Dear Readers, East Finchley Festival is happening on 23rd June, and for the first time in ages the community group that I belong to, Friends of Coldfall Wood and Muswell Hill Playing Fields, is taking a stall. But what to do? We have lots of exciting ideas, but I am planning to do a plant identification quiz on these two window boxes, which feature meadow plants for clay soil – this is what we’ve planted in the meadow on Muswell Hill Playing Fields. We’re also planning to raffle the mini-meadows to raise funds so that we can do more walks, and activities.

To be honest for an introvert like me, being at a huge community event  can feel a bit overwhelming, but I’m looking forward to the chance to meet and chat with people, and to hang out with other nature-inspired folk. This is the Festival’s 50th Anniversary, so fingers crossed for dry weather!

And in other news, I was planting up the mini-meadows when I heard the magpies going absolutely berserk.

They’re at that stage when the nestlings are just about to leave the nest, so they’re on very high alert, and one of the things that they hate most is a cat, however innocent. So I went to see what was going on, and found this little beauty, though when I saw her/him they were perched precipitously  above my garden side-gate, which means that they were a good ten feet off the floor. It didn’t stop the cat from doing that funny rattling call that they do when they see a bird, but I think that a magpie is a bit big for a light snack.

Still, this one has obviously not forgotten its wild origins. S/he stalked off after a few minutes, as if to indicate that the magpie hadn’t actually scared the bejassus out of them, and everything was absolutely cool. Off s/he went, tail in the air, to torment some other feathered creature. Or to find a sunny spot to doze in, which ever is easier.