Mid July Visit to Herefordshire

 

Inbetween medical appointments, family birthdays, car service and mot, gas boiler service etc., we managed to get away to Herefordshire the week before last for four nights.

We arrived on the Tuesday afternoon. First task was to water the pots and garden!  The plants had suffered yet again from the dry hot weather.  I've now lost the oldest lavender plant I had there but the rose in a pot, geranium, new lavender, houseleeks, herbs, tomato and chilli plants had managed to survive.  Most of the plants in the garden and border are still more or less ok.  If we continue to have hot dry summers I may have to have a re-think as to whether it is worth bothering having pots.

Cattle sheltering from the sun under the Herefordshire Oak

The Octopus Tree in the centre of the photo.

The Constable Tree(s)

As you can see there has not been much change in the Herefordshire Trees since the last visit.

Teasel in the garden

D's chilli plant has two flowers :)

On the Wednesday we went into Leominster to do a food shop at Morrisons. 

Thursday and Friday we just stayed at the caravan and yet again I spent a lot of time reading. If I am honest it really was too hot to go out visiting places and walking although I was tempted by the thought of a church visit as they are usually so cool inside.

On the Friday I went outside and counted butterflies for Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count.

I just counted the maximum number of butterflies seen at any one time in the 15 minutes of the count.

Meadow Brown x 1

Small White x 4

Gatekeeper x 4

Large White x 2

Holly Blue x 1

Sorry no photos - the butterflies were far too active!  No sign of the Red Admirals, Peacocks or Speckled Woods we had seen on other days!

Timothy was not enjoying the heat any more than me.

Early on the Friday morning before I had woken up B saw three Green Woodpeckers on the grass in front of the caravan. One of them was a juvenile being fed by the adults.  Later in the day we saw a Linnet feeding on seeds in the grass.  I was really pleased with this sighting as I haven't seen a Linnet for years and it was a new species for the caravan site.

Linnet

I used the bat detector most nights and it is good to know the bats are still around the caravan. They weren't appearing until about 10.30 pm so it wasn't easy to see them unless they were flying against the sky.

We left early Saturday afternoon. Hopefully, it won't be too long before we return and I hope it will be a bit cooler next time! Static caravans cool down quickly at night but they heat up in the sun very quickly in the daytime :(  I am very pleased we thought to buy a tower fan last year!

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Big Butterfly Count and Garden Wildlife and Vegetables

 

Since 2010 Butterfly Conservation has organised a yearly nationwide survey where people can spend 15 minutes counting the number of butterflies they see in their garden or other location.  Butterflies are excellent biodiversity indicators and they react rapidly to environmental changes. Therefore declines in butterfly species can provide an early warning of potential losses in other species too.  Big Butterfly Count helps identify trends in species allowing plans to be made to protect those in decline and also to allow scientists to understand the effects of climate change.

I am sure some of you also take part and it is to be hoped that the results from this year's counts are a marked improvement on the awful year butterflies and other pollinators had last year.

D and I did our first butterfly count on the 21st July at Castle Bromwich Historic Parklands and saw the following butterflies:

Small White x 4

Speckled Wood x 5

Large White x 2

Holly Blue x 4

Gatekeeper x 6

plus an unidentified skipper (it was too far away to be sure)!

On 25th July we did a count in the garden at home and saw the following:

Large White x 4

Peacock x 1

Comma x 1

*D

Holly Blue x 1  (here nectaring on water mint flowers by the pond)

*D

Gatekeeper x 1

*D

*D

Speckled Wood x 3

*D

Meadow Brown x 1

*D

Not seen during the count itself here is a photo of a Red Admiral we saw a bit later.

*D

D did a further garden count earlier this week and managed to spot a Red Admiral during the 15 minutes this time.

Red Admiral x 1

Comma x 1

Speckled Wood x 1

Gatekeeper x 2

Large White x 1

Other Garden Insects

Banded Demoiselle - I was really chuffed this was spotted as I am fairly sure it is a new garden "tick"

*D

Grasshopper

Mint Moth - you guessed it seen on mint! Pretty as these tiny moths are last year the caterpillars decimated all our mint!

*D

Sunflower with a Marmalade Hoverfly

*D

Garden Vegetables and Baking

These days D grows all the garden vegetables.

Here are the first red chilli peppers.

*D

We are picking courgettes galore

*D

Ripening pumpkin

*D

The first crop of beetroot has been harvested.

*D

Apple and Blackberry Crumble made with foraged blackberries from the garden.

*D

D made these Feta, Thyme and Courgette Scones with courgettes and thyme from the garden. Lovely served with onion chutney :)

*D

All photos taken by D with the Canon SX50 HS bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of my son's or mine I would be grateful for an email first - thanks)

Big Butterfly Count

 

I am sure many of you take part in the Summer Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count.  I usually try and do 4 or 5 each year in the garden.  I did try once to do one at Packwood but there were that many "white" butterflies about I lost count.

I've done two so far this year and with the weather the way it is I suspect I won't do anymore this summer.

The first was on the 25th July and I saw the following

Large White x 2

Gatekeeper x 1

Speckled Wood x 1

Red Admiral x 1

Comma x 1

The second I did on 29th July and spotted

Red Admiral x 1

Comma x 1

Small White x 2

You might know just after I'd started the sun went behind the clouds!

I might try and do one at the caravan if we visit while the count is still running. Edit Just realised it finishes this weekend so that won't be possible :(

The last few strawberries picked from the garden.

We have a lot of Cat's Ear plants on the first lawn.

We have quite a few scabious in the mini wild flower "meadow" - worryingly though I haven't seen any Knapweed this year or many Wild Carrots and usually we get loads.

Cut and Come Again Lettuce

Potatoes are growing well after being "earthed up".  David has grown the vegetables this year like last year as to be honest B has completely lost interest in the garden due to what is happening next door and the fact that we shall have to move. 

While looking for some sort of box to send D's laptop back for repair I found a storage box under the bed full of Teddies including my Aston Villa bear!

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one I would be grateful for an email first - thanks)

This and That

 

Recent Reading

Orchard is a book I keep at the caravan along with all the other Herefordshire books, some church books and a few wildlife id guides.  It is a book I bought years ago in Weobley when D and I came for the day to visit some of the "black and white" trail villages. Its a lovely book. There is little text but just photos from a Herefordshire Cider Orchard through the seasons.

I think I spotted this book on Rosie's blog "Corners of My Mind" and I really enjoyed it as it made a change from crime and mystery novels.  It is a fictional account of why Jane Austen's sister Cassandra may have burned Jane's letters and delves not only into the content of the imagined letters but fictional accounts of the Austen Sisters' past. It is very moving and imaginative.

Another Logaston Press I bought for the caravan!  Fascinating book of ghost stories on my favourite county.

You may recall the jumper and scarf and hat I knitted myself recently. Deborah of Country Ways and Cottage Days had the brilliant idea that I should knit Timothy a jumper and scarf in the same wool so here he is posing in the finished products. The jumper is a bit too long like mine!!  I am making another jumper for myself now in the same chunky marble wool but different colours and will try and make the jumper and sleeves shorter this time - you live and learn!

The Passion Flower in the garden at home is flowering again this year which is great news.

I usually do several Garden Butterfly Conservation Butterfly Counts each year but unfortunately as I seem to spend so much time in Herefordshire at the moment I've only done one this year! 

The results are as follows:

Peacock x 1

Small White x 1

Holly Blue x 1

Speckled Wood x 1

Large White x 1

We've just come back from another few days in Herefordshire as we had to be there for a gas boiler service and gas safety check appointment.  So a few posts to come on a few places visited. We did return to places visited before for various reasons but this time I did visit the interior of Berrington Hall where resides the most amazing restored Georgian dress.

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

Recent Reading, Garden and Big Butterfly Count, Baking and a Pop Up Museum

 

Recent Reading

I'm still comfort reading with the Fairacre and Thrush Geen Books. I thought the former had come to an end but I have found another to be read soon!

The DCI Banks book was good.

Another Joanna Piercy novel and as good as the rest!

The next Wesley Peterson (by the way I still haven't gone back and read The Plague Maiden!!). I love the way these books tie in detective work with the additional archaeological story line.

The Anne Granger books keep you guessing right up to the end.

I haven't read a Cooper and Fry book for ages. This was good and a little different to others in the series with Fry having returned to Birmingham temporarily.  I do wonder at times if Fry and Cooper will ever end up together!

I bought this book for the caravan and if you love Herefordshire churches it is a wonderful book and very interesting.

I also read a very good Logaston Press book on the Mappa Mundi called "Hereford's Curious Map" by Sarah Arrowsmith.  I was again going to take it to the caravan but decided to give it to D as he is fascinated by the map.  Sorry forgot to take a photo before giving it away!

Baking

D and E made another Great British Baking Box recipe - this time Lemony Lemon Slices.

Garden

The herbs bought recently are growing really well!

Ragwort - I live in hope of more Cinnabar Moth caterpillars!

The buddleias are now flowering just in time for the Big Butterfly Count!

Astrantia

Scabious in the wild flower area.

Rowan berries slowly ripening means autumn is perhaps now not that far away.

I've done 3 butterfly counts for the Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count in the garden. Thankfully, there are now more butterflies about! I won't list all the results but species seen included several New for Year.

Large White

Comma

Meadow Brown

Speckled Wood

Peacock

Small Skipper

Holly Blue 

Gatekeeper

On Saturday D wanted to go (for his day job) to Elmdon Park Solihull as there was a pop up museum organised by the Elmdon Park Support Group which showed various finds discovered in the area of Elmdon Park, church, walled garden and where the old manors once stood.

The Tudor Manor House was built by John Botelere between 1485 and 1490.  He was a Solihull lawyer who gained the estate when he married Catherine Hore who was the daughter of a wealthy Warwickshire family from Long Itchington who had connections with the Elmdon area.

The  Manor House was demolished in 1783 and a new Georgian hall was built by Abraham Spooner who had bought the estate in 1760. The Spooner family sold the estate to a William Charles Alston in 1840.  Both men had made their fortunes due to the Industrial Revolution. The part of the estate that is now Elmdon Park was bought by Solihull Council in 1930.  The last occupant of the Georgian hall was a Mrs Alston Roberts who had sold off most of the estate in 1919.  The hall became derelict and was sadly demolished in the 1950's.

There have been 3 churches near the park. The first was a Saxon 11th century church probably built by Lord Toki or Tochi who, according to the Domesday Book of 1066, was lord of the manor of Elmdon. Then between 1250 and 1290 the De-Whitaker Church was built which incorporated the Saxon church in the chancel area.  The church with its new nave was 70 feet long by 30 feet wide

After buying the estate in 1760 one of Abraham Spooner's first projects was to rebuild the church which had become very dilapidated and was beyond repair. Some of the crypt of the original church was used as a mausoleum for the Spooner family. Some of the stained glass from the de Whitaker church was used in windows to the North of the church.

Although I have parked near it on past visits to the park I have not explored the church or churchyard - perhaps something to be rectified. Apparently the 13th century font from the de Whitaker church lies abandoned in the churchyard!

I've done a previous post on Elmdon Park and also on the Elmdon Park LNR (managed by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust) which includes the walled garden of the old hall so if you would like to see or read please see here Elmdon Park and Elmdon Manor LNR

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

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