Spring Ramblings

Springtime is the season in which nature wakes up and starts to grow after the long sleep of winter. This season as it progresses becomes a noisy but colourful affair. The first signs are the early spring flowers emerging out of the ground. Snowdrops are a sure sign to everyone that spring has sprung but other early flowers such as Dogs Mercury can be seen as the first indication of spring. Later on in the season, other wildflowers like Lesser Celandine and Bluebell will sprout and fill our countryside with colour. In addition, there will be a surfacing of spring fungi. Trees too come to life in spring and their buds begin to swell. The almond tree is a tree which blooms early in Cyprus. It is found mostly in the mountains and its very first bloom occurs in February even in the snow. To me it's a kind of Edelweiss, the only difference being it's small and pink , not white. By early March, our almond trees are in full bloom! Over the coming months, all our tree species will come into leaf, giving our woodland life and colour in preparation to spread their pollen and produce seed in autumn. Wild birds will start to eagerly construct nests ready for their clutches of eggs. Swallows to begin with. They are the first Spring birds which build their nests under our roofs. Hence our saying: "One swallow does not bring Spring!" Yet we know that Spring is in the air! Then small birds such as Robins will find a hedgerow or a bird-box to nest in while Crows and Jackdaws will be seen collecting twigs for their treetop homes. The Blackbird, especially the males, will be seen and heard desperately defending his territory and trying to entice a female. In June - July, the nightingales won't let you sleep in Platres! Other animals including insects, amphibians and mammals will too commence their courting behaviour trying to impress mates. This will result in many different colourful and noisy displays. The 8 cats of my neighbourhood, for instance! You may hear the howling of foxes up in the mountains and the croaking of frogs around this time - especially in Ayia Napa! Remember, while out spotting all these wonderful plants and animals follow the countryside code and do not disturb any wildlife or pick wild flowers and fungi. It’s best to take nothing but memories and leave nothing but footprints.

Wild Life in Danger!

Throughout the world, animals are exterminated because their furs have a high market value. Fashion bears a heavy responsibility for the hunting of these wild creatures. Ocelots and jaguars are slaughtered in South America; cheetahs in Africa; leopards in Asia. All the large cats are in danger of extinction, although they are among the world's rarest and most beautiful animals. Would you wear a leopard-skin coat, if you knew that fourteen of these animals had been killed to make that coat? And this is only the beginning. Whales are slaughtered and are in danger of extermination because whale oil is used in cosmetics. Turtles are becoming rare partly because some people eat ...turtle soup! Crocodiles and alligators are killed to make handbags and shoes. Expensive scent is based on musk from civet cats.

Great damage to the animal world is also inflicted by wasteful and cruel methods of hunting animals for zoos, wild-life parks, circuses, and the pet trade, although the first two of these have done great service in protecting rare species. The whole whole subject of animals in captivity raises questions to which one may give different answers. Naturalists and nature lovers are individuals. They do not all think alike. While one may enjoy seeing elephants performing in the circus ring, another would be sickened by the sight of animals trained to perform tricks for our entertainment!. To my mind, it is a crime to take such creatures from their natural habitat and tame them, thus turning them into something different from what they are by nature.

Nowadays, in the twenty-first century, man often seems to be living in an artificial world of his own making, too far removed from the rest of the natural world. Perhaps he needs to learn afresh that he cannot survive if he destroys nature's network - the fabric of life in a living world.