Fifty Shades of February

“February, when the days of winter seem endless and no amount of wistful recollecting can bring back any air of summer.”

~Shirley Jackson~

The trappings of Valentine was well and truly upon us. You can’t run or hide cos everywhere you turned, there were red hearts and cute teddy bears. It was also no coincidence that the overly anticipated/hyped Fifty Shades of Grey was released on the same day. This film was said to have put an entirely different perspective on romance. The craziest thing I read was B&Q had informed staff to expect an increase in demand for cable ties, rope and duct tape due to this film. What!!!!

To me, love wasn’t in the soppy cards, or boxes of chocolates or bouquets of flowers or other gifts that might come on the special day. It was in the touch of the hand that I knew that caressed and cared for me every single day of the year, and in the gentle smiles from a warm and genuine face that was the last thing I saw at night and the first thing I woke up to in the morning. It was in the everyday gestures that we should all be giving and given in return … just because.

We celebrated Valentine doing the things we both loved ie being together, walking hand in hand enjoying and photographing whatever we came across in Bradgate Park. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side. It was wet, windy, cold, muddy and raining but we still enjoyed ourselves. The park was quite empty of both people and wildlife. I think everyone was hunkering down in the warmth of their homes. What on earth were we doing fighting against the horizontal winds? But the sight of our favourite chatterbox lifted our spirits. He was looking very handsome with his summer breeding colours slowly returning.

We continued on and I spotted small metal discs with running numbers nailed to the tree. I had read about the tree surveys and knew that all the trees were surveyed in 2014 and they were allocated these numbers. This enabled the tree to be cross-referenced to the report which contained details of its age, species, conditions and any work that it may required. A total of 1954 living trees and a further standing dead (?) trees were recorded. We checked the most impressive looking tree with the number 1654. We found out that it was an English oak and was 495 years old  It was known as the Queen Adelaide’s oak because she’d a picnic on venison and crayfish beneath its branches in 1842. The Queen was the wife of William IV.

According to the tree survey, the oldest tree was no 2999 which was 818 years old. From my tweets with the Bradgate Park Trust, I was in formed that it was also an English oak and can be found in the wall of Bowling Green Spinney. This wasn’t accessible to the public but they will open it up for me so that I could photograph the tree. Whoop…whoop. Couldn’t wait and thank you so much. In England, the English oak, a native tree, was the most common tree species and had assumed the status of a national emblem. Babe had downloaded the survey into my I-pad so that I could access the data-base anytime when I’m there.

It was a shame that Lady Jane Grey ruins wasn’t opened to the public during the winter months. But when we looked over the walls, we spotted the White peahen with her 2 adorable chicks having a whale of a time strolling undisturbed in the grounds. Being omnivores, they were busy grazing on the grounds, feeding on insects, plants, grains and small creatures. Some people believed that seeing a white peacock brought eternal happiness. Just imagine seeing three … we were so lucky.  

“Dream tonight of peacock tails

Diamond fields and spouter whales

Ills are many, blessings few

But dreams tonight, will shelter you”

~Thomas Pynchon~

Often wrongly referred to as an albino peacock, it was technically a white peacock which was a genetic variant of the Indian Blue Peafowl. The genetic mutation produced all white colour of feathers and other body parts. The eyes were pale-blue coloured. I’m hoping that one of the chicks would be a male because the eye shaped spots on the tail feathers were silverfish and not coloured. I couldn’t wait to see a white peacock with its tail spread out …how regal and princely charming will that be.

We checked out the main field by the visitor centre and spotted a few herds of Fallow deer having a siesta. They were just chilling out and hunkering down against the weather. I don’t blame them. On the hillside, a small herd of Red deer were grazing by the gorses and we thought of getting closer. But some walkers and their dogs were getting too close and scared them off higher into the hills. By this time, the weather was turning for the worse, that we decided to head back to the car and go home. A green woodpecker was spotted flying to a nearby tree but flew off when we got closer.

On Sunday, we went for a drive through the Warwickshire countryside to attend a Snowdrop open day at St. Mary’s Temple Balsall in Knowle. It was a thriving Christian community offering hospitality to all who visited but we were more interested in the hundreds of snowdrops growing all over the place especially in the churchyard and wildlife area. Various conservation measures had been taken over the years to improve the habitat and one of my colleagues, PL, was one of the volunteers. But unfortunately, we just couldn’t find the place. We drove up and down the very narrow country lanes several times but there was no signage or anyone to ask. This was our 2nd attempt to visit this place and we failed both times :-(. Never mind, there was always next year.

          LONE Flower, hemmed in with snows and white as they
          But hardier far, once more I see thee bend
          Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend,
          Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day,
          Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, waylay
          The rising sun, and on the plains descend;
          Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend
          Whose zeal outruns his promise! 

~William Wordsworth, To a Snowdrop~

Earlier during the week, I had caught the dreaded lurgy that had been running rampant in the library. One by one my colleagues fell ill and I knew my turn would be next. I woke up one morning and the world turned upside down. I’d a stinking cold and was sneezing non-stop. I called work and spent the day in Babe’s reclining chair with a hot water bottle, vapour rubs, and paracetamol hiding under the duvet. From time to time, Babe came down to make sure that I’d taken my tablets and plenty to drink. And then, I started coughing. Oh, no I don’t want the bronchitis to flare up again. I couldn’t sleep in bed and spent the night downstairs on the reclining chair. I was off sick for 2 days.

 This is how I felt when I was ill

I went to work because I felt much better but it was a very big mistake. My poor body hadn’t fully recovered and I was off again for another 2 days. And I wasn’t alone. My colleagues too were phoning in sick but thankfully not on the same day. It was a very lethal lurgy that we caught. Even though, my head was all over the place, I still managed to complete the Development and Performance Review form for the annual appraisal. I just cut and paste what I’d written last year on to the new forms and added bits here and there. I emailed them to my manager on a wing and a prayer. I was just too exhausted to think.  

Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday fell on the day I was too full of snort to stand in front of the stove flipping pancakes. Instead, we bought a few packs of ready-made ones when we nipped to the supermarket to get more paracetamol, cough syrup and tissues. I just warmed them up in the microwave and had it with plenty of honey which was supposed to be beneficial in minimizing seasonal allergies and offered antiseptic, antioxidant and cleansing properties.

Even, The Koran praised honey’s healing abilities

“And thy Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men’s) habitations; then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious path of its Lord : there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for men : verily in this is a sign for those who give thought.”  

~Surah I-nahh 16:68~

Chinese New Year too came when I was in bed. But was it the Year of the Ram, Sheep or Goat? Actually, when used without attributes, the Chinese character Yang referred to all of the forgoing ruminants, But, in terms of traditional culture, the zodiac symbol was a goat, as it was commonly seen among the Han tribe. Their images too appeared on Chinese New year stamps and paper-cuts. My colleagues and I planned to celebrate the new year in one of the local Chinese restaurants but we’d to cancel it as most of us was out of action.

“Gung Hay Fat Choy

In China, every girl and boy

Celebrates the new year

in a very special way

With fireworks and dragons,

colored red and gold

They welcome in the new year

and chase away the old!

~Helen H. Moore~

Although my nose was stuffed, I could still smell the heady, sweet lingering scent from the blooming hyacinths which I’d planted in November last year. They were natural air-fresheners and made my days a bit better. A few were in individual glasses and 4 were in a pot and brought colour to the living room. According to Greek mythology Hyakinthos (or Hyacinthus) was a Spartan prince loved by the gods Apollon and Zephyros. They were playing discus when it struck Hyakinthos on the head and killed him. The grieving Apollon transformed the dying prince into a larkspur flower (hyakinthos in Greek).

“Only the gods who taste of death. Apollo has passed away, but Hyacinth, whom men say he slew, lives on ..”

~Oscar Wilde~

I managed to get to work on the last day of the week. I wasn’t 100% fit but sometimes you’d to show willingness. I’d a surprise when I arrived to see the library disappearing under swathes of cardboards, posters and banners.  You can’t get into the Library entrance without the constant flap of leaflets in your face. It was that time of year again when candidates for the Student Union were campaigning to persuade the other students to vote for them. Warwick SU was a membership organisation whose officer Team was elected by current students. Each year, a team of 7 Sabbatical officers was elected by the student body to represent the students and to help oversee different areas of the Union’s activities.

Later in the afternoon, I found out that the therapy dogs were in the building. After the popularity of the PAT dogs last year, they were invited back to let the students de-stress and relax. 120 tickets were snapped up and both the dogs and students had a wonderful time. I’d a feeling that the dogs enjoyed it more, being rubbed and fussed. These dogs provided therapeutic visits to hospitals, hospices, nursing and care homes  and special needs schools. They brought everyday life closer and with it all the happy associations of home comforts. The constant companionship of an undemanding animal, that gave unconditional love, were often one of the most missed aspects of their lives   Pets as Therapy brought comfort and companionship by giving them the opportunity to stroke, hold and talk to one of these friendly and calm dogs.

During the weekend, Babe and I did our bit for National Nest-box week. We have a nest box at the bottom of the garden attached to an elderflower tree. For 2 consecutive years, a pair of Blue tits had nested in them but unfortunately, both times failed. The first year, we weren’t aware at all that the box was being used. We brought it down to be cleaned when we saw 2 tiny un-hatched eggs, The birds must have abandoned the nest. Last year, we only noticed the box being occupied when we spotted a pair of Blue tits flying in and out. Unfortunately, the cries of the chicks attracted the attention of a cat and we saw it eyeing the box and even putting its paw into the hole!!!! A few days later, we didn’t hear anything and thought the chicks had fledged. When we brought the box down and opened it, 3 perfectly formed chicks were dead. They looked like they were about to fledge soon.

It broke our hearts to witness this. So this year, we fortified the trunk and the nest-box against any marauding intruders. We are keeping our fingers-crossed that the birds will try again and successfully breed. As trees were cut down, gardens tidied and old buildings demolished, more and more birds were losing their traditional homes. Putting up a nest-box was a good substitute and taking part gave us the chance to contribute to bird conservation whilst the pleasure of observing any breeding birds that were attracted to the nest box.

While I was ill and resting at home, Babe spent some time at Brandon Marsh. The usual culprits were there and he photographed the Coots getting jiggy at it. It was that time of the year when birds were thinking of breeding. All black, Coots had the distinctive white beak and ‘shield’ above the beak which earned them the title ‘bald’. Their feet had distinctive lobed flaps of skin on the toes, which pattered noisily over the water before taking off. Coots were territorial and will swim menacingly towards any intruders on their patch. As the breeding season approaches, they switched behaviour from their winter flocking to become aggressively territorial. Disputes with neighbours turned into vicious fights, using their sharp claws to strike at each other.

When it was time for them to mate, the process began with a great show. Both sexes started by displaying themselves in front of the other. They called to one another, while splashing about. The mating process began on the water and ended on land. The female assumed a submissive posture (crouched with head down) as an invitation to the male. She maintained this position while mating. Looking forward to see loads of the ugliest looking adorable  ‘cootlings’ in the near future.

Much as I have enjoyed this winter, I am looking forward to Spring. The days were lengthening, brightening and warming now and the daffodils were budding, so even if Spring wasn’t here yet, it seemed at least a possibility.

“February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March”

~Dr. J. R. Stockton~