Some people think that you have to go out into the wilderness or up into the mountains to experience what it’s like to be surrounded by true nature, but those people are wrong. You may look out the window or take a walk and see all the manufactured constructions that scatter the streets, but between each building, nature blooms.
Even in built up, urban areas, man-made creations can add colour and life to dark, dusty cities. An example is Central Park in New York. The residents of Manhattan were living in crowded, unhealthy conditions, so state officials purchased the land between 59th and 106th streets, between the fifth and eighth avenues in 1853. Frederick Law Olmsted won a design competition with the plan of a park inspired by Birkenhead Park, which is acknowledged as one of the first publicly funded parks in England.
Central Park is now visited by over 42 million people every year and still remains a beautiful escape for the residents of New York who want a break from the towering blocks that make up the city.
Nature isn’t just untouched land and secret locations in the wild. Nature is made up of animals, plants, land and anything that the earth provides us. People may argue that a man-made park isn’t a place of true nature. I would disagree. We may decide to place certain life forms in certain areas, but the trees will naturally grow, the flowers will bloom at their chosen time of year and the animals will roam freely around the land, living as they please.
As a society, we decide where we want to place nature. We have chosen the areas that we want to build on and we have chosen the areas that should remain untouched. We have chosen when and where to build gardens, parks, lakes, etc. Nature is located where it’s convenient for us, but just because we determine where nature belongs, it doesn’t mean we can’t experience the sights and sounds of true nature in the spaces that we’ve provided for it.
I can experience so much of what nature has to offer without even leaving my home. I can sit in my garden and observe my surroundings. I can look at the plants, animals and land that fills the space and watch as each lifeform goes about its day, doing whatever it needs to do.
It is currently a warm Wednesday afternoon in April and I am writing this piece as I sit in my garden. A Photinia ‘Red Robin’ Tree stands tall next to me, its red and green leaves are casting a shadow over my MacBook, keeping it cool in the shade. My body is being kept warm by the sunlight as the golden glow gently heats my pale skin. There is a slight breeze in the air, which means that when a cloud drifts over the sun, my body will shiver slightly at the sudden chill. I am surrounded by nature and I can appreciate and observe every little thing that is around me.
Various birds soar past, above me, gracefully gliding through the air, barely needing to flap their wings as the steady breeze is keeping them up high. A blackbird suddenly appears on the garden fence. I can tell that it’s a male as it’s feathers are a shiny jet black, as opposed to a female, who’s feathers are dark brown with speckles. His head twitches and his face stares in my direction, his perfectly black eyes peer at me. I notice a slight orange circle around the edge of his eyes, matching the orange of his beak. I blink and the bird is gone. Quick to appear and even quicker to disappear. Off to do whatever it is blackbirds do.
I lean back in my chair, which isn’t too comfortable. Solid metal bars twirled into a pattern press into my spine and I fidget. I hear movement against the garden fence to my left. My gaze glances over and I see a pair of sparrows clinging to the willow screening that covers the length of the fence. The couple are stripping off the bark, long strands dangling from their beaks. They’ll be using that for their nests.
Another sparrow swoops down onto the path, further down the garden. The small bird drops a feather, almost the same size as him, onto the slab. It repeatedly pecks at the seagull feather, trying to reposition it. I watch as he struggles to get a secure grip. Eventually, he manages to hold it tightly between his beak, flies up high and over my head. He’s off to weave it into his nest, wherever that may be.
Did you know House Sparrows are monogamous birds? They usually mate for life, however, if a mate is lost, they will be replaced when it comes around to next year’s breeding season. Sparrows, blackbirds, robins and many more are able to have several broods every year. However, blue tits have to be very careful with the timing of their nesting as they are usually only able to have one brood of chicks each year.
We have a bird box nailed to the fence right in front of me. We’ve had it for years, ever since I was a little girl. Every year I would look forward to seeing the blue tits nest inside it. All throughout spring, you’d be able to see them constantly popping in and out of the tiny hole as they went out collecting material for their nest. The small birds never seemed to stop working, they didn’t take a break.
Once the nest is built, the female blue tit will begin laying eggs, usually one a day for up to two weeks, only incubating them when the last one is laid. I remember when the breeding season was over, my dad would empty the box of the nest. We’d examine it and see all the different plants and materials that the birds had weaved into their beds. Unfortunately, we haven’t had any blue tits nest in the box for a few years now. It’s currently empty. Hopefully, next year, they’ll choose our garden to raise their chicks.
As I breathe in the scent of freshly cut grass, a Peacock Butterfly flutters past me, just inches from my face. My eyes follow the creature and watch as it lands on a tulip, in a pot on the patio. The butterfly’s wings lay open, showing off its spots, appearing like two pairs of eyes. It’s reddish orange wings almost blend in with the bright red tulip. Almost the perfect camouflage.
This is the first Peacock Butterfly I’ve seen this year. They start to appear during the spring and can be spotted around England any time between March, up until the end of the summer. Peacock Butterflies are one of many species of butterfly that hibernate during the winter. They hide out in sheds, outhouses, hollow trees and anywhere they can find a gap. They are known to hibernate in groups and are even capable of producing a hissing sound to deter predators if they’re disturbed during the winter season.
I watch as it sits, slowly and gently flapping its wings, open and close. The tall tulip that it’s perched on sways in the breeze. Seven long green stems have sprouted from the soil in the grey pot. The flowers have bloomed into a variety of colours. Two are a beautiful scarlet red, one a dark crimson, three are a mixture of orange and red, I like to describe them as the colour of a sunset, and the last is white with purple streaks. There are over 150 species of tulip and over 3000 different varieties, which means that they come in almost any colour, even black.
All around the garden are plant pots filled with tulips. Some are yellow, pink or white, but my favourite colour tulips are the orange ones. Tulips have always been my favourite flower for as long as I can remember and I would much rather have a bunch of tulips on Valentine’s Day than the stereotypical red roses.
In my garden, every flower is bent in the direction of the sun, stretching as high as they can go, with all of the petals unfurled, in order to receive maximum sunlight. The petals are open so wide that they look as though they may fall off, but later tonight, they’ll gradually close back up, once the sunlight has faded away. Then they’ll wait to open again the next day.
The butterfly has decided it’s had enough of the tulips and has now moved onto the lavender bush that grows in the middle of the tortoise enclosure. I have two pet tortoises, both are Hermann’s species. I bought Edward on my 12th birthday, when he was one year old. He’ll be turning 10 this year. We got Buddy a year later and both of them live in my garden.
Neither of them are in the enclosure right now, as we let them have the run of the garden when we can. I have to keep an eye on Buddy though, we aren’t sure if it’s a sexual urge or an act of dominance, but for some reason, he keeps biting Edward. Right now, they are at opposite ends of the garden, but if Buddy notices Edward, I’ll have to separate them and put one of them in the enclosure.
We aren’t too sure of the sex of either tortoise, as it’s not that easy to judge. Hermann’s tortoises are usually sexed by their tail length. Males typically have much larger tails than females. However, every tortoise is different, so it’s not always simple and easy to determine their sex.
Males in other species of tortoise have concave undersides of their shells. This enables the males to position themselves better, on top of the female, when it comes to mating. Although, I can’t say for sure what sex my tortoises are, I think Edward is likely to be a female and I think Buddy is a male.
Buddy is currently stomping around the patio. Tortoises are actually much faster than people realise. Everyone believes the myth that they’re incredibly slow, because of the tortoise and hare tale that we are all told as children. Tortoises are cold-blooded creatures which means they gain their heat throughout the day from their surrounding environment. If the sun is out and it’s a warm day, they will run and stomp around the garden. If it’s cloudy and cold, they’ll move at a snail’s pace and probably decide to spend most of the day asleep.
Speaking of snails, I’ve just noticed one slowly sliding across the patio slabs. Its trail is glistening in the sunlight. A snail uses its slime for many situations. It can help them move along the ground faster, stick to surfaces - which is useful when climbing anything vertical, and it can also protect the snail from sharp objects, bacteria and sunlight. If it’s a hot day, a snail may curl up inside its shell and seal itself inside using its slime. This allows them to stay moist and stop them from drying out in the heat.
The snail is heading directly towards Buddy, who is now sat in a corner, basking in the heat. He seems to be half asleep as he sunbathes. The snail is probably hoping to pass by, undetected. If Buddy spots it, today will be the snail’s last day. Tortoises typically eat weeds and the odd piece of fruit, however, if they come across a snail, they will feast on it.
I sit and mentally root for the underdog, hoping the snail lives to see another day, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Buddy beginning to wiggle and he slowly starts to turn around. Just as I think Buddy has seen the rather large snail, a Song Thrush swoops down and grabs the snail between its beak.
The thrush is whacking the poor snail onto the hard, Indian sandstone patio. It repeatedly throws its head down, trying to smash the snail’s shell. Over and over again. The snail progressively looks more and more battered with each hit. The thrush continues the same action for what feels like minutes, but the snail won’t shatter. Eventually, the bird decides to pick up the snail and fly off somewhere else to break it open.
As the thrush lifts off the ground and flaps away, the snail manages to slip from the bird’s grasp and falls back down onto the solid ground. The thrush seems to have given up as it flies off, leaving the snail to slide off and hide somewhere. Maybe it will live to see another day after all.
Just as I think the snail is finally safe, Buddy rushes over and sniffs the slimy creature. He hesitates, making me believe he won’t eat it, but seconds later he’s chomping away. The snail’s shell crunches with every bite. Slime is foaming at the tortoise’s mouth and froth starts dripping onto the floor as Buddy munches on the unexpected snack. It doesn’t take him long to finish it. Nothing left but a small damp patch on the patio.
I hate to see my tortoises eating snails. I have to remind myself that it’s the circle of life. Everything that dies provides life to another. Every creature that I’ve seen today, every plant in my garden, will die at some point, some sooner than others. That is nature. That is life.
We have to remember to appreciate all of the nature that is around us. We must notice the flowers when they decide to bloom. Watch the trees slowly grow each year. Admire the animals who work incredibly hard to breed and survive. Appreciate the sun, rain, snow and every season that the world provides us.
You can find nature all around you, in a garden, a park, a field or by a pond. So much goes on, even in the smallest of spaces. You don’t have to travel miles away to experience true nature. You can learn to appreciate all the little things that most people don’t even bother to notice. All you need to do is take a step outside and see what you can find. Experience life. Experience the raw, natural beauty.
Even in built up, urban areas, man-made creations can add colour and life to dark, dusty cities. An example is Central Park in New York. The residents of Manhattan were living in crowded, unhealthy conditions, so state officials purchased the land between 59th and 106th streets, between the fifth and eighth avenues in 1853. Frederick Law Olmsted won a design competition with the plan of a park inspired by Birkenhead Park, which is acknowledged as one of the first publicly funded parks in England.
Central Park is now visited by over 42 million people every year and still remains a beautiful escape for the residents of New York who want a break from the towering blocks that make up the city.
Nature isn’t just untouched land and secret locations in the wild. Nature is made up of animals, plants, land and anything that the earth provides us. People may argue that a man-made park isn’t a place of true nature. I would disagree. We may decide to place certain life forms in certain areas, but the trees will naturally grow, the flowers will bloom at their chosen time of year and the animals will roam freely around the land, living as they please.
As a society, we decide where we want to place nature. We have chosen the areas that we want to build on and we have chosen the areas that should remain untouched. We have chosen when and where to build gardens, parks, lakes, etc. Nature is located where it’s convenient for us, but just because we determine where nature belongs, it doesn’t mean we can’t experience the sights and sounds of true nature in the spaces that we’ve provided for it.
I can experience so much of what nature has to offer without even leaving my home. I can sit in my garden and observe my surroundings. I can look at the plants, animals and land that fills the space and watch as each lifeform goes about its day, doing whatever it needs to do.
It is currently a warm Wednesday afternoon in April and I am writing this piece as I sit in my garden. A Photinia ‘Red Robin’ Tree stands tall next to me, its red and green leaves are casting a shadow over my MacBook, keeping it cool in the shade. My body is being kept warm by the sunlight as the golden glow gently heats my pale skin. There is a slight breeze in the air, which means that when a cloud drifts over the sun, my body will shiver slightly at the sudden chill. I am surrounded by nature and I can appreciate and observe every little thing that is around me.
Various birds soar past, above me, gracefully gliding through the air, barely needing to flap their wings as the steady breeze is keeping them up high. A blackbird suddenly appears on the garden fence. I can tell that it’s a male as it’s feathers are a shiny jet black, as opposed to a female, who’s feathers are dark brown with speckles. His head twitches and his face stares in my direction, his perfectly black eyes peer at me. I notice a slight orange circle around the edge of his eyes, matching the orange of his beak. I blink and the bird is gone. Quick to appear and even quicker to disappear. Off to do whatever it is blackbirds do.
I lean back in my chair, which isn’t too comfortable. Solid metal bars twirled into a pattern press into my spine and I fidget. I hear movement against the garden fence to my left. My gaze glances over and I see a pair of sparrows clinging to the willow screening that covers the length of the fence. The couple are stripping off the bark, long strands dangling from their beaks. They’ll be using that for their nests.
Another sparrow swoops down onto the path, further down the garden. The small bird drops a feather, almost the same size as him, onto the slab. It repeatedly pecks at the seagull feather, trying to reposition it. I watch as he struggles to get a secure grip. Eventually, he manages to hold it tightly between his beak, flies up high and over my head. He’s off to weave it into his nest, wherever that may be.
Did you know House Sparrows are monogamous birds? They usually mate for life, however, if a mate is lost, they will be replaced when it comes around to next year’s breeding season. Sparrows, blackbirds, robins and many more are able to have several broods every year. However, blue tits have to be very careful with the timing of their nesting as they are usually only able to have one brood of chicks each year.
We have a bird box nailed to the fence right in front of me. We’ve had it for years, ever since I was a little girl. Every year I would look forward to seeing the blue tits nest inside it. All throughout spring, you’d be able to see them constantly popping in and out of the tiny hole as they went out collecting material for their nest. The small birds never seemed to stop working, they didn’t take a break.
Once the nest is built, the female blue tit will begin laying eggs, usually one a day for up to two weeks, only incubating them when the last one is laid. I remember when the breeding season was over, my dad would empty the box of the nest. We’d examine it and see all the different plants and materials that the birds had weaved into their beds. Unfortunately, we haven’t had any blue tits nest in the box for a few years now. It’s currently empty. Hopefully, next year, they’ll choose our garden to raise their chicks.
As I breathe in the scent of freshly cut grass, a Peacock Butterfly flutters past me, just inches from my face. My eyes follow the creature and watch as it lands on a tulip, in a pot on the patio. The butterfly’s wings lay open, showing off its spots, appearing like two pairs of eyes. It’s reddish orange wings almost blend in with the bright red tulip. Almost the perfect camouflage.
This is the first Peacock Butterfly I’ve seen this year. They start to appear during the spring and can be spotted around England any time between March, up until the end of the summer. Peacock Butterflies are one of many species of butterfly that hibernate during the winter. They hide out in sheds, outhouses, hollow trees and anywhere they can find a gap. They are known to hibernate in groups and are even capable of producing a hissing sound to deter predators if they’re disturbed during the winter season.
I watch as it sits, slowly and gently flapping its wings, open and close. The tall tulip that it’s perched on sways in the breeze. Seven long green stems have sprouted from the soil in the grey pot. The flowers have bloomed into a variety of colours. Two are a beautiful scarlet red, one a dark crimson, three are a mixture of orange and red, I like to describe them as the colour of a sunset, and the last is white with purple streaks. There are over 150 species of tulip and over 3000 different varieties, which means that they come in almost any colour, even black.
All around the garden are plant pots filled with tulips. Some are yellow, pink or white, but my favourite colour tulips are the orange ones. Tulips have always been my favourite flower for as long as I can remember and I would much rather have a bunch of tulips on Valentine’s Day than the stereotypical red roses.
In my garden, every flower is bent in the direction of the sun, stretching as high as they can go, with all of the petals unfurled, in order to receive maximum sunlight. The petals are open so wide that they look as though they may fall off, but later tonight, they’ll gradually close back up, once the sunlight has faded away. Then they’ll wait to open again the next day.
The butterfly has decided it’s had enough of the tulips and has now moved onto the lavender bush that grows in the middle of the tortoise enclosure. I have two pet tortoises, both are Hermann’s species. I bought Edward on my 12th birthday, when he was one year old. He’ll be turning 10 this year. We got Buddy a year later and both of them live in my garden.
Neither of them are in the enclosure right now, as we let them have the run of the garden when we can. I have to keep an eye on Buddy though, we aren’t sure if it’s a sexual urge or an act of dominance, but for some reason, he keeps biting Edward. Right now, they are at opposite ends of the garden, but if Buddy notices Edward, I’ll have to separate them and put one of them in the enclosure.
We aren’t too sure of the sex of either tortoise, as it’s not that easy to judge. Hermann’s tortoises are usually sexed by their tail length. Males typically have much larger tails than females. However, every tortoise is different, so it’s not always simple and easy to determine their sex.
Males in other species of tortoise have concave undersides of their shells. This enables the males to position themselves better, on top of the female, when it comes to mating. Although, I can’t say for sure what sex my tortoises are, I think Edward is likely to be a female and I think Buddy is a male.
Buddy is currently stomping around the patio. Tortoises are actually much faster than people realise. Everyone believes the myth that they’re incredibly slow, because of the tortoise and hare tale that we are all told as children. Tortoises are cold-blooded creatures which means they gain their heat throughout the day from their surrounding environment. If the sun is out and it’s a warm day, they will run and stomp around the garden. If it’s cloudy and cold, they’ll move at a snail’s pace and probably decide to spend most of the day asleep.
Speaking of snails, I’ve just noticed one slowly sliding across the patio slabs. Its trail is glistening in the sunlight. A snail uses its slime for many situations. It can help them move along the ground faster, stick to surfaces - which is useful when climbing anything vertical, and it can also protect the snail from sharp objects, bacteria and sunlight. If it’s a hot day, a snail may curl up inside its shell and seal itself inside using its slime. This allows them to stay moist and stop them from drying out in the heat.
The snail is heading directly towards Buddy, who is now sat in a corner, basking in the heat. He seems to be half asleep as he sunbathes. The snail is probably hoping to pass by, undetected. If Buddy spots it, today will be the snail’s last day. Tortoises typically eat weeds and the odd piece of fruit, however, if they come across a snail, they will feast on it.
I sit and mentally root for the underdog, hoping the snail lives to see another day, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Buddy beginning to wiggle and he slowly starts to turn around. Just as I think Buddy has seen the rather large snail, a Song Thrush swoops down and grabs the snail between its beak.
The thrush is whacking the poor snail onto the hard, Indian sandstone patio. It repeatedly throws its head down, trying to smash the snail’s shell. Over and over again. The snail progressively looks more and more battered with each hit. The thrush continues the same action for what feels like minutes, but the snail won’t shatter. Eventually, the bird decides to pick up the snail and fly off somewhere else to break it open.
As the thrush lifts off the ground and flaps away, the snail manages to slip from the bird’s grasp and falls back down onto the solid ground. The thrush seems to have given up as it flies off, leaving the snail to slide off and hide somewhere. Maybe it will live to see another day after all.
Just as I think the snail is finally safe, Buddy rushes over and sniffs the slimy creature. He hesitates, making me believe he won’t eat it, but seconds later he’s chomping away. The snail’s shell crunches with every bite. Slime is foaming at the tortoise’s mouth and froth starts dripping onto the floor as Buddy munches on the unexpected snack. It doesn’t take him long to finish it. Nothing left but a small damp patch on the patio.
I hate to see my tortoises eating snails. I have to remind myself that it’s the circle of life. Everything that dies provides life to another. Every creature that I’ve seen today, every plant in my garden, will die at some point, some sooner than others. That is nature. That is life.
We have to remember to appreciate all of the nature that is around us. We must notice the flowers when they decide to bloom. Watch the trees slowly grow each year. Admire the animals who work incredibly hard to breed and survive. Appreciate the sun, rain, snow and every season that the world provides us.
You can find nature all around you, in a garden, a park, a field or by a pond. So much goes on, even in the smallest of spaces. You don’t have to travel miles away to experience true nature. You can learn to appreciate all the little things that most people don’t even bother to notice. All you need to do is take a step outside and see what you can find. Experience life. Experience the raw, natural beauty.