Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Monday 6 July 2020

Garden, Reading and a Brief Trip to Herefordshire




On the patio quite a few plants have self-seeded - yellow corydalis, lobelia, marjoram and valerian.




The Christmas Tree re-potted last year has put out plenty of new growth.




Wall Pennywort plants continue to do well in the greenhouse although an inspection today suggests some of the leaves are being nibbled :(



Scented white flowers of a climber on the patio arch.



Marjoram is flowering - Gatekeepers love this flower but I haven't seen any yet this year.



Lavender



We are growing potatoes in "bags" on the patio.



Orange and yellow "lilies"




St John's Wort



Last year for the first time the Passion Flower flowered and there are loads of buds again this year too.



Blackberry flowers


Astrantia which I love is starting to flower.






Last week we watched a female Blackbird taking food into shrubs where a recently fledged youngster was hiding. As the week wore on he/she became more brave and started flying round the garden.




Recent Reading

This is an interesting little book which I have now taken to the caravan.




The Caravan Park mid-way between Bromyard and Leominster finally re-opened last Saturday so on Sunday we made our first trip there since last October to take the items we had bought for the kitchen.

The Worcester Road passes NT Brockhampton which might be worth a visit in the not too distant future. The grounds and estate are open if you pre-book (I've just checked tomorrow to get an idea and there are still time slots available) and I gather the estate is big and you could walk for miles so it sounds like a good place for a "safe" walk.




By social distancing the caravan was handed over to us and we finally got the keys.

Here it is in its new location.



The owners of the park had made a lovely gesture by leaving us a huge bouquet of flowers and a bottle of sparkling wine.


Timothy imbibing!



View to the front and


view to the rear of the caravan.







The people who had a caravan on the plot previously had left a bird feeding station which will be useful and save us having to buy one!



There is a little area to the rear of the caravan where you can create a small garden which again the previous plot holders had done - we even found a small apple tree!






B spotted a Red Kite (I missed it) but apparently there are 3 in the area so I should see one on a future visit.

I spent most of the time washing up and putting away all the kitchen items we had bought with my daughter's help.



But we did walk down to the pool and wildflower area.










The pool is mainly used by people who want to fish but



there is a small bird hide.




The wild flower area where I saw quite a few Meadow Browns - it was quite cloudy and very windy so I think you would see a lot of butterflies and bees when the weather is better.








Meadowsweet




We only stayed for the day but will hopefully be going for a short stay in the not too distant future. I still have items to take as we only had room in the car for so much. Unfortunately the lock down has meant I haven't been able to get all the items I wanted to.

The journey only took an hour and twenty minutes as the motorway was unbelievably quiet and there were none of the usual traffic jams by Worcester where there are roadworks. Herefordshire itself seemed remarkably quiet which is good news for future visits although of course places like Ludlow may well be busy and I think it will be a while before we venture to places like that.




All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera




13 comments:

The Quacks of Life said...

Hi RR

caravan location looks good... my advice for NT booking is get on first thing Friday morning ;)

Good lad Timothy!!

regards

Pete

Rustic Pumpkin said...

Self sown plants are the best, for they are free, but they do need some effort to keep them under control too. I have quite a few. Your caravan looks so splendid and spacious, location is good, and someone seems to have settled in well. Hmmmm ~ Anyhow, I do hope you have many happy memories waiting to be made, and lots of hours of exploration and discovery ahead.

Bovey Belle said...

That looks lovely and I am sure you will really enjoy your stays there (and perhaps not want to go home!) Herefordshire seems reasonably quiet when we go there but Hereford town itself can be absolute madness apparently. We steer clear of it and go along the Roman Road side of town when we are travelling on towards Ledbury and Malvern.

I hope you have many many happy stays there.

Pam said...

Your garden is looking good with all the flowers. I'm a bit jealous of the caravan, the site looks lovely and quite wildlife friendly, I bet you can't wait to spend some proper time there :)

Rosie said...

What a super post. You have some lovely flowers in your garden. It's fun watching the antics of the young birds, we too have a young blackbird copying the adults eating berries from the Amelanchier tree and sometimes failing:) I'm so glad you were able to get to your caravan at last. It looks wonderful and what a lovely gesture of welcome from the site owners. It looks a great area for wildlife and I'm sure you will have some wonderful times there:)

Ragged Robin said...

Quacks of Life - Thanks so much Pete. Caravan site only small and family run and in the middle of nowhere - which suits me! Thanks re: advice re: NT - will remember that when I am ready to return to Packwood/BC. Brockhampton looks as though you can book a day ahead which is good.

Rustic Pumpkin - Thanks so much. Self sown plants are useful :) Timothy very happy to be out and about again!! I think our outings from there will be limited initially until life returns to normal but there will I hope be places you can go and feel "safe".

Bovey Belle - Thanks so much. I didn't want to come home on Sunday. You can stay there as often and for as long as you like although they do close for 3 months in the winter. I can remember from some years back how busy Hereford was and tbh at the moment I wouldn't want to be going there.

Pam - Thanks so much. Very pleased with caravan location - lots to see on the site itself and there are only about 40 caravans there - well laid out in "compartments" so it seems quieter than it possibly is. No touring caravans or tents allowed. I thought it would be busy as it was the first weekend they had opened since "lock down" but hardly saw a soul.

Rosie - Thanks so much. It is good atm being able to watch wildlife in the garden. I wasn't driving so had a glass or two of wine and I brought the flowers home. It is in a lovely area with lots to do and see and several Herefordshire WLT reserves within 10/15minutes. Unfortunately due to current situation there will be many places I wouldn't feel comfortable visiting atm but hopefully one day life may return to "normal".

Amanda Peters said...

Garden flowers look lovely, I love the corydalis plant, when we holiday in Ingleton last year it was growing everywhere in walls paths and gardens, wild too. But here I have not seen it growing at all.! Need to get some.
The area round the caravan is going to be so exciting to discover, such lovely times to come. Can you stay all year round?
Amanda. X

Ian said...

Nice to see the range of self seeded flowers and your trip looked to be a very enjoyable stroll in the countryside.

Ragged Robin said...

Amanda Peters - Thank you. Corydalis just appeared in the garden from nowhere! Have some on the patio wall too. Thank you re: the caravan. They have a closed season and are not open December January and February. Although this year they may stay open in December due to being closed during lockdown. For the 9 months they are open you can stay there as much as you like although you do have to have a main residence elsewhere.

Ian - Thanks so much - hope you are staying safe and well. Its lovely to hear from you.

Rohrerbot said...

Looks beautiful. I love those hides and the birds that go with them. Glad you were able to get out and explore. It's so HOT here in Tucson. It's 114 degrees outside!! So your pics are wonderful! Stay safe and hugs! Chris

Ragged Robin said...

Rohrerbot - Thanks so much Chris. Glad you like the location. Gosh! re: temps - I would melt!!! Stay safe and sending hugs too. Take care and stay well.

CherryPie said...

So lovely that you were able to get away for a short break. The place you stayed looks lovely. I always enjoy a visit to the Brockhampton Estate, although not the effects of Rapseed when it is in flower.

I hope Timothy didn't drink too much of the bubbly ;-)

Ragged Robin said...

CherryPie - Thank you. I am looking forward to exploring Brockhampton. Timothy only had one glass! :)