Spotted

Such a beautiful last day of August.  We popped out this morning to take two boxes of bits and bobs to a charity shop where we could park near the donation point as they were quite heavy.  Back home work has been done in the garden followed by the treat of an ice cream eaten in the shade at the top of the garden. 

The sun has encouraged butterflies and dragonflies to visit the garden.  Including the ubiquitous white butterflies, two small brown ones flitting around each other plus a Red Admiral and a Peacock butterfly. 

Peacock

Red Admiral

We were also visited by a Common or Red Darter dragonfly.

It seemed to enjoy lazing in the sun on top of the bean sticks.

Paul's photo (above) is far better than mine, he identified the dragon fly.

Earlier this year we saw the Bug Snugs at Trentham, I think I mentioned them in a post at the time.

We decided to build our own bug snug in the garden using the cuttings from the meadow area at the top of the garden now it has been cleared.

 It has been inspected by the foxes and badgers and also some of the local cats but it is still standing.  It will be a nice warm habitat for insects over winter.

 

The sweetpeas have been wonderful but unfortunately they are infested with greenfly.  The lupins have also been affected.  I've never known that happen before.  Does this mean that whatever predates the greenfly isn't around this year?  We've seen a few hoverflies around the garden but no ladybirds or lace wings.  I can't think when I last saw a ladybird.  That and the dearth of butterflies is quite worrying.

 

I've added a collage of some of the flowers in the garden at the moment.  Echinacea, Cosmos, Helenium, Poppy and Japanese Anemone.

 

All for now, see you in September, I hope.
 

In the Garden

 On the plum tree at the top of the garden the yellow plums are ripening and turning golden in colour.  There are so many fruits that the branch has bent over toward the ground.  Straining under the weight. They will be harvested soon.  They have a sweet and delicate taste, very different to the plums we used to pick from the old Victoria plum tree .

We are getting more produce now from the garden, French beans, potatoes, courgettes and onions.  From the greenhouse both red and yellow tomatoes.

There are still five fox cubs visiting the garden, often in twos or threes.  The parents have left them to cope in their new world. They look very healthy.  Curious bright eyes and soft bushy tails.

I took this photo about 9pm. last evening through the kitchen window.  The light was fast disappearing as he and his siblings made their nightly inspection of the garden.  Rolling on the grass and disappearing behind flowers and shrubs and following the paths around the raised beds.

Other visitors to the garden include the Herring Gull which our neighbours over the fence call Stephen, we call him Bobby.  Could be a female of course.  I guess he or she smells the barbeques in neighbouring gardens now the weather is warm and dry.

Since mid-May we've had a pair of birds regularly visiting the bird feeders.  It's taken ages to find out what they are, recently Paul heard bird song and checked it out with the RSPB website and they are Linnets. How unsual to have them here in such an urban area. They are red listed so quite rare.  I've put a link over 'RSPB' above.

The Chamomile I thought was lost has suddenly appeared all over in one of the raised beds.

Above - more flowers in the garden.  Dahlia, Echinacea, Water lily, Rose and Helenium.

Meadow

 On Saturday we walked locally at the RSPB Coombes Valley Nature Reserve. It was a beautiful morning and the meadow and valley view area were stunning in the dappled sunlight.

We wandered along the path to the seat where we could take in the view over the valley.  We could hear the steam train on the Churnet Valley Railway which is nearby.

The volunteer at the Visitor Centre told us that Pied Fly Catchers had returned, as they do each year after wintering in West Africa, to the area around the old cottage down near the woods.

We stood overlooking the pond and we both saw and heard one.  No photos though as the bird was flitting about so much.

Here is what the - RSPB - say about the Pied Flycatcher.

We will be returning to the meadow in a few weeks time to see if we can find Orchids.  There are usually loads of them to see.  Mostly Common Spotted Orchids and Butterfly Orchids.

 

All for now.  

Seen or heard

Listening to the dawn chorus.  

We used the Merlin app to see what was around the garden at 7am on 1st May.  Paul can hear all the birds but I'm afraid with a slight hearing loss and tinnitus I can only pick up the sound of the Wood Pigeon and Herring Gull.  Also Crows and Magpies sometimes.  The days of waking up to the Robin and Blackbird singing are gone.  Once I'm outside I can hear them if they are nearby, especially when out on walks.  

 

Up on the local fields and nature reserve we picked up the call of an amazing number of birds, again some I could hear and some I couldn't.  

 We heard Blackcap (spotted) Robin, Sedge warbler, Blackbird, Skylark (spotted), Willow Warbler, Wren and Reed Warbler (spotted).  No photos as we didn't take cameras. The air was dry and warm and Orange tip butterfies flitted here and there and there were lots of those black flies with long dangling legs which are apparently  called St Mark's Flies.  All this no more than ten minutes walk from home.

Foxy was spotted in the garden on a couple of warm evenings.  No sign of any cubs yet.  I've never forgotten the time, a few years ago, when one of the foxes carried all five of her cubs, one by one, across our garden to a second den on the other side of our hedge after their original den was disturbed by building work in gardens not far away.

I'm pleased that she is looking healthy, we've noticed she sometimes brings a friend with her, another female.  They respect one another so I think they are either mother and daughter or sisters.  We hear the foxes call sometimes, a sharp bark.  Also the badgers can be heard churring and purring as they go about their business of digging worms out of the grass.  Sometimes there is a bit of banter between fox and badger.  The foxes are always wary of badgers around their cubs. 

 All for now.

Getting There

The last week has been so wet and still it rains today.  We've just managed a quick walk up to the local post office and back to buy stamps and post both cards and a parcel. The heavens opened again as we were halfway home so we are now drying off.  I think soup is needed for lunch although it isn't cold, just very damp and windy.  Dull too.  Earlier this week we had a good clear out of household things we no longer needed or used and took them to The Big Shop which is a combined shop and warehouse for a nearby hospice.  We went there as there is plenty of space to park close to the donation point. As we drove along the lanes between Stone and Eccleshall the roads were full of huge puddles with rainwater running off the fields and gushing up from blocked drains.  Some fields had developed small lakes on lower ground.  Some had resident gulls on them.

Holy Trinity Church, Eccleshall

 

Above and below the High Street Eccleshall is a mixture of shops, cafes and private houses.  Many have the names of their former use.  The Old Bakery, The Old Post Office and The Old Fire Station are just some of them.

Eccleshall's shopping streets were looking quite festive in spite of the rain.  We had a coffee and then a little wander around before returning home.

Preparations for Christmas have included pudding making.  I haven't bothered with a cake this year.  

I did make a cake for a friend's birthday last week and a slice was eaten late afternoon after a lovely lunch.  Just right with a cup of tea to sustain us on our journey home from Nottingham.

Coffee and Walnut cake, a favourite. 

We also brought home one of Robert's 'paperbag' stories which was inspired by fox and badger visits to our garden and the visit of an elderly fox to his own garden.  In this story Eddy the fox has a lucky escape from the dogs  next door with the help of his friend Toby the badger.

Last weekend we had snow.  We walked out in it and down to the park where parents and children were out and about with sledges, all having fun in the soft snow.  We passed many snowmen on our walk.  By the next day it had been washed away by the rain.

Fenton Park

Fenton Park

We moved on from the park to see if we could spot the Waxwings that had been reported as feeding on the berry trees in a small square nearby.  Unfortunately we didn't see any, just lots of people in black with cameras wrapped up in plastic bags patiently waiting.  I've seen some lovely photos of the Waxwings on social media and apparently they are still there today.

 

Next week we have another visit to make to take cards and presents, again into Nottinghamshire.  We are gently getting on with plans for the coming weeks. 

All for now. 

In and around the garden

Although the plants need rain some of them also need sun, especially the tomatoes and plums.  We've had a few tomatoes from the greenhouse but they still need to ripen more.  The 'spares' which have been left outside are still green.

There are three varieties of tomatoes above - Santa Mama, Gardener's Delight and Roma.  There was also a small crop of French beans.

The plum tree has lots of plums this year and one or two look as if they are going to ripen, perhaps next week we will have a little more sun to help them.

Potatoes haven't done as well as hoped the crop below are a variety called Acoustic

Lots of flowers in the garden at the moment although they are being battered by the wind and rain.

There were a few sunnier late afternoons and evenings this week and bees and butterflies appeared later in the day.

One afternoon I was visited by a Comma butterfly.   It settled on my back.

It flew away after a short while but then it returned and settled on my shoulder.  Perhaps it  liked the colour of my blouse or perhaps I was standing in the sun and it wanted to be where it was warm.  Perhaps I was a handy stop along its flight path.

 

On a recent walk I spotted a dragonfly on the ground in front of me. Luckily I had my camera ready so I was able to take a photo before it flew further down the path and then skimmed back over the lake.

 

Is it a Black-tailed skimmer?  I know one or two of you are more knowlegable about wildlife than I am so please let me know if I am wrong. I got the ID from a Wildlife Trust site.

 

All for now.

After the Rain

I was chatting to friends yesterday and they mentioned that I hadn't written a blog post for ages so I popped out into the garden yesterday evening after the rain had cleared away to take a few photos.  The garden looked  lush and green rather than dry and dusty.  

Reasons for not writing a post have been mostly the heat which causes a swollen foot and ankle if I sit too long but also the fact that whilst it has been hot we have been boxing up books and taking down the  book cases ready for some work that has to be done  in our living room. Asbestos has been found in the artex ceiling so it has to come out.  The room has to be completely cleared (nightmare) and sealed whilst the work is done.  This will happen in a couple of weeks time but we thought we'd start on the books and book cases as this is the hardest and largest part of the process.

Anyway back to the garden.

A long the path to the pond are the herbs, strawberries, gooseberries, potatoes and courgettes in the raised beds.  The sweet peas are in the potato bed and two tall great mulleins have appeared amongst the gooseberries.

Courgettes on the way.  Aubergines and peppers in the greenhouse as well as tomatoes. 

The tideist part of the garden with the top lawn newly cut.  The side lawns and the top areas have been left to grow through 'No Mow May' and still into June.

 

Just a narrow path has been left so we can walk up to the seat at the top of the garden.

 

The grass has got so long now and very few of the wild flowers have appeared so far.  We seeded the ground with Yellow Rattle, Corn Marigold, Cornflower and Corncockle.  Just the Corncockle has flowered.

 

We've had to top up the pond several times over the last few weeks. 

 I think both the Flag Irises and the Water Lillies have taken quite a lot of water as well.

 

There are a few yellow flowers in the garden at the moment including the Great Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus) and the Hypericum (Rose of Sharon or Aaron's Beard) below.

A couple of years ago there was one Mullein and it spent the Summer covered in green Shield Bugs. 

Last year it didn't appear but this year there are two but noticeably no shield bugs so far.

 

 I think this plant is a Turkish Sage but I'm not sure.  We inherited it when we came here so its at least twenty five years old but I still don't really know what it is.

 

 Another plant we inherited when we came here.  The yellow rose has been moved three times and still flowers each year.

 

Below Hypericum

This one self seeded quite a few years ago and has spread across the garden in several areas.

Poppies have been lovely too both the red and the mauve ones.  The bees love them.

 

Last but not least visitors to the garden over the last week.

A little fox cub, luckily I had my camera handy when it popped it's nose through the hedge and.....

 

a ring-necked parakeet.  Paul heard it calling and was able to take the photo above before it flew away.