“Ne’er cast a clout til May be out” refers to the month. It’s a saying I can remember as a child and often wondered if it meant the month or the hawthorn blossom of the same name. Clout is from an Old English word for cloth or clothing, and the saying was a reminder not to be too quick to change for jumpers to t shirts. We can have those lovely summer days followed by really biting cold days, we should remember that we still haven’t reached Summer which is meant to start on June 21st. Probably in my era as a child people would be superstitious and I could remember being bitterly upset having picked a bunch of May flower for my mother that she wouldn’t allow it in the house! This was because the blossom would be believed to bring illness and death, a belief that started with the Great Plague. Mind you, superstitions can sometimes be good – my mother would never sit 13 at the table. For birthday parties we had to invite only 12 children or at least 16 so that if anyone didn’t turn up, we would never get to 13. I’m sure you can guess which one we went for.
For us in wildlife care, it may be that young animals become orphaned because the sudden change in temperatures can affect insect life. This means the parents can’t find enough food, but most garden birds will breed a second time. This is why to continue feeding through the year often helps wildlife survive at difficult times.
If you uncover bird nests, try to put them together as best you can and place as near to the original site that you can. Leave alone for a few hours and often the parents will find them. If it is hedgehogs or rabbits, place them in the nesting material back where they came from and stay away for a couple of hours. Very often the mothers will come back and move them. You can always ring for advice. Tel: 01278 783250
Goldcrests
Sadly, we had to cancel Easter Fun Days as our parking field was under water. So we hope you will be with us for the Whitsun Weekend Fun Days on May 27th, 28th and 29th. Our Fun days help us care for the wildlife casualties that come into our centre and gives us the opportunity to tell you all about the work that we do. We look forward to seeing you.
Pauline Kidner
April 16th 2023