March 21, 2005
Rites of Spring
A couple of weeks ago, I took the early train from Ceannt station in Galway and headed east. I had a stack of the Sunday papers with me but, in truth, there was so much happening outside the window that I hardly glanced at them. On that journey, and a couple of subsequent ones, the rites of Spring have never been more visible.
Pheasants are plentiful (and one has staked his territory closer than you could imagine to the station), foxes prowl the fields and in a newly planted stretch of forest between Woodlawn and Ballinasloe, a herd of fallow deer sat among the saplings, indifferent to the passing train. The stag had an impressive set of antlers, and judging by the number of young, they weren't his greatest attribute. Fallow deer arrived with the Normans, introduced to populate (and be hunted) in what was left of Ireland's forests. In recent years, the amount of coniferous forest in Ireland has increased substantially, thanks to European Union financial incentives (and the availability of lots of boggy land in Ireland that cannot support other crops). This has caused the deer population to proliferate too, to the point where regular culls are needed to keep the population in check (alas, this has not resulted in a plentiful supply of cheap, free range venison in the shops). In one of the fields, two hares went at each other, each trying to establish dominance (It is March, after all). You'd think, with plenty of foxes about, that another hare would be the least of it's worries. But, for a hare, the only goal in it's short, fluffy, long-eared life is to pass on it's genes to another generation, so, in terms of risk, the amorous ambitions of another buck takes precedence over foxes, dogs, hunters and Dunlop Safety Tyres.
On a walk through Sliabh Carron on Saturday, there was more evidence that the winter hibernation is well and truly over (though this past winter has been so mild, some creatures have been awake for a while now). Saturday was a glorious day; sunny, warm with temperatures up to 20 degrees Celcius along the west coast. I saw a 7-spotted ladybird, had to dissuade a hunting spider (pisaura mirabilis) from hitching a ride in my camera bag and came literally face to face with a rather surprised looking common newt when I stopped for a break (and if it wasn't for the slow start-up time of my digital camera, you'd have a picture to look at, too). Of course, a few warm days in March doesn't mean much (not that I'm complaining or anything) - there'll be plenty of cold ones between now and summer.
Posted by Monasette at March 21, 2005 03:52 PM