January 31st 2014

It is unusual to write about butterflies on the last day of January, but today I shall. We first noticed this small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) in the second bedroom back in October I think. We were moving the curtains which rarely are closed and there clinging inside a dark fold was our link back to the long hot summer of 2013. As our climate warms overwintering butterflies in the UK are becoming a more common sight, so as that room is cold and above all safe from predators or damp, we left it there. And so it stayed until about 2 weeks ago when it appeared in the lounge, flying about, which was nice to see but not good as it will be using up precious energy reserves. We fed it a 50:50 sugar and water solution and put it back in the spare room. The proper thing really would be to put this out into the shed (who's roof leaks so not good) or the garage (now housing rats it seems) so as it was just when that cold snap began, back into the spare room it went and back to hibernation. This morning the heating was on quite high as Julie is in bed resting on doctors orders, so 'our' butterfly was once again gambolling about the house. It's in beautiful condition as this photo shows, but should not be up and flying. I know on probability it won't make it but that's not the point, I feel responsible for its survival to March and to pass on its genes. And so to put it back into stasis it is now in a box in the greenhouse, not ideal but my only option. What this morning did allow me however was a very close up view of it pumping its wings to fly as it sat on my finger, and later closing down into stasis in the box in the cold greenhouse. Wildlife observation is always fascinating.

January 30th 2014

This was a lovely surprise in the post today, made all the more interesting in that it arrived at the third way mark in my 365 day blog. Today is my 122nd posting and marks the first point of the triangle of my year.

We often get books sent to us in the post from authors but this one caught my eye when it arrived first thing, 'The World in our Hands - we can save our planet and our species if we can share our the and our space'. Often these books are a rehash of well known ideas in another form, but reading the accompanying letter from Mr Pinder I became interested. On the fly-leaf it states 'We count and measure most things in tens, except a 7 day week and a 24 hour day, a 10 day week and a 1000 milliday day would be simpler and more efficient'

Intriguing, especially as within the covering letter Mr Pinder states that if most people shared their job in a ten day working week, they would put far less pressure on the environment an have more time for gardening, walking and other outdoor pursuits'  I particularly like this form of curve ball thinking. Curve ball thinking has its place but with caveats that many times it is not feasible, either intellectually or practically but I hope I am open minded enough to read this and decide for myself if there is a anything but an Utopian concept in this. My weekend reading then, I may begin at 10 minutes to 10 o'clock on the 1st of February.

January 29th 2014

I'm still on medical duties with Julie but getting there so it was nice today to be diverted by some spring flowers on my way into work. January may be heading for one of the wettest months since records began but a consequence of this wet and windy weather is that its been mild. Whilst North America and Canada struggle to get temperatures above minus 20oC, in the UK we struggle to get temperatures below +5oC. As such spring is coming early this year, not least this not very good image of winter aconite and snowdrops. Next I'll be looking for the celendines, one of my favourite of spring flowers as they carpet woodland banks and hedge bottoms with their bright yellow flowers, a sure sign the lanes will be drying out and soon we'll see dust blowing across arable fields again.

January 28th 2014

It has been an interesting 24 hours and as I woke at 3am this was the view that greeted me. I'm not sure what is more worrying, the fact that I woke at 3am, or that I had the presence of mind to look at my bedside table and think, that's quite interesting as a topic for my blog. I blame the tea from that mug, a mug which has special significance to me. Back in 2009 I worked with Sir David Attenborough on his first foray into radio for decades 'Life Stories'. My role then was to be a general everything for Sir David who would write the script, send it to me, I'd fact check it, add suggestions, and send it back ready for the recording. We'd record 4 or 5 programmes in a day and on his final recording day Shauna a PA to the Radio 4 commissioner came to see the great man in action. With her she brought some gifts for Sir David including this mug, he thanked her, and gave it to me. Possibly an awkward moment but I couldn't refuse, could I?

January 27th 2014

This is the corridor into my office, a part of the BBC I walk up and down all day every day and again as part of my year long blog and recording parts of my life in my 50th year it is often easy to overlook the everyday things that happen, those things that we take for granted but one day will stop. Should I worry I have these types of thoughts at my young age? Well no, I've always been fascinated by the routine things of life. How we automatically do them without really thinking about why we do them.

Thomas Hardy put it better in Tess of the d'Urbervilles;

“Don't think of what's past!" said she. "I am not going to think outside of now. Why should we! Who knows what tomorrow has in store? ”

January 26th 2014

This week is Farmhouse Breakfast Week and so to be part of this great British institution, I had a 'Full English' in bed, and I have to say that was delicious.

January 25th 2014

Today we bought 5 more fish. Our fish tank is what they call a desktop starter tank, holding about 2 gallons of water. Enough for half a dozen fish. Initially we had red platy fish but over the year all but one died. That sole survivor was lonely over Christmas, no one to buy him presents, so we set forth to The Water Garden near Swindon and bought another red platy, 2 neon wagtails and 2 bottom scavenging bronze cory (a form of catfish), plus a tank heater. The original tank didn't have a heater so now we're helping to keep the water at an even temperature (possible one of the reasons why some of the fish died). And so here they are, installed and enjoying their new home. I've never really been one for aquariums, but I have to admit I am now spending hours just watching them swimming about. Very relaxing.