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.