So much nature!

I love spring because nature is just everywhere! The house martins, swallows and swifts fill the air. The frogs in the river can't stop croaking. There are ducklings and egrets on the river. The bright red petals belonging to the poppies brighten up the roadsides, the river banks and the fields.

We are filled with an urge to get out and enjoy this explosion of life and sometimes we have surprises such as a snake on the path by the river or a swift attempting to get into a house martin's nest.

There are activities to get involved in like the otter survey on the Congost river which I participated in on Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately I didn't see any otters but one of the team was lucky enough to spot one on the second evening. I'm motivated to get out and look for them again. I set up my camera trap a couple of weeks ago hoping to capture one. I recorded a mink and not much else, but that is interesting too. There is life on this river of ours which winds through natural areas, alongside dual carriageways and through industrial estates bringing life with it.

Here are some images and videos of everything I've been enjoying in the last few weeks.

Poppies and grasses in front of Montseny

A strip of poppies between Llerona and La Garriga

Sunset during the otter survey 25th May 2019

Certificate for participating in the otter survey

Fiery amphibian

A couple of weeks ago I went for a walk after it had rained and was lucky enough to see a fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra). It was on the path in front of me and it started to move to get out of my way. Once off the path it stopped and didn't move, allowing me to walk up to it and take a couple of photographs. I find these creatures truly fascinating as they look so exotic and unusual. It's amazing to be able to get so close to them too.

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

"The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle" by Hugh Lofting was first published in 1923 and we are lucky enough to have a beautiful edition from the 1933 reprint. Some elements of Lofting's books are not acceptable to today's readers and I certainly do not condone the use of racist language or stereotypes. However, some of the viewpoints expressed about animals and their feelings and characters could be thought of as quite forward-thinking. Certainly there is anthropomorphism but there is also an empathy for the animals. For example, in this story, the Doctor describes his thoughts about keeping lions and tigers in zoos to his apprentice Tommy Stubbins:

' "If I had my way, Stubbins, there wouldn't be a single lion or tiger in captivity anywhere in the world. They never take to it. They're never happy. They never settle down. They are always thinking of the big countries they have left behind. You can see it in their eyes, dreaming - dreaming always of the great open spaces where they were born; dreaming of the deep, dark jungles where their mothers first taught them how to scent and track the deer. And what are they given in exchange for all this?" asked the Doctor, stopping in his walk and growing all red and angry - "What are they given in exchange for the glory of an African sunrise, for the twilight breeze whispering through the palm, for the green shade of the matted, tangled vines, for the cool, big-starred nights of the desert, for the patter of the waterfall after a hard day's hunt? What, I ask you, are they given in exchange for these? Why, a bare cage with iron bars; an ugly piece of dead meat thrust in to them once a day; and a crowd of fools to come and stare at them with open mouths! - No, Stubbins. Lions and tigers, the Big Hunters, should never, never be seen in zoos." '