an email within 24 hours containing a link to the PDF which you can download and print. I'm afraid I can't sent patterns by post. 

If you'd like to knit Little Nellie then please click HERE and thank you.

WATCHING FOR REDS

If you visit the Lake District then please keep a watchful eye for red squirrels. Meanwhile I will be putting regular updates on this blog about the progress being made by the Westmorland Red Squirrel Society and telling you about places where red squirrels have been spotted in our area (accompanied, I hope, by a few photographs). So if you'd like to follow this blog please put your email address in the box marked FOLLOW BY EMAIL which you'll find in the sidebar on the right. You will be notified when a new post is available to read.