Lanthwaite Woods

 

2021 has arrived and, although we are all still locked down in our little bubbles, there is hope on the horizon. One thing has remained unchanged: the wonders of our natural world are still free to explore for everyone, and even if you don't have magnificent lakes and mountains on your doorstep, there is plenty to see if you look closely. So, come with me, down to Lanthwaite Woods and we'll see what we can find.

Trees, obviously, like these magnificent Larches. Quite easy to recognise, they are very tall and straight with a small crown at the top, and their thin branches stick out at right angles from the trunk. Unusually, they are deciduous conifers. That is, they are pine trees which lose their needles in winter. They are very hardy and can be found growing right up to thye polar ice cap.

Not much in the way of fungi on the woodland floor today but there's a nice polypore, or bracket fungus, growing on a tall stump up the hill. Could be a beefsteak fungus but it's too far away to see clearly (and I'm not trotting up the hill, only to find that it's too far up the trunk to get at. Why do you think I bought a zoom lens?)

Lanthwaite Woods run alongside the River Cocker which, after joining the River Derwent at Cockermouth, flows past my front door at the Old Cornmill. But today, I'm more interested in the puddles along the river's edge. The water in these puddles freezes at different rates due to the daily variations in level and temperature, giving rise to these fascinating ice contours. It would be interesting to watch these form, using time-lapse photography. I wonder if anyone has done that?

On to a different habitat now. There is a small canal, running out of Crummock water, towards Loweswater. Beyond this is an area of marshland which I hope will be good for a spot of birdwatching. Or maybe not. The occasional crow and our old friend, the robin, which I am now totally convinced that our intrepid local guide carries around in her pocket just to keep me amused and to prevent me from bemoaning the lack of bird life.

News from The Old Cornmill

I am now writing this from the laboratory bench. True, much of my scientific equipment is still packed in cardboard boxes awaiting a home, but I've found the microscope and hope to get that up and running in the next few days. Meanwhile, the flood defences were completed earlier in the week so I should be safe unless the little needle goes off the scale. It's all looking very pastoral this frosty morning, with the sheep coming down to the water's edge and a demented cock pheasant running back and forth, this side of the fence. I'll just go and remind him that there's another dimension called 'up'.

Steve's Books

A bit of book news: The Eggs of Saramova and Other Stories is now available in paperback from Amazon priced £7.50. You can read the first two and a half chapters here in an extended preview: viewbook.at/Saramova

The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies All you need to know to identify any type of insect, spider, worm or snail very simply and find out more about it. Yvonne: This was a gift for a family so that the children can understand what they see on days out. The second was for me. Logical and easy to use. If you know anyone who likes nature you can be confident that gifting this book will give years of pleasure.
The Eggs of Saramova A science fiction novella for those who don't like science fiction. A fast-paced thriller that is, literally, out of this world (and it starts right here in Crete). Too new for reviews yet!
Not Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels  A light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex. Janet: If you are short on time but enjoy reading and are maybe not into long extended novels then Not Just For... Twisted Women provides readers with concise stories that stand alone and most certainly entertain with their ultimate twists. Loved it. Helen: A very good read! Well written and entertaining! Margaret: Each quick tale gives a glimpse into a character's life and has an often humorous twist at the end. I would love to read more. Yvonne: These days many people find it hard to find the time to read a novel, so this book of short stories is ideal to dip into. It is also makes a good gift.

It's A Small World

Life On Earth (from The Quick Guide To Creepy-Crawlies)

Some of you may have noticed that there is a bit of a bug going around at the moment. It's OK, I'm not going to bang on about coronovirus, which you're all fed up to the back teeth reading about, but to have a more general look at the world of bacteria and viruses and try to answer the question, “what have they ever done for us?” The figure on the left (taken from my book The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies) shows how life on Earth is classified into three sections (called Domains). All of the animals and plants that you can see with the naked eye (and many too small to see) fit into the bottom section, the Eukaryotes. The microscopic bacteria and the archaea between them, form a group called the Prokaryotes.

bacteria colonies on beetroot

Let's look at bacteria first. You're probably familiar with many of them: Escherichia coli (E. coli in common parlance), discovered by Theodore Escher in 1884 and the bane of butchers ever since; Staphylococcus aureus, the SA in MRSA that bedevils hospitals (the MR being multi-resistant [to antibiotics]); and Streptococcus pyogenes, the 'strep' in strep throat. But not all bacteria are bad. In fact, we couldn't live without them, they synthesize all the Vitamin B¹² in the world for a start. They are responsible for the breakdown of organic material that returns nutrients to the soil, as these colonies of bacteria are doing to this beetroot.There are also an awful lot of them: between them, they weigh more than every animal and plant on the planet combined.

Archaea providing a splash of colour

 The other half of the Prokaryotes are the archaea, with which you are probably not so familiar. These differ from bacteria (and ourselves for that matter) in their cell structure and basically, they are good guys. For instance, we couldn't digest our food without the help of an archaean with the zippy name of Methanobrevibacter smithii. When our gut bacteria have finished breaking down our meat and three veg. into stuff we can actually use to keep us alive, M. smithii mops up the bits that are left behind. They also bring a little colour into our lives as this picture of the of the Morning Glory Hot Spring in Yellowstone National Park, taken by ZYjacklin shows. The archaea are responsible for the bright yellow around the rim of the spring.

Coronavirus (Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM / Public domain)

So, where do viruses fit into all this? Awkwadly. Some say that they are a form of life (because they have genes and can reproduce) and some say that they are not (because they lack a cell structure). Personally, I go with Dr. Spock - “It's life Jim, but not as we know it.” They only come alive and reproduce when they are inside a host organism (plant, animal, bacteria or archaea), at all other times they exist as bits of genetic material in a protein coat floating about like teenagers looking for a party to crash. To continue the analogy, once they've found a party to crash, they trash the place by imparting a disease to the host (the SARS-CoV-2 virus currently spreading the COVID-19 disease around the world for example). They then move on to the next party through a variety of means; insects ferry them from plant to plant like Uber drivers; 'coughs and sneezes spread diseases' is an old adage which was made for them; poor toilet hygene (in the case of norovirus and rotavirus); or through intimate contact (such as HIV). Whether you consider them as living entities or not, Earth wouldn't be the same without them as they are the most numerous form of 'biological entity' on the planet. But what use are they? 

Viruses spread most quickly when there is a high density of host organisms in one place and where there is a method of transportation between different groups of populations. This occurs most often when the population growth of a species spirals out of control. So, maybe we should consider viruses as nature's population control mechanism. A bit like brakes on a car; they don't make the car go any better, further or faster but they are a very necessary part of the over all design.

Talking of life, but not as we know it: I have a new novella out this week entitled The Eggs of Saramova which starts here in Greece and then moves somewhere further afield. It's a fast paced thriller, only available on Kindle at the moment (the paperback will be published in time for the summer) and you can read the first couple of chapters for free (or the whole book if you're enrolled with KDP Select) by following this link: http://viewbook.at/Saramova

Steve's Books

The Eggs of Saramova A science fiction novella for those who don't like science fiction. A fast-paced thriller that is, literally, out of this world (and it starts right here in Crete). The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies All you need to know to identify any type of insect, spider, worm or snail very simply and find out more about it. Not Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels  A light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex.

See sample pages of all my books and latest blogs and keep abreast of latest publications here: http://author.to/SteveDaniels

Crete Nature Catch-up
Series 1 - Welcome to Lasithi	Series 2 - The Rhythm Of Life	Series 3 - A Journey Begins
Series 4 - The Milonas Valley	Series 5 - This Is Ferma	Series 6 - Upland Villages
Series 7 - The Forty saints	Series 8 - Sunday Strolls	Series 9 -Stormy Weather

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LINKS:

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Cretan Flora Flowers of Crete BIRDS OF CRETE Crete Birding

Greek Butterflies and Moths Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)