Many of you will have seen my garden photo thread from last year: "Post Furlough Return To Work....", and to save a thread getting too long, I thought I'd set up one for 2021. I was hoping to make it a retirement thread, but alas, that was thwarted at the last minute just before Xmas, but nature and life still continues, and so shall I....
So here it is. The light has been, well, yuk for any decent photos, but to start things off, a few snow scenes from the garden from last Friday.
A generaly view of the garden.
The chimera, complete with coconut shell full of mealworms, which often provides good viewing, but not this day....
The established erysimum
Last years erysimum and lavender
Stay safe folks, there will be wildlife photos here soon, lockdown or no lockdown....
Squirrel update; suddenly gone very calm now the feeders are empty!
We'll keep the feeders empty for a little longer, then gradually introduce them back. No doubt the squirrels will return, but hopefully not to the extent they were.
I've just been talking to a neighbour, apparently an old lady up the road, with an overgrown garden, and some tall trees in adjoining gardens, had been feeding the squirrels, but sadly, old age and mobility had got the better of her, and she's no in a home.
We have kept one feeder in use, that's because only the small birds can feed from it. The squirrels had tried, but with nothing to grab, it was beyond their reach.
However, the wood pigeons, now getting short on food dropped from feeders generally, have been trying. The next sequence of photos is one failed attempt....
Here goes.....
Up and away!
Cleared for final approach!
Coming in....
Aaaand....
Landing abort!
Aborted.....
Coming in to land....
We've had another hedgehog visit.
Hedgehog visit: https://youtu.be/fHkektTDPQM
And a fox, leaving its trademark poo, in the hole where the rotary drier goes!
https://youtu.be/9ZROoFP7otE
I'll spare you the photo evidence here, but for those who are curious, want to have a look, click the link to the photo on my Flickr page:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/peak-rambler/51108838296/
Stay safe folks
Jez in Surrey said:I was curious, I had a look.... that’s gross..! I have a young ish dog fox visiting my front and back gardens as they form part of ‘his’ territory. It often jumps up on the tool storage box to look over the fence into next doors garden. Last time I saw it I tapped on the patio door glass and it looked at me, jumped down, then looking straight at me, squatted over a big flower pot. Unbelievable..! May as well have given me the finger while it was at it..
Just a bit!
Mrs PR and myself have decided, remove the rotary drier stake, doggy poo bag for the poo, and soak it in bleach. I do have some very durable nitrile gloves, and a yellow bucket for chemicals (so there is no risk to the fish and pond life when topping the pond up) somewhere in the garage....
The daffs are now past their best.
The first tulips buds are now very close to opening.
I reckon this will be the first
And this will be second.
An update, the squirrels keep visiting the feeding points, though there are no feeders present, but their visits are becoming shorter and less frequent, for now!
The cherry blossom is in full swing, and the petal are starting to form a white carpet. but still look good in the sun.
Incidentally, for those interested, when we moved in here, we were told the cherry tree is an ornamental one, and the fruit isn't edible, not that I like cherries.
Possibly a honey bee, whatever, it was darting from flower to flower, so either the pollen wasn't up to scratch, or the flowers weren't ready to yield.
The tulips have come on nicely, and while there were only six tulip heads last year, this year, we have eight!
17th April
18th April
This scene greeted me when I arrived home after a wander...
A female house sparrow had found a feather for the nest, and there was a bit of a fracas with another female, and possibly a male, for this feather.
Now, how do I get it up there?
Once the sparrow had got on the fence, it dropped the feather into the plants below. It was interesting watching, the male came along, and they both looked down where the feather fell....
Sorry about the poor quality pic, but I felt it was worth sharing, as the two looked down on the fallen feather!
"Damn, I dropped it!"
"Yes, you dropped it. Now go and pick it up, there's going to be a frost tonight and the babies need to be kept warm..."
Mrs HS had redeemed herself, (more likely shown Mr HS up for taking the....) and rescued the feather, and was proudly showing it off....
A wood pigeon basking in the morning sun.
The tulips looking good
.... and the snow bells are now starting to flower. As I type, more have opened their buds, photos later, but here's the first one...
with some more rady to open very soon....
Even the bluebells (which are a bit late this year) are starting to bud.
Linda257 said:Lovely update Mike. Aww bless the wee sparras with their feather lol. Always nice to see the colourful flowers bloom
Thank you Linda.
No photos to share just yet (there will be soon, the snow bells are nicely in flower, and the garden has calmed down a lot, and the birds are slowly returning), but I've some video from the gardencam, possibly of the same female house sparrow, with feather. The time and date are very close.
House Sparrow (F) Part One
A house sparrow finds some down feathers and collects them in her beak to line her nest with.
https://youtu.be/KNqj8rB4na8
House Sparrow (F) Part Two
A house sparrow still with some down feathers in her beak to line her nest with, wanders around the garden, probably trying to secure the down feathers before she finally flies off.
https://youtu.be/nTItaDKjdqo
A few changes are talking place in the garden, as one door closes, another opens. Before the photos, the quest to contain the squirrel numbers visiting the garden has taken an interesting turn. The squirrels are now feeding on mealworms left out for the robins, blackbirds and others.
When I say feeding, I don't mean a quick nibble and yuk, I mean feasting!
I'm getting the impression food stocks for squirrels is at a low, which surprises me with all the trees around the area, and a decent sized wooded area down the road, which is a bit of a dumping ground and druggie haven for the nearby council estate, and with kittens on the horizon, food will be very important and high priority.
The daffs are slowly setting to rest for 2021, the tulips are in full swing, and the snowbells, are booming through it present.
Even the pond lilys are showing the new foliage for 2021,
The apple blossom is starting to grow
And before the grass gets cut later this week, a solitary buttercup
The erysimum planted last year is in full flower. It won't be long before the bees and butterflies are settling on those flower heads and taking the nectar.