Week 45: Castle Hill Nature Reserve

Up on the clifftop above Newhaven is the Castle Hill (Local) Nature Reserve.  Not to be confused with the Castle Hill (National) Nature Reserve a few miles away, north of Woodingdean between Brighton and Lewes.  (Must have been a lot of Castle's in the area at one time.)

This was the first time I've worked up there with the South Downs volunteers and despite living only a little further along the coast hadn't been there before at all.  The sun was shining but a cold wind kept the temperatures down.

A variety of tasks - starting with cleaning and painting the sign posts along the track up to the coastguard lookout tower.  Replacing the 'green' flag with a newer, cleaner one. Checking out the reptiles on the reserve (nowhere to be seen) and then weeding and cleaning out one of the gun emplacements.

Week 44: ISS and other satellites

Among many of the night time objects visible from earth is one of the brightest satellites ... no not the Moon! - the International Space Station, otherwise known as the ISS.

Every now and then it's overhead pass can be seen as one of the brightest and fastest moving satellites in the night sky, even from the light polluted suburbs.  Through a telescope or good pair of binoculars you could even make out it's outline.

Tonight was a particularly high and bright pass, right overhead and luckily a clear sky so it visible even with the streetlights - passing quickly overhead from West to East.

If you want to know when the ISS is likely to be visible where you are - check out the NASA Spot The Station website or if you're in the UK, follow @VirtualAstro who tweets regularly about ISS passes, when and were to spot them and other astronomical highlights to look out for.

If you're lucky enough to live in an area with dark skies - look up on any clear, moonless night and you'll see a number of satellites passing overhead.  They're fast moving pin-pricks of light and can move east to west or north to south.  Different from planes (fly much lower) or meteors (seen as a short, fast streak).  Brightest overhead, dimming as they head towards the horizon - depending on the time of year and position of the sun.

ISS photographed by STS-134 crew member on the space shuttle Endeavour 

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Week 43: Nettle Pesto

Picking a mixture of nettles - just the young tops and if you grasp firmly they don't sting ... apparently and wild garlic.

Same ingredients as last time - nuts and cheese mixed in with the nettles - lightly blanched before chopping finely.  We also sampled fresh nettle tea and pastry parcels made with nettles and cheese. 

It can basically be used like spinach and is incredibly good for you.

Ta dah!

Week 42: The Brighton Wheel

The Brighton Wheel

After last year's cancelled trip - another opportunity for a ride in Brighton's very own 'eye'.

Brighton seafront towards Worthing

Not quite as large as the London Eye and it goes round a lot quicker but still great views up and down the Sussex coast.

Brighton Pier from the Brighton Wheel

We had a perfect day for it.  After the @BrightonChamber meeting a large group walked the short distance to the seafront and were ushered in to the pods for a ride on the wheel.

Brighton seafront towards the Marina

Visit the Brighton Wheel

Week 41: Wild Garlic Workshop

Run by the lovely ladies at @PickItCookIt near Ashurst and the first of two workshops I've booked up.

Also known as Ransoms, wild garlic is one of the Spring plants that you can't miss when you come across them, due to their strong, pungent aroma.  They're found in woodland, often along stream and river banks.

After coffee and scones ... containing wild garlic ... on arrival - we head out to pick the wild garlic from the wooded area on the farm, alongside the stream.  On the way back we drop by the veg patch to pick a few leeks and then back to the outdoor workspace to put together pesto.

Pretty easy to make:  Finally chop the greenery - wild garlic and leek or onion if you prefer then mix roughly 2 parts greenery to 1 part grated hard cheese + 1 part crushed nuts - whatever you prefer, walnuts, hazel, almonds.  Add seasoning and spices to taste, mix with a good virgin olive oil or rapeseed to a paste.  Whatever combination and as rough or finely chopped as you like.

Tastes delicious on bread, with pasta or mixed in with pretty much anything.  It got added to pretty much everything I was cooking that week!

Wild garlic (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Week 41: Jeepers

I just happened to be about to walk back from checking out some work on my local patch, when I spotted this.

Driven by someone I happen to know, so I hitched a lift up the hill and got a ride in this vintage WWII American Willys jeep, complete with machine gun (not live!).

Unexpected, great fun if a little exposed - glad it was a sunny day.

Week 40: Jellied eggs!

No, not a food substance but frogspawn.

I've had frogs in my small barrel pond for years but it was only two years ago when I got my first batch of frogspawn.  Nothing last year but this year I got two batches about a week apart.

I rescued the second batch and moved it in to the house to hatch out.  There's a childish delight in seeing them grow inside their little circles of jelly and then hatch out into small black embryos that slowly turn into tadpoles.

Some hatched faster than others, some didn't hatch at all but most did - at least a few hundred did.  Separated the larger tadpoles out from the smaller ones.  Lucky I have an old plastic fish tank and a large glass bowl to house them in.

Fascinating to watch - you can see more of the frogspawn 77 day journey from 'egg to legs' on my Sussex Nature Notes blog.

Week 38: Testing out the new bike

Glorious day to test out the new bike with a ride up and around Telscombe Tye in the sunshine for an extended lunch break.  I'm going to have to do a few more in order to get fit enough for my Castle to Castle ride in September!

Great to just be able to jump on the bike and take a break from work - especially as the weather is getting better, although it was a lot colder than it looks.

Week 36: New Bike!

Finally treated myself to a new bike - thanks to @PaulYatesSmith for his assistance and expertise in helping me to spend my money (wisely) on a @Specialized hybrid!

Nothing too flash and certainly not something that costs the price of a small car!

I need a new bike for the Castle to Castle bike ride I'll be doing in September for the Odyssey Charity Challenge.

I'll need some serious training to get me up and down those hills having read that the Sustrans Route 8 is the toughest long-distance ride on the National Cycle Network!

Week 35: Hedgelaying in the sunshine

Well, I bet you didn't expect to see 'hedgelaying' on the list!

We occasionally get a chance to do it as South Downs Volunteer Rangers and it's an activity I've not done for a while.

Using axes to lay a length of hedge on Saddlescombe Farm - it was very cold, hence the layers and hat.  Hard work and difficult to get right - especially when you're not used to wielding an axe.

All those lengths of hedge have to get laid by someone and it's either volunteers or a small group of skilled craftsmen who do it for a living.

More on hedges and hedgelaying on the National Hedgelaying Society website.

Week 33: RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

Freshly made cup of coffee, pain aux raisin, pen, paper and binoculars all set for the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch - an annual event held on the last weekend in January and started an incredible 36 years ago.

I always stock up the feeders in the weeks running up to BGBW with a variety of foods in the hope that I'll get a good turnout on the day.  Sadly, the birds seem to know and my regulars head off elsewhere as I try to notch up as many species as possible in one hour.

I usually watch for one or two hours throughout the day and then take the 'best' hour to record.  Most birds will make an appearance first thing in the morning to fuel up for the day and then again in the afternoon an hour or two before sunset.  There are always the usual suspects who are in and out all day - mainly the robin and blue-tits.

This year was a good results for my small garden with 10 different species and one squirrel (they also like to see who else, apart from birds, is visiting the garden).  All of my regulars except for the wren and goldfinch which didn't turn up until later in the day.

This year I also took a wander over to my local park towards the end of the day.  You can record species you see in a park if you don't happen to have a garden.  Fewer species but in greater numbers - like the woodpigeon (30+), house sparrows (18+) and greenfinch (20+)  as well as several robins and blackbirds.

Week 32: Volunteering - Sussex Wildlife

First session of the year and out with the Lewes Sussex Wildlife Trust volunteers up on Malling Down.  Still got the tail-end of my New Year cough - better but still not completely gone.

A light drizzle when we started, so the fire was a little slow to get going but roaring away by lunchtime and we managed to burn everything that had been cut previously.

There are plenty of opportunities for volunteering with the Wildlife Trust if you like getting out and about outdoors.

Week 31: Bike ride!

First bike ride of the year and first one in a while.

Plenty of sunshine but also pretty cold and windy after the recent gales.  As I was still suffering with a cough I picked up either in Italy (probably) I took a short cycle along the undercliff and back.  Easy going one way, hard work against the wind the other.

Week 29: Swim in the sea

Well, this isn't something I even considered I'd be doing at this time of year but while on holiday in Italy it started with a paddle, then after a little thought and consideration (mainly around swimming/clothing options) I took a swim in the Mediterranean on Boxing Day - along with three others!

We rapidly attracted a crowd of bemused and amused locals and tourists, who despite the cold had suddenly found the foreshore 'the place to be' in Positano.

A prosecco to celebrate - although a hot chocolate would have been more warming.

Week 28: Travel Abroad - Amalfi Coast

My first foreign trip this year - Walking the Amalfi coast with Exodus Travels and a lovely group.

Amalfi Coast

Amalfi

Pompei

Pompei

Positano

Walk of the Gods

A great trip - highly recommended but be warned there are thousands of steps and you're either going down or coming up them.  However, I've come back a lot fitter (and a few pounds heavier) than when I left

Week 27: Geminid Meteor Shower

You can't beat the sight of a shooting star and it's worth staying up late for and getting a good viewing point

In December the Geminid meteor shower takes place.  It's the last one of the year and this weekend I stood out in an almost clear night with a crisp frost on the ground and saw a dozen streak overhead in just a few minutes - too cold to stay out for long.

Some very bright with long trails, others nothing more than a brief flash.

If you missed them in December there are several opportunities for star gazers and meteor watchers to see them in 2015.  The major showers are:

Quadrantids in January - only a few days
Perseids in July/August
Leonids in November
Geminids in December

They often have a peak in the middle when up to 100 meteors an hour can be seen.  It depends on a having a clear sky, minimal light pollution and how full the moon is as to how many you'll see.

Meteor showers will generally radiate from the constellation for which they're named.  Find out when and where to see them by taking a look at MeteorWatch or following @VirtualAstro on Twitter.

A meteor during the peak of the Leonid Meteor Shower. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Week 27: The Brighton Wheel - almost

So close.  Almost made it on to the Brighton Wheel but the weather had other ideas.  The Brighton Chamber had organised a group visit to the wheel but due to the gale force winds it was cancelled.

Week 26: Kingfisher!

Yeah - got to see a kingfisher!

One of our more colourful birds and not one that many people get to see as they usually flash past like a turquoise streak before you realise it.

I was lucky enough to see one on Widewater Lagoon in Lancing - not just once but several times and not just a fleeting glimpse but sitting on a fence with a fish!

They use favourite perches along a stretch of water from where to fish or to eat their prey, so if you know of one you stand a good chance of seeing one - even at this time of year.

Sheer delight!

(no this isn't my photo!)
Common Kingfisher (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Week 22: Brighton Royal Pavilion Ice Rink

Ice-skating in the lovely location of the Brighton Royal Pavilion.  Part of a social event hosted by the Brighton Chamber and a chance to get on the ice before the rink opens to the public at the weekend.

This is the fifth year that the ice rink has been set up in front of the Royal Pavilion and it provides a very twinkly, scenic and festive backdrop.

I haven't been on the ice for years.  In fact the last time was at the old ice rink in Brighton Square and before that up in London.  A shaky start hanging on to the handrail for the first few circuits, gradually getting the hang of this incredibly slippery surface but managing to get round unaided for a couple of rounds before quitting which I was ahead and unbruised.

Not that I watch it but total admiration for the Dancing On Ice celebrities.

Great food and drink available if you don't want to skate or after you have.  Good fun and highly recommended.

Week 15: Stop And Smell The Roses

On my way back from running a workshop in London, I took the opportunity to stop off at Nymans, just off the A23.

Herbaceous border, Nymans

After a quick walk around the gardens to admire the herbaceous borders which were totally bare in the Spring but filled to overflowing now.  I was after a few ideas for my own garden for Autumn colour. Very definitely stopping to smell the roses in the rose garden, most had gone over but there a few delicious musk and old English roses to sniff.

Heather garden, Nymans

I then settled in to do some work with a cup of tea in the Coffee shop before taking the scenic route back in to Brighton for my afternoon meeting.

It made perfect sense and was a good opportunity to take time out:

- I avoided the traffic through the roadworks heading back in to Brighton.
- I got a late lunch break in lovely surroundings.
- I was able to get on with work away from the distractions of the office.
- I didn't spend time going back to the office and then driving back in to Brighton later.