Steve's Nature Blog: rain

Wednesday, 30 January 2019

Water, Water, Everywhere

January has been a wet month in these parts. The average rainfall over the past ten years, according to my little rain gauge, has been 83mm. This year we have had over 150mm. It was particularly wet last week when some fool with a digger started terraforming the olive grove behind the house and unleashed a torrent that found its way, unerringly, to the small hole where the co-axial cable enters my lounge. My thanks to Demos Ierapetras (AKA the local council) who sorted the problem promptly and efficiently and limited my discomfort to mere paddling.

Out & About

Crocus-leaved Romulea (Romulea bulbocodium)

However, the sun has managed to break out this morning so let us walk along by the normally dry river beds and see and hear them gushing with exuberance. Alongside the Poppy Anemones, Mandrakes and Friar's Cowls that we saw in Toplou Gorge earlier this month the Broad-leaved Anemones, (Anemone hortensis) and Salad Rocket (Eruca sativa) have also started to come into flower. Not that I'm into making salads in this weather, it's more a time for hot soups – but more of that in Fieldcraft and Foraging. I see that we also have this delightful little Crocus-leaved Romulea (Romulea bulbocodium) down here by the side of the track. Named after Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome due to its preponderance in the Roman countryside apparently.

Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris ssp. suffriana)

Insects have been a bit scarce but the beetles are starting to make an appearance including a January favourite, The Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris ssp. suffriana). Photographing them when they are on the move is somewhat difficult as they can zoom along at over 20kph so it's best to catch them when they are otherwise, ahem, preoccupied. I think we'll leave them to it.

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)

Birds too have been a bit thin on the ground (and in the air for that matter) but I see that we are being accompanied by our old friends Huginn and Muninn, the Ravens from the nearby elevation of the 40 Saints. The other birds to look out for at this time of year are the Wagtails. As yet I've only seen the White Wagtails (Motacilla alba) but the Yellows, Greys and others will doubtless soon fly in during the next month or two.

I'll tell you what, there's a lot of fallen leaves about, beginning to rot down in the wet. You grab a handful while I try to find a resealable bag. We'll take them back to the lab later and see who's living down there.

Fieldcraft & Foraging

Now, you can't have helped but notice this little yellow flower, Wood Sorrel (Oxalis pes-caprae). Along with other Sorrels in the genus Oxalis it has been eaten around the world for millennia. It has a slightly lemony taste and the leaves are quite thirst quenching on a hot day. There have been concerns over its toxicity as it contains oxalic acid (but so too does broccoli, grapefruit and spinach) and the risks to people with normal kidney function are virtually non-existent. Personally, I like to use it is a garnish on soups, salads and that old 1970's favourite; the prawn cocktail. Which gives me a chance to introduce another new section: Steve's Wild Kitchen where I'll be posting original recipes using the food that we forage on our little walks. Enjoy.

In The Lab

Somewhere in my bag I should have that leaf litter sample that you collected earlier. The proper way to extract creepy crawlies from leaf litter is by using a Berlese Funnel (available from Watkins & Doncaster for about £170 pounds including VAT).

If, like me, your budget doesn't quite run to that at the moment you can knock up your own for under a quid until you've saved up enough for the real thing.

Put a 60p funnel from your local market into an old jam jar, stuff a bit of old mosquito netting over the spout, cover the top with clingfilm and stick it under an angle poise lamp. (For the solar powered model put it outside in the sun with a sheet of glass on top).

We'll also need something to catch the critters when they fall through (which they will as they don't like the heat) and the professionals use industrial ethyl alcohol. Personally I use raki (the local moonshine) which has exactly the same effect but the insects die happier.

Right, we'll leave that for a day or two and then come back and see what we've got...

which is; a centipede, a couple of snakefly larvae (which are no more flies than butterflies are), another larva of indeterminate origin and a pair of very small beetles. A varied little haul.

And if you haven't had enough of me waffling on yet, and it's still raining outside, you can always snuggle down in the warm with an earlier series of #CreteNature using the catch-up links below.

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 - (Current series start)

Sponsored by SVCwithEtsy https://svcwithetsy.etsy.com

And if you still haven't had enough...

Not Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels

A light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex.
Kindle Edition 1.99 pounds sterling (or equivalent).
Paperback Edition 4.99 pounds sterling (or equivalent)..

Read snippets, samples and stuff at Steve's Books

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LINKS:

Share your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

Explore the region with the #CreteNature interactive Hiking and Nature Map

Greek Butterflies and Moths

Aquaworld Aquarium

Visit Greece (National Government Tourist Office)

Wednesday, 29 March 2017

The Sweet Smell of Rain

Ah, the sweet, rich smell of rain. That distinctive scent wafting up our nostrils comes from a naturally occurring plant oil that is absorbed by soil and rocks during dry periods. When rain falls, the oil is released into the air along with an organic compound called geosmin that's produced by the bacteria in wet soil. It’s this combination that creates that clean, earthy, “just-rained smell”. Rain itself has no odour. Even acid rain looks and smells just like the normal kind.

We’ve had rather a lot of rain recently but before we go down and see what effect it has had on our stream I noticed this little patch of ground when we emerged onto the track last week. It is regularly cultivated later in the spring but let’s have a look and see what’s taken hold before the rotavator moves in. Plenty of Wood Sorrell here at our feet and some stands of White Mustard in front of the Date Palms but just check out these little pink flowers. These are Small Herb Robert and they are certainly attracting the little Bee Flies. As their name suggests they are flies that have evolved to protect themselves by looking like bees. Whenever you come across an animal that seems to have two contradictory names the second name tells you what it is and the first name tells you what it resembles. Thus a Whale Shark is a shark that resembles a whale and a Curlew Sandpiper is a sandpiper that looks like a curlew and not the other way around.

The rain has certainly put a bit more vim and vigour into our stream; it looks as though it can’t wait to get to the sea. Let’s have a dig along the bank and see what turns up. Earthworms – now these are quite exciting for me because I don’t see many in our arid climate out here. The one on the right is an adult Lobworm and the one on the left looks to be a juvenile. How can you tell the difference? Earthworms are hermaphrodite (both male and female) and when they mature they develop a ‘saddle’, technically called the clitellum, which contains the eggs. After two earthworms have mated the sperm from worm 1 is transferred up the body of worm 2 to the saddle (and vice-versa), the clitellum secretes material that forms a ring which the worm then slides out of and injects the eggs and sperm into it. The ring seals itself into a cocoon in which the baby worms develop, emerging as fully formed juveniles two or three months later. Now you know all about the sex life of the earthworm. You’ve always wanted to know that, haven’t you?

I see that we have a diminutive cascade running into our stream from the valley side. Do you fancy a climb? We could do with a change of scene. There are quite a number of White Hedge-nettles about: another totally misleading name as they are not nettles at all and they don’t always grow in hedges as you can see. If you look at the flower shape you can see that they are similar in design to Sage, Rosemary and many of the other culinary herbs and that is because they are in the same family. Nettles are in a completely different family and their flowers are totally dissimilar and very dull in comparison. Mind you, you can eat nettles but as far as I know there are no recipes for White Hedge-nettles despite their family connections. That may be one for our friend Haris Saslis at Forage Crete to investigate.

Here’s another one of those pesky flies trying to look like something it isn’t. It has all the colouring and shape of a wasp but it’s a Hoverfly. This one is male and they usually appear earlier in the spring than the females giving them a chance to mature (you know how long it takes us boys to grow up –I’m not sure I’ve got there yet). How do I know it’s a male? The eyes are set very close together and appear to almost join in the middle. In the female the eyes are set further apart.

Quite a nice view of the opposite side of the valley from up here and we’re almost back to the coast. Look back down to the track a moment. There, sitting on top of that telegraph pole – a kestrel. They often patrol up and down this valley. They’ll be breeding soon, nesting in holes and scrapes in the cliffs or maybe in an old crow’s nest. They can lay up to six or seven eggs and like many birds they are r-strategists. That is they spread their parental care over a number of offspring allowing the strongest to survive. This compares to animals like ourselves who are k-strategists (in the developed world at least) who have fewer offspring but devote considerable care and attention to ensuring that they all survive. I sometimes wonder, from a purely biological rather than a humanitarian viewpoint, whether we in the developed world are correct in imposing our k-strategy thinking on those parts of the world where the r-strategy prevails.

And on that thought I think we’ll call it a day and make our way back down to the track. Watch your footing, going down can be more treacherous than climbing up and I don’t want to pick you up in a heap at the bottom.

The Extra Bit

Just in case these blog posts give you a taste for visiting the Mediterranean I am hosting a new facebook site called Mediterranean Island Insights which features posts from bloggers on various Mediterranean Islands. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1309179912496006/