I try and go a wander round the garden every few days to check for new growth and see what is flowering.
Cyclamen
Two clumps of Snowdrops - one in flower and one still in bud.
Towards the top of the garden there are quite a few clumps of wild primroses that have spread over the years. They are mainly in front of an old stone wall and in front of the wild flower "meadow".
Hazel "Lambs' Tail" catkins and I found just one lone female flower.
Turkey Tail fungi are forming again on eucalpytus stumps.
Log pile in the wooded area at the top of the garden. I've no idea if it has ever been used by hedgehogs but it will be good for foraging birds and invertebrates.
B and I have talked about buying a budget wildlife camera for some time and decided to treat ourselves as a joint present for Valentine's Day. The original camera was ordered from a well known budget supermarket but when it arrived it was obviously a return as there was no seal on the box, the instruction booklet was creased and had a coffee stain and the batteries had been taken out of the plastic wrapping. So we sent it back and ordered what looked the same model and make from Amazon. We've put it in the wooded area to try it out and are hoping also to take it to the caravan later in the year if we are ever allowed to travel!!
I will let you know what we see!
I've finally got round to putting away the last of my Christmas presents. These Gallager cigarette cards were a present from D.
They reminded me of some nature albums I have. I may have shared these before but, if so, it was a long time ago.
First a PG Tips album. I am sure many of us collected these cards years ago.
I also have with complete sets of cards two Willis Wild Flower Albums from 1936/37. One was a present from D on my 50th birthday. They really are charming and it is lovely to get them out from time to time and read them. So I am sharing photos of some of the pages.
For "Rustic Pumpkin" - Wall Pennywort.
In other news B and I had our first dose of the "Oxford" vaccination last week. The second dose is booked for the end of April. I am very grateful but I shall not be changing my lifestyle. I was fine. B didn't feel very good the next day - bad headache, dizziness, nausea. He thought initially they were side effects but there is the possibility it was a severe migraine as he does suffer from these. Whether the vaccination sparked it off he has no idea.
I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.
