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On a bright but brisk late-April morning at High Ash Farm, Chris Skinner welcomes Matthew Gudgin with a fresh sense of wonder after his recent heart surgery. Starting close to home, he shares honey with common ants in a plant pot and explains their vital place at the base of the food chain — fuelling the swarming “aerial plankton” that feeds swallows, starlings and green woodpeckers. 

Just yards from the back door, four well-grown robin chicks sit ready to fledge in a Virginia creeper nest, while a bold lone mallard duckling makes daily journeys from the pond to the workshop. 

The pair then step into one of the farm’s spectacular bluebell woods, where 60–70 million blooms create a sumptuous carpet. Chris reveals how the flowers race to store sunlight in their bulbs before the beech canopy closes, and reflects on the peaceful living heritage of this ancient site near a Romano-Celtic temple. 

Later, at a large badger sett, they explore huge sand mounds and tunnels home to several sows and their playful cubs, with Chris describing their digging skill, delayed implantation, and charming night-time footage. Listener letters bring extra warmth: sparrows in clematis, a Christmas wreath robin nest, wild cherry queries and recovery wishes. 

This episode celebrates nature’s interconnected layers — from tiny ants to ancient bluebells and bustling badger families — ideal for savouring the renewed joys of spring and the quiet magic of second chances.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/19069936-episode-2-69-bluebell-batteries-and-badger-bedding.mp3?download=true

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