A crisp, sharp photo of a beautiful male newt in breeding 'plumage' disappearing into the jaws of the large male heron is not something I want to see each day. I have just reviewed the photos from yesterday and witnessed the death and consumption of at least three different newts. I realise that moving the camera to a less graphic part of the garden is burying my head in the metaphorical sand and possibly akin to turning off the telly because of an unpleasant news report, or crossing the road if you see a person up ahead who is in need of help, but there you go . . . I know my limits and they have been reached.
So instead, here's some much prettier pictures from yesterday. This is only a tiny slice of the garden, the bits I am not showing are a mess; a big, weed covered, falling-to-bits-in-places mess. Defintely not Instagram-worthy π
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItc6wwXYnoCk8XZ1vWooZnFFULpAHoDUcy7pPONFbxwMWhyXJwb62IsgRLANylD6fOVMnKXm49FfPH0BQ3OEiNYye_EcykAQlnOdCeFSHerdi0c3tKET6YuxQj_-7rXaO1NVLwo39RPaYpbwLBhDoG-AEgT1n5qtbTFzg6iAhoX0cji1Cuw86HAlcs0s/s400/No%20more%20Heron-cam-001.jpeg)
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I love your garden, and we all have messy bits we need to work on, ladybirds are always welcome.
ReplyDeleteThank you m'dear.
DeleteDo you have a way of me contacting you privately? Cannot leave comments on your blog.
I am completely in agreement, never could watch those nature shows where animals fight, kill each other, etc. Just not for my tender tummy or brain.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is so pretty. I have my own, messy places in mine, and I would bet anyone who doesn't have a gardener on staff has the same!
Oh Sue, thank you so much. I thought I was the only person who did not watch all the 'wonderful' David Attenborough programmes and the like, for exactly the reasons you state.
DeleteI know that parts of my garden look lovely, but it is my nature to see the bits which are overgrown and in desperate need of work ahead of the pretty bits. Such strange creatures, us humans π€ π§
Oh no! I realise it is nature, but I don't always want to witness such activity, either. The ladybirds make a more calming image.
ReplyDeleteJust the other day, I discovered that a group of ladybirds is referred to as a 'loveliness' :)
A "loveliness" of ladybirds - oh, thank you Jules. That is a gorgeous thought to start the day with.
DeleteNope I wouldn't want to watch beautiful newts being devoured left right and centre either, I mean I know the heron has to eat but he could vary his diet to something else a bit.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I'm another one who no longer watches David Attenborough and nature programmes in general, too much savagery and eating of each other going on for my liking. The only snippets I see of those sort of programmes now are on Gogglebox, where the goggle-boxers are also hiding their eyes and shrieking in horror.
It is incredibly reassuring to learn I am not the only one who cannot deal with all of 'nature red in tooth and claw', thank you.
DeleteI accept that Nature designed a massive, complicated, beautiful and well-balanced system (which worked perfectly until the bipeds got out of control and increased the population way, way beyond what it was probably designed to be) but it does not mean the natural cycle needs to be seared on my retina in such graphic detail.
Those fabulous plant photos make me very happy, Spring-like to look at even if the temperatures are anything but.
ReplyDeleteI have never watched a David Attenborough programme, much as I admire him, I think I was pit off animal stuff for life after Bambi! xxx
There was a light frost on the dustbin at 07.00 this morning π€―
DeleteI find it fascinating (and very comforting) that I am not the only one who does not enjoy Attenborough's programmes.
I think that people who don’t appreciate seeing predator prey relationships are a little bit selective at times. In my experience if someone sees a hawk take a snake they applaud the hawk, yet if the same hawk captures a “cute” songbird the hawk is considered the villain. Many of these same people have no qualms about stepping on a beetle or squishing a spider, and gladly barbecue their lamb chops!
ReplyDeleteDavid, apologies for the delay publishing your comment - I've been away from my blog.
DeleteWhen I see a sparrowhawk here I'm delighted because it confirms I have created a healthy enough ecosystem to support many different levels of predation. I accept that the heron deserves to eat as much as the next beautiful creature - I just don't want to see it quite so much. I do, however, carefully evict spiders, bees, wasps and other critters from the house and have not eaten lamb for over a decade. π