Venal Ponds

Because of the drama of Monday, I wanted to ensure that trouble the cat was okay before I went off anywhere on Tuesday. She took full advantage of this and was on my lap at every opportunity. She knows how to milk sympathy when she can.

It also causes me a dilemma, as I can not afford to do want I want to do to get my computer working, as I still have costs at the vets to deal with. As well as the charges I paid yesterday, there will be more on Friday when she will be having her blood sugar levels checked. Plus, if she has to have special food as a diabetic cat, I have no idea how much that will cost. The vet did give me some of this yesterday, gratis, and she is eating this in preference to the normal pouches of cheap food she normally gets. The one thing that I am grateful to her for is that she prefers the cheap food. I have given her the premium food before and she refuses to eat it. In fact when the vet suggested that I put her tablets into some Tuna, I told him that she is a "Environmentalist" and refuses to eat Tuna to save the species. So up until now she has always been a cheap cat to feed.

Also while she has always taken an interest in the birds, her efforts at chasing birds always ends in a frustrated meow, and the birds mocking her efforts. So now she treats the windows like a big screen television and watches the birds instead. Therefore, she has been a very good (sometimes) companion animal. Therefore I do not begrudge the additional costs that she is adding to my budget. Although I have told her that she will have to go out to work once she is better!

With the need to avoid spending any money, I changed my plans and went for a local walk. With the Heron in mind, I went looking at what may be around the pools and ponds that form in winter and can provide temporary habitats in spring, The Venal Ponds. As my local woodlands are quite marshy and are not so much in the foothills of the Pennine Mountains, but the toes of the foothills, they act as a watershed for the surrounding environs. Therefore, pools and ponds abound. Add to this the drainage ditches that have been cut to allow the paths and fire roads in the forest to remain passable all year and Chopwell Wood has a great many little hidden places where Toads, Frogs, Newts and Insects can breed. Last year I discovered many tadpoles in the ditches alongside the byways.

While it is still a little too early in the year for much to be happening, the Toads choosing these pools can provide a meal for birds like the Heron. I have also seen sparrow hawks use some of these pools to feed on birds that are coming to drink or bath. While the larger creatures and even small ones like birds, mammal’s amphibians and reptiles can be spotted at these temporary pools; it is the insects that really make these habitats so important.

While midges, gnats and mosquitoes are a pain for humans, these pools provide a habitat that allows them to breed early. This in turn allows the birds like the long-tailed tits, Great tit, Treecreeper and the several species of bats that live in the wood to start breeding as soon as the weather allows. Therefore even with a changing climate triggering birds to start breeding earlier, because of the local conditions the birds in and around the wood have a greater success rate than the national average. While I have not lived here long enough nor made enough observations to draw any empirical conclusions, my observations combined with the notes of other birders do seem to show that the earlier breeding of some birds is not impacted in the same way by a lack of food. As these foods are insects then the importance of these venal pools grows.

While I did not encounter much at the pools today, I did get to film one of the pond skater species. While filming it there was one chap out walking his dog that was curious about what I was doing. I showed him the footage and he was amazed, as he had never noticed them before. Then he looked and realised there were at least a dozen skating and skimming the pond. He left me telling me that he had learnt something new. As had I as often talking to people you get to discover what they are seeing around and about as well. But that will have to wait for another time.

I did finally get to the pool where the Heron was seen but he was not there. The pair of Mallard was there again. Could they breed there? It will be exciting to see if they do. I waited for more than an hour but no sign of the Grey Heron. With these pools and with birds like the Heron, they can feed on all the toads in the pool this early in the season. Therefore it may be that there is nothing left for it to return too. However there are other pools and ponds where the Herons may turn up at and I have not investigated them all.

There is a cold snap, not quite a return to winter but a reminder that spring is not here yet, the Vernal Equinox being the official start of spring. Although a simplified calendar does mean that spring starts as March Starts, and with climate change that at times seems to be more accurate now. However this return to winters type of weather could halt the progress of the Toads and Frogs to their breeding pools.

When I got home, Trubbs was happily asleep on the bed. Latter she came to join me on my lap; this I have used to my advantage as it makes it easier to give her the medication. So far there has not been any difficulty getting her to take the tablets or to swallow the suspension. Now watch, as the hand of fate will make her more difficult just because I have said what a good cat she is being!

I realise that as she is getting old that her health problems will start to show, and I was well aware that Kidney problems could occur in older cats (thanks to my hobbit friend). No matter what happens, I am happy that she has had a much better life than she started with. She came to me via an animal rescue charity, and had obviously been abused, as she would flinch at any sudden movement. Now she is far more settled and while she can still flinch, she does not go cowering in the corner. It was funny but the first night I had her home she hid by the loo all evening. When she finally came onto my lap, she would not settle and I could only stroke and fuss her while she stood on my lap. Now a much calmer cat she is happy to sleep on my lap.

While I hope that I will have her for a couple more years yet, on Monday I was fully prepared to have her Euthanased, as it was clear that she was in pain. While I do not want to loose her, depending upon what the vet says, and the quality of her life, I am not prepared to see her suffer. As I say she appears close to her normal self, but that could be the medication, only time will tell.