Monday 29 February 2016

Monday 29th February 2016 - Leap Year.

A cracking day, very mild with lots of sun. Temp' reached a high of 14c this afternoon.
Spent day in the garden, replaced a few rotten boards on the woodland pathway. Added more bottles to the alpine bottle wall, planted another couple of plants.
Birds a plenty today, munched through loads of food from all the feeding stations. Long tailed tits were particularly busy today.
Blue tit still roosts every night in the swift box, could have a problem if she doesn't move out soonish.
Picture 1 - I was actually trying to photograph the kite when this little fella joined in.
     "      2 - Male great spotted on the peanut feeder.
     "      3 - Tufty ground feeding on dropped bird feed.
     "      4 - Alpine bottled wall.
     "      5 - Alpine house developing well.





Sunday 28 February 2016

Sunday 28th February 2016

Damned cold but a good day with a fair amount of sun. Max temp' today was 9c mid afternoon.
Day spent in the garden. Emptied the compost bin and strengthened to last another year.
Rest of the day spent clearing the area where the igloo will be built. Moved a pile of bricks and capping blocks along with all my bonsai trees. While I was moving the trees I carried out the annual prune. Have nearly 40 bonsai trees now, can't believe it, my father would be well impressed as he had an incredible collection.
Another day and this area will be cleared enough to start on the igloo foundations.
While clearing it became apparent I have the most insect / bug friendly habitat created by the brick pile and general untidiness of this part of the garden. Earwigs and cheeselogs were found by the dozens, was a shame to disturb but did it as sensitively as I could.
Neighbs' have been drinking well this week so tomorrow will add these bottles to the alpine wall. Plants already planted in the bottle wall have taken well and look well established so giving you an idea what this project will eventually look like.
Picture 1 - Clearing space for the igloo.
     "      2 - Goldcrest.



          Not a lot of time for me today to study garden bird life but did see plenty of goldfinches, greenfinches, a wren, long tailed tits and the usual visitors but once again no sparrows.

Saturday 27 February 2016

Saturday 27th February 2016

Chilly but another day with a mix of sun and being overcast.
Lawns cut. First cut of the season, earliest I have ever cut a lawn. Crazy weather, another winter lacking anything like winter conditions.
Hard back breaking work today, after the lawns it was time to empty the compost bin and spread on to the rose border. Still plenty of compost left to use as mulch on the shrubs. A job for tomorrow.
Not seen an earwig in years but by jove, there were loads in this compost bin.
Pictures 1 & 2 - Earwigs?
      "              3 - Mulching rose border.




Friday 26th February 2016

A really good day. Bit chilly with loads of sun, more of this please.
Most of the day spent at the Whitley Community Museum discussing what can be achieved in depicting the history of Whitley on a mural to be created by art students. Amazing what information was forthcoming today between just the two of us. Bob has lived in Whitley as long as me, we have a particular bond as we have met up again through the museum having both worked at the Council in the 70s.
            Not sure what went on in the garden today, going by the amount of feed eaten would suggest no shortage of birds.



Thursday 25 February 2016

Thursday 25th February 2016

A cracking day, chilly after a hard overnight frost. Sun most of the day
A day out walking beside the Thames at Reading. I had two goals, a catch up with the builders at Kings Meadow Baths and the recently opened tunnel under the railway lines just out of town.
This tunnel was built in the 1800s to allow Huntley & Palmers workers to walk or cycle to and from work if living in the Caversham area. During the 1960s the tunnel was no longer in use due to the demise of the factory. The tunnel over the years became a large dumping ground. With the recent opening of the cycle and walkway bridge over the Thames it was decided to clear out and reopen the tunnel giving easy access to Caversham/Newtown once again.
Pictures 1 & 2 - Kings Meadow Baths.
      "       3 - 5  - Railway Tunnel.
      "      6 & 7 - River Thames close to Reading Bridge.







May only be a tunnel but a masterpiece of engineering using bricks throughout.
KMB is moving on apace, still lots to do but good progress since my last visit. Pool now relined with small amount of water added. So pleased builders have replaced only the minimum amount of rotten decorative woodwork. Really am impressed with this project.
A good day out.

Wednesday 24 February 2016

Wednesday 24th February 2016

A cracking day. Plenty of sun, chilly with another frost forecast tonight.
Morning taken up with the weekly shop and having the car washed and valeted.
A lazy afternoon spent in the hide watching the increasing number of birds using the feeders in this part of the garden. Goldfinches, chaffinches, starlings, robins, blue tits, great tits and my favourite bird at the moment, the gold crest.

Tuesday 23rd February 2016

Pretty good today. Very mild but turning very cold by evening with a frost forecast for tonight.
Morning taken up with a decorator who hopefully will be sorting out the front room. Last decorated in 1998 so needs doing?
            This afternoon divided my time between the hide and the bandstand. Trying today to secure photographs of the red kite. No chance.
Enjoyed an evening out with Lulu and Clive at the De-Haviland Arms on the Elvenham Estate. A Badger pub so quaranteed good beer, a couple of pints of 1st Call and a Cornish Pasty and chips, nice.

Monday 22 February 2016

Monday 22nd February 2016

A very mild day with again temp' reaching a high of 14c this afternoon. A little overcast as not so much sun today.
This morning called on Henry Street for the wild flower plants which I duly planted once back home.
Ideal conditions for planting at the moment.
Started the annual job of emptying the 2014 compost bin for spreading on the garden. Some pretty good stuff once again produced. No hibernating frogs or snakes this year but plenty of insects.
Noticed water was leaking around the pond liner where it was cut some 15 years ago to allow a hosta to grow without restriction.  Thought best to plug the area with cement powder which could self harden and so plug this area. The hosta is well established so no harm would be done.
Could not have imagined what I experienced as I started on this job, half a dozen frogs jumped out of this tear in the liner. Clearly been hibernating in this area which is why the liner was damaged but hey this is good news. I have frogs in the pond. I of course did not proceed with the plugging, what else could be living there?
Spent some time in the hide again late this afternoon and delighted to see the goldcrest again. The big surprise was seeing the male great spotted on the feeder in this area. Have never before seen woody in this area of the garden. Have I now two pairs in the garden?
Female sparrowhawk very busy today, off and on was about all day with just one kill, a blue tit.



Sunday 21st February 2016

A much improved day. Very mild, sunny with slight breeze. Temp' reached a high of 14c this afternoon.
Spent day outside clearing all the twigs and small branches that had fallen from the recent high winds. All placed in the old compost bin, been placing twigs in this bin for years now so hopefully it is home to loads of bugs and insects.
With the help of neighbours a fair few bottles had accumulated so worked on the alpine bottle wall this afternoon. Require a few hundred more yet to finish the job.
Male great spotted busy today as was a couple of jays. Blackbirds clearly mating now, robins are still showing signs of love with two pairs dancing away on the lawn. Getting bird busy now.




Saturday 20th February 2016

A right miserable day. Dull, overcast, showers, breezy but still very mild.
This morning called on the community centre to meet the repair team that have organised a free service to residents who have anything that can be repaired. From computer repairs to knife sharpening, sewing machine repairs and all things electrical. Was well attended, good considering it was the first time at this venue.
In preparation for the impending decorating of the front room I made a start this morning after returning from the community centre in sorting out my Reading Town History books. All boxed up now. Thankfully all the other shelves are full of Lorna's books.
            Despite the awful weather I this afternoon cleared the wild flower border ready for fresh planting next week. Amazed how many eggs were buried just under the surface, foxy had buried more than he had eaten and what a distance to carry an egg. Not one was broken.



Spent some time in the hide from late afternoon, good to see the goldcrest on the feeder. A little dark for a decent photograph.
Also noticed a mouse in the woodstack via the hide monitor. Appears to have tunnelled under the woodstack as appeared vertical to the stack.

Friday 19 February 2016

Friday 19th February 2016

A good day until tonight. The day was mostly sunny with temp' reaching 12c this afternoon. Tonight however is pretty wet and this looks like what we can expect tomorrow.
Spent most of the day in the garden pruning roses and fuchsia's. Also cleared the wild flower border, will plant up next week with fresh plants. Henry Street have a good selection in stock at the moment.
           Spent a couple of hours in the hide late this afternoon, was pretty chuffed to see the goldcrest again. Was bad light but did manage a reasonable photograph. Have noticed it is the peanut butter that is the attraction. Next time I will set the camera on the tripod, I need a clear and focused image for volume two of my wildlife book.

Thursday 18 February 2016

Thursday 18th February 2016









A cracking day. Blue sky, chilly but sunny all day giving it the warmth factor.
Today was the annual visit to admire the snowdrops at Welford Park. Message to ones self however, do not visit at half term unless you are happy with screaming out of control kids or yapping out of control dogs. Nuff said.
Once again we finished the day with a pint and a pie at the Bell at Boxford, a pub I have visited on numerous occasions since the 80s. Was one of my Fathers favourite pubs.
Arrived home to a wonderful welcome, the blackcap was ground feeding. Not sen the Mrs. yet however.

Wednesday 17 February 2016

Wednesday 17th February 2016

Miserable day, overcast and on the chilly side all day. Very wet from late afternoon.
Rest day today after a couple of weeks working on the alpine house.
Split my time between my next book challenge and watching bird life from my armchair.
Plenty of birds about at included long tailed tits, great and blue tits, chaffinches, hold finches, green finches, wren, jays, collard doves, magpies, pigeons, blackbirds and dunnocks.
No sign of tufty today so assuming he was snuggled up in his drey.
             Looking forward to the annual visit to Welford Park tomorrow providing the weather improves. The snowdrop displays are apparently every bit as good  as previous years.

Tuesday 16 February 2016

Tuesday 16th February 2016

A very hard frost last night with today being very sunny with temp' into double figures by the afternoon.
Can't keep me out of the alpine house. Decided on another feature, a shelf to display the lemon plant I grew from seed. Now seven years old so pretty pleased with this result.
This afternoon I tidied the alpine border and replaced two plants that had died over the winter.
           A day of the finches with large numbers of gold, green and chaffinches both male and female. Sadly still no sign of sparrows but loads of dunnocks this year.

Monday 15th February 2016

A little breezy but generally a good day with long spells of sun.
After a morning visit to Henry Street for gravel and a couple more plants for the outdoor alpine border it was back to the alpine house project. Can now officially confirm this part of the project is finished. Well pleased.
              Going to restrict the number of apples I leave out as tufty is nicking them as fast as I put them out. Six over the weekend.
Mrs. Spawk turned up again, not for long but long enough for a couple of reasonable photographs.
Also today Mr & Mrs. Woody were about today so looking good as we move into the breeding season.

Sunday 14th February 2016

A much better day. Still windy and mostly overcast but the sun did manage to show its face for a while this afternoon.
Another day spent on the alpine house. The succulent plants now planted up in concrete pots Dad produced years ago for his bonsai collection. Sadly the bonsai trees died over the years but good to have the pots back in use again.
Require another bag of gravel so a trip to Henry Street tomorrow.
             Enjoyed a Valentine evening out with Brian and Carol at the New Inn. Tried and enjoyed a fairly new beer from Badger called 1st Call. At just 4% it is an ideal drink for such an evening.

Saturday 13th February 2016

A wild, wet and windy day. Not good.
Despite the weather I worked outside all day on the alpine house project. Really taking shape now, hopefully will finish this part of the project tomorrow.
The bottled walls will take an age to complete sadly as require 100s more bottles.
             Had Mr & Mrs. Spawk in the garden today, did a sweep of the bushes before flying off again empty handed.
Tufty full time in the lawn area of the garden now, has taken a liking to fruit eating apples put out for the blackbirds.


Friday 12 February 2016

Friday 12th February 2016

Dry, cold with a fair amount of sun today.
Day spent at RHS Wisley researching and subsequently purchasing alpine and succulent plants. Twenty four plants in total so a lot to plant up tomorrow.

Thursday 11 February 2016

Thursday 11th February 2016

Superb day, very hard overnight frost cleared to leave a mild, sunny day.
Over to Henry Street early this morning to collect the compost and grit I am using to produce my own alpine compost.
Rest of the day then mixing and spreading in one of the two alpine trays. Lot of mixing still to do but hopefully will finish over the weekend.
Tomorrow over to RHS Wisley to purchase alpine and cacti plants.
          Spawk arrived late this afternoon, ducked and dived until nearly dark but sadly for him left empty handed.

Wednesday 10th February 2016

A pretty good day, on the chilly side but mostly sunny and no rain.
Most of the day was spent out and about so nothing to report from the garden.
Enjoyed a morning at the Whitley Community Museum comparing maps I have from the 1800-1940s. Maps I obtained while researching 479. Whitley Museum is looking at a permanent exhibition in the Community Centre, a fair amount of interesting items already collected. Next meeting arranged for the end of the month.
Called on my Sister this afternoon, still dealing with red tape over a few pounds worth of shares that mother held.
Then a trip to B & Q and Morrison's.

Tuesday 9 February 2016

Tuesday 9th February 2016

Could be mistaken into thinking you were living in a different country today. What a contrast in weather. Mild, sunny, blue sky and not even a breeze.
            Day spent working in the alpine house, well pleased at the way it is progressing. Both trays constructed and fixed, next step is looking for suitable plant pots and of course the appropriate soil for alpine plants.
Not forgetting the bottled walls planted with trailing alpine plants. Require a few hundred bottles yet before this part of the project is anywhere finished.
              Tufty spent another day carrying mouthfuls of fleece into the drey. Can't believe the amount being taken in. Sadly the camera in the box is now completely covered so unable to watch from within.
Good to see so many long tailed tits today, six at one point on the feeders.
Photographs tomorrow.