"This and That" Again!!!

The weeks continue to merge into each other and most of the time I haven't a clue what day of the week it is as I am sure everyone is finding!


Cat's Ear in the garden. I am still hoping some of the Fox and Cubs seeds I collected last year and planted near the "no mow zone" will grow. In fact, I've had to ask B when he mows the lawn in future not to chop the flower stalks otherwise I will never know! I may have thrown a few seeds in the wild flower area too so will keep looking there.

I've never been 100% sure of the id of this wild flower found everywhere in the garden but I think it is Wood Avens

I have never seen so many buttercups in the wild flower "meadow" as there are growing this year. Yellow Rattle is slowly spreading and does seem to be suppressing the couch grass slowly but surely. I would post a photo but unfortunately the ones I have taken just don't do it justice.

Yellow Rattle

Cranesbill sp.

So many plants and shrubs seem to be flowering in profusion this year - here the Rhododendron is covered in flowers.

I spent ages yesterday watching bumble bees collecting pollen and nectar. There were so many of them and several species - Tree, White-Tailed, Buff-Tailed, Common Carder, Early and Red-tailed bumble bees. Photography, however, was not very successful!

I've forgotten the name of this shrub!

Pyracantha is beginning to flower.

News is not very promising sadly on the Blue Tit nest. The eggs started to hatch on the 17th May and after a few days there were we think 7 chicks. However, there has been no sign of a male bird helping with the feeding. As a consequence the female spends a lot of time still "incubating" them only occasionally going for food. The chicks are therefore not developing very quickly and two have already died. Yesterday Blackbirds were making a lot of fuss half way up the garden and today I found 3 nestlings dead on the lawn which is sad. I am not sure what predated them as I would have thought a Magpie or Crow would have taken all the dead young. Perhaps it was a cat or squirrel?

Herbs and lavenders have

now been planted out. I just need to try and get a basil plant from a supermarket as the National Herb Centre when I ordered the herbs were out of stock.

We have sage and marjoram planted in the patio wall and sage is starting to flower.

The only butterflies I have seen recently in the garden are Speckled Woods plus the occasional "white" flitting through but too distant to identify. A distant shot of the former!

Recent Reading


I really enjoyed the next Cooper and Fry book.

I bought this book second hand due to the purchase of the caravan in Herefordshire (site is still shut and we still haven't been since we bought it!). Also Worcestershire, or parts of it anyway, is close enough to visit for the day from home if ever life becomes normal again. It is a very interesting book with lots of ideas of places to visit although it did seem to go a bit overboard on places to eat and stay!! But for £2 it was a good buy and has given me ideas (one day!) of many new places to visit.

I also enjoyed the next Joanna Piercy novel. These books are easy to get into and just what is required at the present time! The ending, however, came as a complete surprise!

Back to the garden and I have seen Leaf Cutter Bees and a few Mason Bees around the Bee Hotels although I am still not sure if the filled holes in this one are last year's or this?

E and I continue to bake from Mary Berry's "Fast Cakes" book - E made Walnut and Coffee Traybake which was delicious and I made the Cherry and Nut crisps - also tasty.

I put the moth trap out again last weekend but it was very very windy and I didn't trap much - just one Light Brown Apple and 5 Heart and Darts (I think!). Not having used the moth trap much in recent years my id skills are very rusty - in fact, at first I thought these were Shuttle-Shaped Dart!!!!!!!

A few pages from the Journal - I've rather given up on the drawings!

As restrictions have been lifted slightly at the weekend I took the car for a run round local country lanes - it was so good to see some countryside if only for a short while and sadly cow parsley and hawthorn now seem to have finished but we did see elderflower, buttercups, foxgloves and red campion flowering. A walk wasn't possible as it began to rain :( But I have identified a few places where we could walk in the future as D is on holiday for two weeks soon. Just a few photos from Maxstoke Priory.

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I do apologise if the post is a bit the same as the previous ones!!!

I hope everyone is staying safe and well and please take care of yourselves.


*D Photos taken by my son with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera

Rest of photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera