Category Archives: natural history

natural history, photography, topographical

Green Woodpecker


Green Woodpecker, originally uploaded by kcm76.

This Green Woodpecker was visiting my west London suburban garden earlier today. I certainly don’t see them regularly, maybe just 2 or 3 times a year, and they are always a delight especially when they stay for a few minutes to feed, as this one did.

It’s not a brilliant photo as I was trying to hand-hold my biggest telephoto lens, in poor winter afternoon light, while leaning out of the window.

current affairs, natural history, pleasures

Advice for Pond Keepers

BBC News today has an item suggesting the the freezing over of ponds is actually good for them, contrary to apparent logic.

I see the basic logic behind the article, emphasising that freezing over could increase the oxygen levels in the water, although I would like to see some evidence of this being true.  However as a long-time pond keeper (aka. fish keeper) and as the moderator of an online aquatics forum, I would not agree with a number of the ideeas and suggestons made in the article which I think are potentially misleading (or worse) …

Received wisdom says that pond owners should break a hole in the ice to allow oxygen to reach the water.

NO!  Never break a hole in the ice.  They get it right later: “make a hole”.  Do this either by keeping an area clear (eg. with a football or a pond heater) or by melting a hole with hot water.  Never, never smash the ice if there are fish in the pond: the shock wave will likely kill the fish.

Making a hole in the ice makes very little difference to the amount of oxygen in this water

This is probably true, but a hole could make a difference if there is a concentration of other unwanted gasses in the pond water.

The only time that pond owners should intervene is if they own fish, or the bottom of their ponds are full of silt and dead leaves.  Then it is worth stirring up the water

Again I would disagree.  If you have fish, do NOT stir up the water.  The water may be layered into thermoclines with slightly warmer water at the bottom which will benefit the fish.  Moreover if you have fish and a silty bottom (!!) then disturbing the debris can release potentially toxic gasses like ammonia – it may also disturb hibernating amphibians.  If you’re going to stir up the bottom of your pond to remove detritus, then do it in mid-summer.

books, current affairs, memes, natural history, personal, photography, thoughts

2009 Meme


2009 Meme, originally uploaded by kcm76.

This week’s Flickr meme is: For this coming New Year how about 12 pictures, one for each month of the old year (ie. 2009) to represent something about what happened to you that month. Here is my year in 12 pictures.

January: A new project boss; there were no prisoners taken
February: Snow
March: Daffodils; there’s hope at last
April: Spring blossom
May: Anthony Powell Society Collage Event
June: Attended the Garter Service at Windsor, thanks to our friend Richmond Herald
July: The company pension crisis broke, which has led me to early retirement from 5 January 2010
August: Was taken up with preparations for the conference and writing my conference paper
September: While in Washington DC for the Anthony Powell Conference we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary — eeekkkkk!
October: Anthony Powell Society AGM at which Patric Dickinson (3rd from left in this old photo) spoke interestingly about Dorothy Varda
November: Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivée; an antidepressant is definitely required
December: More snow coincides with my last real working day
All in all an interesting year but a demanding and, at times, a stressful one.

As always the photographs are not mine (except for 3, 5, 10, 11 which are mine) so please click on individual links below to see each artist/photostream. This mosaic is for a group called My Meme, where each week there is a different theme and normally 12 questions to send you out on a hunt to discover photos to fit your meme. It gives you a chance to see and admire other great photographers’ work out there on Flickr.

1. Umm, Jack Hanna sure tastes good !, 2. Snow in the Chilterns, 3. Daffs, 4. Spring in Pink, 5. Power Collage, 6. Img0051768, 7. House of Cards, 8. Balloons just waiting to be blown up, 9. Flower Candy, 10. AP Soc Members at Wysall, 11. Anti-Depressant, 12. gloom, with more sheep

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys

memes, natural history, photography

Garden Meme


Garden Meme, originally uploaded by kcm76.

This week’s Flickr meme is to find 12 things you would plant in your garden. As usual here’s my rather liberal interpretation of the theme:

1. Old Roses
2. Woodland Glade
3. Herb Garden
4. Big Koi Pond
5. Blackberries & other soft fruit
6. Chillies
7. Scented Geraniums
8. Bamboo
9. Fruit Trees
10. Flowering Currant (Ribes)
11. Walled Vegetable Garden
12. Pine Trees

Except for and #10 which are mine, as always the photographs are not mine so please click on individual links below to see each artist/photostream. This mosaic is for a group called My Meme, where each week there is a different theme and normally 12 questions to send you out on a hunt to discover photos to fit your meme. It gives you a chance to see and admire other great photographers’ work out there on Flickr.

1. Apothecary’s Rose, 2. Spring arrives in the woods, 3. Herb garden, 4. Koi Pond, 5. September Blackberries, 6. Chilli plants, 7. Scented Geranium, Walsall 13/09/2008, 8. Kyoto bamboo, 9. magic fruit tree, 10. Flowering_Currant, 11. The Vegetable Patch, 12. Buttermere

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys