LOOK WHO VISITED THE SCHOOL DURING THE MID TERM BREAK

One sunny day during the past week I saw a group of goldfinches (collective name is a 'Charm of goldfinches') feeding on the seeds in the cones of the Alder tree. 

There was also a hedgehog investigating the hibernation habitat.

Garden visitor

During the mid term break we had a visit from a young hedgehog in the school grounds. Hedgehogs hibernate during the winter but on sunny warm days they sometimes wake up for something to eat. The hedgehog's back is covered with spines and its face and underside are covered with coarse hair.  As protection it rolls into a ball and its spines stick out.  This will deter many preditors, like cats and dogs, but foxes and badgers will kill hedgehogs.  Foxes kill them by manoeuvring them into water where they have to unroll to swim then the fox attacks the head.  Badgers somehow find a gap in the spines and attack the unprotected belly. 

Hedgehogs feed mainly on worms, insects and their larvae, snails, slugs, and fallen fruit.  So the hedgehog is the gardeners friend. It will also eat the eggs and young of ground nesting birds.

Hedgehogs are most active at dawn and dusk when it comes out and snuffles around for food, the hedgehog is quite noisy and if you are lucky to have one in your garden you will be able to hear him.

Hedgehogs have one or two litters of between three and seven young, they are born in nests of grass or leaves from May to September.  The nest may be in a hedge, under a tree root or in a disused rabbit hole.

Horse Chestnut

Junior and Senior infants will be looking at the Horse Chestnut Tree this year.  We will be looking at the fallen leaves, bare twigs and buds.  We will be learning to recognise the various parts of the tree, roots, trunk, branch, twig and buds. We will also look at the fruit (conkers) and leaves.

Pygmy shrew

The only species of shrew found in Ireland is the pygmy shrew.

This little animal is the smallest mammal in Ireland.  It differs in appearance from a mouse by its long pointed snout. Shrews are active day and night they are noisy agressive little creatures. They don't hibernate.  Their saliva is toxic and when they bite a large insect or animal like a mouse their bite kills in minutes.  They eat earthworms, beetles, caterpillars, spiders, flies and woodlice. 

Shrews are solitary, aggressive animals, guarding their territories jealously and screaming shrilly at intruders. Shrews reproduce in spring and summer and up to five litters of seven or eight young may be born during this time. The young are fed for the first three or four weeks after that the fend for themselves.  Shrews live for only a year.

This summer when I was emptying the compost heap I found four little baby shrews.  I finished the compost and put the babies back where I found them.  I saw the mother come back and after about a half hour they were all gone.  I think the mother moved them to a safer place.

Cute or what.

Rainbow

Photo courtesy of Rush Needs You Face book page.

WHAT IS A RAINBOW AND HOW IS IT MADE.

A rainbow is the result of sunlight from behind an observer being both reflected and refracted as it passes through raindrops falling ahead.

Reflection happens at the far side of each raindrop and the light is directed back towards the observer. 

Refraction involves the separation of sunlight into its component colours.  Each colour is of a slightly different wave length of radiation.

The width of the rainbow and the predominant colour depends on the size of the raindrops. 

Large drops produce wide bows in which red predominates and small drops result in a narrow bow in which white predominates. 

The colours are arranged through the rainbow from top to bottom, RED  ORANGE  YELLOW  GREEN  BLUE  INDIGO  VIOLET.

Sometimes thre is a second rainbow outside the first and in this the order of the colours is reversed.  This happens as the sunlight is reflected twice insead of once.

Lace wing.

This is a lacewing.  These insects devour greenfly (aphids).  They start life as eggs laid at the end of long stalks.  The larvae eat aphids and after pupating hatch into a beautiful lacewing.

Hornet Moth

In our Willow tree at the car park corner (see an earlier blog about the Willow tree) we have some hornet moths.  These insects lay eggs in crevices in the bark of the tree.  The eggs hatch into creamy white caterpillars who bore their way into the bark of the tree and live there for two to three years.  They pupate and hatch in June and July.  They resemble wasps although they are moths.  This gives them protection from preditors, as birds avoid them perhaps because they have had unpleasant experiences of trying to eat wasps.

The hornet moth although it looks fierce is really quite beautiful and harmless.

The size of its antennae differentiate it from a wasp.  It is also a day flying moth.

Barley and Wheat

Here you can see the difference between an ear of barley and wheat.  The barley has seeds arranged in two rows one on each side of the stem. Each seed has an elongated tip making it very distinctive.  There are many fields of barley in and around Rush. Barley is used for brewing beer and feeding livestock.

Wheat is used for making bread, biscuits cakes and also for feeding livestock.  In the field the crop has a blue green tinge.  The stem and ear of wheat are held upright until just before harvesting when the colour changes to brown and the ear bends over. Wheat needs very fertile soil to grow well.

Meet the Thatcher

A couple of days after the Thatching post I passed the house being thatched.  Here we see the thatcher trimming the end of the roof.  He uses a petrol powered hedge cutter and gives the roof a "haircut".  You can also see the detail of the bamboo sways and the hazel hooks holding everything in place.

Thatching

A local house on the Skerries Road is being thatched.  Thatching is a traditional method of roofing. It was commonly used until slates and tiles became popular about 100 years ago.  Its advantage is that it is warm in winter and cool in summer.  It used to be a cheap method of roofing but now is very expensive due to a lack of thatchers.

To thatch, the roof is stripped to the struts and bundles of straw or reed, depending on the material to be used on the roof, are attached to the rafters.  The first line of thatch is attached at the lower end of the roof, and secured with hazel pegs and hazel rods. Further bundles are laid on top in layers right up to the ridge.  At the ridge an extra layer of thatch is put on and a pattern of hazel is attached to give extra strength.  Sometimes an extra touch, in this case a bird, is added.  The thatchers "signature" is the ridge,  no two thatchers use the same ridge design.

 Can you see the bird on the right hand side of the ridge?

The name for the hazel rods making the pattern on the ridge are "sways".

The gable end of the house. Beautiful.

The Thatcher hard at work using Hazel sways to strengthen the sides of the roof.  This should protect the edges against the prevailing westerly wind. Look closely, the man is wearing very thick knee pads.

Thatch roofs in various parts of Ireland have different details. This roof in Donegal has the typical pegs used to anchor the roof.  The countryside in Donegal is very wind blown and the roof would blow to pieces very quickly otherwise.

Thatched roof in Killybegs, Co Donegal.

Miss Archer's class in the garden

I showed Miss Archer's class how to plant seeds in the garden.  They loved all the veg.  At least, they said they did!!!

A LOVELY BUNCH !!

Planting seeds in the school garden

We planted lots of vegetables in the school garden today.All the classes have a vegetable plot.  Even the montessorii group.  In about two weeks the radish, lettuce and pac choy will be ready to eat.  Elida will have loads to cook with.

I would like to thank my photographer and helper for the day Aine.

Wild Flower Patch

Our wild flower patch has grown and started to flower.  Have a look when you are passing.  Some new flowers will come out each week.

Planting Vegetables in the School Garden

Tomorrow we plant the veg we sowed during the Incredible Edible week.  The plants have been growing in the polytunnel for the past few weeks.  I have also sown seeds in the veg beds.  Look how well they have grown.

Delicious lettuce

Parsnip

Pac Choy

Cabbage

Potato

Dill

Pea

Corriander