Rattling On...

Garden roundup...

In the last week or, more precisely, in the recent sunny weather the garden has come back to life. I've already seen these different butterflies. The bees are about and the pond skaters are surfing the pond.

Every year I find it amazing that the dreadful cold hasn't done for everything. You can see in the last picture the frost certainly did see off quite a lot of the lovely old reclaimed bricks that I put in as a border, they just crumble when you touch them. But the butter burr is right in there. The picture was pre-apocalypse-weeding spree, but I'm sure it won't be the last I see of it.

You will also note the lady's mantle and the Other Weed I don't know the name of, looks a bit like strawberry plants but that's just a heinous disguise to try to fool you. My garden is a positive Eden Project of the pestilential kind. Should Kew Gardens ever lose any of their extensive plant DNA collection in a freak bioaccident then they know where to come for a one-stop weed roundup.

Or, fingers crossed, fancy London restaurants will start demanding buttercups to fulfill new demand after this year's Masterchef winner uses them in an amazing must-imitate recipe. Obviously I have pre-empted this and am growing an extensive crop this year. In fact it's the best yield the lawn has ever produced. You can imagine how chuffed I am.

The other good news...

After extensive hanging out of the bathroom window when the sun was shining directly onto the pond, I managed to catch sight of both fishy friends at the same time. Thus proving they both are still going. One is much bigger than the other but this is irrelevent for fish spotting unless they are together (which made me think of this sketch).

The frogs aren't so evident this year, though I hear them at night and have seen the odd one. And one was a very odd one, it was standing on tiptoe on the bottom of the pond, reaching up with both hands. Very spooky.

Here endeth the garden roundup.

Blue sky = hard work...

The sun is shining this morning, there's a frost on the grass. I suspect we are, as usual, well behind the rest of the country as far a spring goes but things are happening at last.

My annual battle with the two Bs has begun in earnest. Butterburr and buttercups, proof that butter is bad for you. I had another hour in the garden last night digging up the butterburr runners/roots, they are nightmarishly tough and go for miles. I ended up using the tree lopper tool to cut them.

I've almost forgotten what it feels like to have a garden which only requires average weeding and digging. This was such a ruin when we moved in, requiring a lot of hard work, and it's hard to keep on top of it never mind actually move forward. I've given up with the celandine. It appears each year for a couple of weeks then dies off. I can put up with that I've found.

Speaking of butter being (allegedly) bad for you... on Thursday one of the break-time-boys came in for his tea and toast and asked if he could have just jam on the toast. I asked why and he said he was worried about his cholesterol (he's 13). When I told him we used sunflower spread he was mollified a little end thought he'd risk it. Science lessons have a lot to answer for.

We eat butter here, not ridiculous amounts, we prefer the taste on most things though I do bake with sunflower spread most of the time (the cost is a big factor rather than health matters). For now I don't have to worry about my cholesterol levels, they are quite a bit below average according to a recent blood test. I think the doctor was very disappointed he couldn't lay that one on me, they do like preaching. Mine does anyway.

More gardening today while it's nice. I say gardening but it's more weeding really. Despite having done the same patch twice already the buttercups are back, goodness knows where they lurk. I don't, won't, use pesticides or weedkillers of any sort And after seeing what the slugpellets my Mother's neighbour puts down did to the mistle thrush nesting in my Mother's tree did, then I think they should be banned.

Worlds within worlds...

Me

Coco

Blackbird

Mouse

I have been watching the mice pinching the food I put out for the birds, under the laurel trees opposite the back door. They weave in and out of the stones in the little retaining wall and pop out to thieve a bit of seed or grated cheese, before nipping back to the hole I showed you previously. Occasionally they hang around for a brief moment

before streaking away. I tried to get a shot of one of them going into the pile of stones that was meant to be there temporarily while we wondered what to do with them. It has been there two years and the mice love it, so it's become a sort of installation. Anyway, my picture was spoiled by a photo-bomber...

Probably annoyed that someone was eating his grated cheese.

Holey moley...

February, four years blogging and another year on this earth. Both anniversaries now behind me.

Yesterday the sun came out, I won't go so far as to say it was warm (it wasn't ) but it did make me feel like I wanted to tidy the garden. This was partly as I wanted to stay near home to hide. I have had anothe allergic episode and my eyes are like two little slits in a red cushion.

So, I gardened in sunglasses which hid the eyes but not the puffy face. It drew glances from passers by. I say passers by but they are not random, they are invariably people in walking gear on the way to the woods, usually with dogs.

I cleared a lot of clart, filled the green bin in fact. And uncovered several mouse holes in the process- see above. If you find holes think "golf ball, mouse; tennis ball, rat". So golf balls they are, or smaller actually, and incredibly neat and perfect.

Funny how most (all?) animals go for round holes and just we humans have to have angles and lines. Better than crouching I suppose, and arches are a compromise.

I mentioned we have an owl in the back garden, well yesterday there was a female sparrowhawk. She even went into the laurel hedge, and came out with a little bird. I find this a bit sad, but can't complain as it proves the garden is sustaining quite a little system. And birds of prey were my first birdy loves, which along with bats and horses consumed much interest.

The blue tits are checking out the nesting boxes. Bit early, but as I feed the birds every day it may well be that they're starting to build a nest. Crow is also still around every day, though he can fly well now. I wonder if he (she??) will ever leave or just be a permanent resident?

Better weather given for this week, but snow next weekend. Bleurgh.

Whether the weather...

It has snowed all night, it's still pitch black outside so no photos until later. Until after school, because we're open as usual!

There are national exams on which is I suppose why we're fully open but I imagine plenty will vote with their feet, especially those from out of town and those not sitting an exam.

So it's wellies on and walking in for us. The dog will have to cross her legs for the day as I won't be able to make it home at lunch time.

Last night I made a special trip to buy bulk bird food. Feeding my feathered neighbours is one of my daily jobs whatever the weather, but is especially important at this time of the year.

I have a lot of blackbirds at the moment. Seven males were at the pond the other day, drinking and bathing. It'll make for an interesting Spring.

Going green...

The whole town is, quite literally, going green. Anything that doesn't move is covered in moss. It creeps over the pavements and up trees like something from Star Trek. It is beautiful.

While out walking with the dog the other day I noticed how many people were having work done to replace garden walls that have either bowed or fallen down because of the saturated ground. Many. I'm having the same problem in my own back garden where a (fortunately, decorative) wall or two are on the move and will need to be removed, the earth dug back and the walls replaced. Sometime.

It's because we're built on limestone, on the rock itself. Many houses here don't have actual foundations or footings, my cellar is my foundation and it was blown out of the rock. The downside is that gardens are very shallow, dig and you soon reach bedrock. Meaning that there are certain trees that won't grow in certain places and that you have to have a lot of raised planting areas- hence lots of retaining walls.

Subsidence here is rare, but not unheard of. A friend lost the back of her house when a cowboy builder banged up an extension presuming the whole house was on limestone (no footings). Turned out the back of the house was on a pocket of clay. Big whoops.

I managed a couple of hours in the garden yesterday, tidying up. It was dry, and by that I mean nothing was falling from the sky rather than the underfoot status, and a balmy 1^oC with a bit of a nippy wind on top. I was very muddy when I went back in, but the job got done.

I also managed some time on the dolls' house. I think this will be a long haul. Reading other people's blogs about mini home renovation I'm relieved to see that it can take years. I think it's actually harder than doing a real house. The silver paint is an absolute double-expletive to shift, and just seems to keep going round and round, re-spreading and moving rather than coming off. The temptation to give up is tremendous, but I think if I set myself small goals it'll get done eventually.

I did find myself thinking 'I could sneak it to the charity shop and look for a better one...'  But I am British and I will persevere where almost all hope is lost. I will not be beaten by a dolls' house. I will not be beaten by a dolls' house. Repeat as required...

Up, up and away...

Of all the rubbish photos I've ever published on this here blog, today's offering has to be among the best. But there's a purpose.

You see, that tree is really very tall, and I was using the zoom lens as it's way down at the end of the road. Because who is sitting in the branches?

Crow is. He's the proud owner of a full new set of feathers and, after some shaky test-flights, he covers the miles during the day. We've even seen him in the park. We know it's him as he still has some odd markings and he tends to still walk most of the time.

He comes back to the laurel at the end of every day, bathes in his special tub which is under it, and still eats what I put out for him. He was sitting on the hedge sunbathing the other day and doesn't try to hide as much now. I suppose that's because he can make a good escape if he has to.

I'll continue to feed him as he's used to it and I want him to make it through the winter. It's incredible he's got himself this far really. I feed all the birds anyway, so a bit of extra specially for him is easy. It was some cherry cake last night! He loves suet pellets and buries caches of them in the lawn, along with dried mealworms. Yum.

Red October

My little Japanese maple took a real battering last winter and I had to cut out several parts that had completely died off.

However, I'm heartened to see the stoic tree is putting out little shoots below the amputations so hopefully the bare bits will eventually be filled in.

It really is the most glorious thing in the garden at the moment.

While I was still at work yesterday I got a text from No2 saying that a small pink bird was in disterss 'by the post box'. On my way home I stopped and collected it, a female chaffinch, putting it with bedding and water in an old fish tank in the dining room. The cats howled at the door.

Sadly she died some while later. I buried her in the garden.

Moss...

It's been a good year for moss. I can attest to this via observation, my garden is being overwhelmed by it. The drive has a spongy verdant coating and the lawn, the thing formerly known as a lawn, is now a bog garden. It's all over the trees and walls.

Moss is exceptionally absorbant, it used to be dried and used as field dressings for soldiers. It has also (and still is in some places ) been used as sanitary pads and nappies.

I have raked it out of the lawn, leaving loads of bare patches, but haven't tackled the path and drive as it looks so lovely. But it's also very slippy so it'll have to go. I'm going to try and dry it out in the greenhouse over winter and then it can be used in pots and baskets next year, as liners and decoration.

I sometimes wonder how long it would be before nature, if left unchecked, reclaimed everywhere for herself. Based on how far she got this summer I suspect it wouldn't take very long.

Woo hooo...

I was woken at 1am the other night by the sound of feathers against my bedroom window. It wasn't a pleasant sound, sort of scrunching. Kerfuffle but no other noises.

It's funny how your brain works; I accepted it must be a bird, wondered what it was doing on my windowsill at that time, considered whether to get out of bed, decided that as it was outside I needn't, went back to sleep.

In the morning I looked out of the window to see feathers all over the drive. But only feathers. I'm assuming a pigeon (grey feathers) was roosting on the sill and the owl nabbed and devoured him. Or... the owl was on the windowsill and got the pigeon from the tree in the front where assorted birds spend the night.

Whatever, I know there's an owl nearby as it flies really low over the back garden some evenings, and it makes the most blood curdling noises (well it screeches a bit). I think it's a tawny owl, as was I when I was a Brownie leader. I didn't screech much.

On yer bike...

I don't just stand around the garden taking pictures of birds, despite how it looks on the blog.

This weekend I was mostly sorting out a lost phone (not mine) which turned out to be a saga and a half. A case of good cop/bad cop at the mobile phone company, with one person asking for all kinds of details, which I got, only for the next (lovely) person not needing them... Anyway, the phone was found in a taxi and all is well. Except for my nerves, which have been severely got on.

Also, I made a purchase on ebay and went to collect it. A bike. Of the bargain kind, local pickup. Only it wasn't actually the place the ebay account said it was... and the woman couldn't give directions if her life depended on it. A nice farmer sorted me out, if you'll pardon the expression, and the said bike is actually not too bad for £21.

It's vintage, though not exactly classic (if you get my drift), but the best bit is that it folds in half. So it will fit in my car and I can now go places and cycle round pleasant lakes and what have you, or whatever it is that Lady Cyclists do.

My off-roading and racing bike days are over. Years ago I had a 15 speed racing bike and could tackle anything, these days I'm tackled out. A gentle potter on the countryside trails will do, camera in basket (next purchase...) with a Thermos of tea and a puncture repair kit. Just got to have a refresher on mending the punctures...

No flies on me...

"Hell's bells!" I thought "This is a new and interesting bee I have discovered." I wasn't wearing my glasses at the time, but in my defence it does look a bit like a carpenter bee. If you squint.

It's actually a hoverfly, Volucella pellucens for the interested. Gorgeous creature, no? It's not usually a garden visitor, but then my garden is more like a woodland copse at the moment, and we're only a hundred yards or so from real actual woodland.

It was most obliging, waiting while I went in to get the camera, then not leaving when I thrust the point-and-shoot right up close. I was out looking for caterpillars at the time, having seen some very interesting ones on Google. No luck at all with them, but not a wasted prowl.

The garden itself has suddenly started to turn very brown at the edges. It's funny how Nature just decides to go for it. My thoughts are turning to gourds- for the front doorstep- and soups and such. And getting my backside in gear for crafting for you-know-what, I know some people are sensitive to the use of the C word too early on. A bit like actors and the Scottish Play. When does it become acceptable to mention it without getting sideways glances?

Nom, nom, nom...

I thought I was lucky when the damson tree seeded itself in one of the large planters by the front door, maybe as a result of squirrels or birds hoarding fruit.

But the sawfly larvae also had their eye on my nursery plants and have made short work of a large portion of them! They were entertaining to watch dancing about and I wouldn't dream of squashing them as most of the gardening sites suggest. There's enough to go round in the garden, surely?

The gooseberry bushes usually get stripped by caterpillars but the sparrows ate them, and the gooseberries, this year. Leaving me with a lush crop of leaves. One minute there were the almost-ripe berries then...gone. Serves me right for waiting just one more day. The birds are excellent judges of fruit. Back to netting next year I think.

I have managed to get enough raspberries to make a few pots of jam, but that's it really. A very bad year for fruit. No red or black currants, no blackberries. At all. But no drought either, a water garden might be the way to go...

Fungi and friend...

It's been so wet recently I hadn't had chance to mow the lawns, which has given the fungi a window of opportunity. To be honest I quite like them growing around the place and there's not so many they are unsightly or ruining my lawn.

This is because you can't ruin something that's crappy already. It didn't used to be, I planted it from seed and it was once perfect. But then the alchemilla moved in and it's now a running battle with that, the moss and plantain. I don't use any form of weedkiller, except for elbow grease, anywhere in the garden. It all offends my senses as, though I like a wild and overflowing garden, I have the mindset of a greenkeeper when it comes to grass. Breathe and relax...

Yesterday morning it was dry and I cut the lawns hastily, thinking that I'd get the hedges done in the afternoon as a dry day was forecast. Bah! It's cold as well, really cold at night now. Where is the Indian Summer they have been teasing us with? Same place as all those Barbeque Summers I should imagine.

In other news: My face is almost back to normal but the blood test results aren't back yet. Until then I have been on a restricted diet, by choice. I'm quite worried about it all recurring and would really like some idea of what might be the root cause. I will say that after (re)reverting to non-latex rubber gloves my hands are better and less like those of a 90 year old. I have only had potatoes once (and then had an upset stomach straight after...) and not had any tomatoes, bananas or cheese. I also gave soya milk a whirl and, other than it being a bit pasty in tea, can't tell much difference so that's a positive if it turns out to be dairy! My worst fear is that the results come back inconclusive and I shall have to play Russian roulette with my face. Why are these things never on your bum?

I have had my pre-school haircut, bought a new diary and more pens in readiness for Monday. Where has six weeks gone?

Following a garden stakeout I haven't seen any real amount of pigeons on or by our roof. Hopefully that means we don't actually have a problem, but really I suspect it means they were all sheltering in the cosy loft...

Lock up your cabbages...

I think this is a Large White, if it isn't then it's certainly a Small White! A Cabbage butterfly in any case. The identification sites are confusing: males have one spot/no spots, females have two spots/one spot, the grey on the wings is horizontal/vertical...and so on. I think maybe there are lots of variants, and we'll leave it at that!

I haven't seen many butterflies here this year, even considering there haven't been a lot in previous years. I get thousands of bees but obviously don't grow the kind of plants butterflies favour, though they do like the phlox that are flowering at the moment. Funnily enough, I just glanced out of the kitchen window and there was a pair of Whites dancing about.

I need to get some more butterfly attracting plants, I'm not bothered about the inevitable caterpillars as the birds will just have more to feast on. Buddleia is an obvious one, verbena as well. I have sedums, honeysuckle and lavender which they also like. Purple seems to be a common theme when I look on gardening websites...I wonder if this is a coincidence?

If anyone has any particular recommendations please let me know. Remember, though, that it must be very hardy and frost tolerant to survive here.