20111113 WildlIfe Area Clean-Up

Few things are more necessary and daunting than cleaning up a wildlife plot.

One cannot imagine the amount of rubbish that can accumulate, even in short amount of time. In this case we have not been cleaning the area throughout the summer as deliberate choice*, so the scale of the task was even more dispiriting.

Here some sample of the garden of delights that badly needed to be cleaned up.

Well that gives the idea!! It not only the rubbish (and its obnoxiousness) but also the difficult accessibility, the vast amount of scratching and cuts one suffer to get to the stuff. No way that any amount of care can avoid that!

In the middle of it all one has to try and ruin as little as possible of the vegetation and do not frighten the wildlife too much. The resident fox had to relocate temporarily as did the squirrels though. The birds did not seemed to worried maybe because they are less concern of some human presence passing through.

In any case we did it.

And here are the heroes:

Nobody get left out of glory

The spoils of the war against the rubbish invasion were all to clear to be seen. In fact it was a record year of gathering.

Bags and bags but more interesting all the odd objects one can find . Mostly balls but sometimes more worrying items, like in this occasion a full car battery and some electronics. On the good side no weapons or credit cards (they are usually there). So maybe things are improving after all.

So what is all about one may ask. Why getting dirty, covered in scratches and suffer the indignity of crawling on all four amongst litter and rotten food leftover, nappies and other delicacies for a thankless and more often than not unappreciated task?

Well our little Wild Life area (AKA "Surrey Square Nature Garden") is a little oases for all kind of local animal and plants and an enchanting little corner where the discerning eye can delight in finding the occasional marvel of nature throughout the seasons. Here in the middle of an urban desert!!

For instance here a clump of the unfortunately inedible milking bonnet or the milk-drop Mycena (Mycena galopus),

or these rare Collybia (Collybia cookei)

maybe this baby Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) [tentative identification] one day could make a great display:

or this unobtrusive but fascinating young specimen of probably Wood blewit (Clitocybe nuda) could one day call in visitors.

In any case doing something for nature and the community is reward in itself. Thanks again to all.

Den building from the previous spring.