The strangeness continues

Well, not so very strange. But the animal-proximity thing is ongoing.

I went to sit with Kairos.

The kites were, disappointingly, less interested in me, but two squirrels homed in on me - one from the left and one from the right. They were climbing on the fallen branches on either side of me. Attracted by the smell of the gifted peanut butter!

When I left, two hares followed each other from the field margin into the woods. This was interesting as I had also seen two together at Cottesbrooke. Hares don't have a "mating season" as such... but I wondered if, say, if March was the first round of courting, maybe May offered a second round? No evidence for that.

The young muntjac was, for a time, blissfully unaware of me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3MJRwl_MD4

As for Kairos, he like many of the oaks at the Reserve, is not looking at his best. I have sent in alerts about a few (like the Morrigan) and the other day one of the lead volunteers commented on this:

I suspect climate has a big influence here.

1) The cold conditions will have slowed leaf development considerably, leading to a longer process of canopy maturity. In addition, newly flushed oak leaves are susceptible to frost damage. Oaks have the ability to discard frost damaged leaves, and grow new ones.

2) The dry/drought conditions last year may also be contributing: if the tree has not replenished its water before autumn leaf drop, it may remain relatively dehydrated. The wet winter will not have helped, as deciduous trees rely on the evaporation from their leaves to draw up water from the soil.

3) The cold conditions may also have led to hunger for numerous invertebrates. Small and tender leaves will be an attractive food source (humans are much the same, preferring young, tender shoots and leaves rather than their older counterparts).

I suspect, and hope, that these oaks will look much better by July. Keep an eye on them and see what transpires.