Mother Nature

06/05/2009 by admin.

I have just been reading Bill Oddie’s autobiography which is interesting reading in that it helps to explain the (dear but incorrigible) man more clearly than ever before. In this respect it is a most successful autobiography. It lacks - and this is no drawback at all - the usual chit-chat about celebrities but is, on the other hand, short on reflections on life in general as distinct from Bill’s own life which, God knows, has been eventful enough. I hope he is through his latest depressive spell and back with us presenting Springwatch as soon as possible.

I wish I could ask him (maybe I’ll find out how to do this ) why rooks (I think rooks, not crows) wrecked my front lawn last autumn and still show an unhealthy interest in it though far more rarely. It is getting back into shape through re-seeding. A neighbour, I’m sure quite knowledgeable though hesitant to claim any knowledge, hazarded a guess that they were digging for some kind of insect (did he say leather jackets?) for which my lawn provided a rich breeding ground. Ergo get rid of said insects and so drive away the rooks, humanely, though not for the insects.. But how? My gardener doesn’t seem to know and just accepts it (or maybe just wants to dig up and re-turf it all and he’s a good gardener so I wouldn’t say no).

Oh how I wish I knew as much about birds and their habits as Bill does , though, on the other hand someone said quite recently that pride in the English lawn would soon become a sign of moral and social decadence. So there! Maybe I should just leave it next time.

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