Very mild day but a lack of Sunshine!
Spent day working on the Alpine Bed. Gravel that was the base for the Bonsai Trees was shovelled out and used to create a path at the side of the Useful Room.
225 x 75mm Treated Timber with 75 x 75mm Posts has been used to produce the structure for the raised bed. Once fixed in place this will be then filled with 50% Compost Base and 50% Gravel Top Layer. The Alpine Plants will be planted in 225mm Clay Pots which in turn will be buried in the Gravel so the Rim is just showing.
Most noticable Bird activity today was Woody spending a large part of the day in the Silver Birch Tree. Still hoping they will use the Nesting Box.
Picture 1 - Woody in Silver Birch Tree.
" 2 - Alpine project - base cleared for Timber Frame.
" 3 - " " - base taking shape, all level and ship shape!
What a lovely day, temp' back up to 13c.
Completed the process of sinking the camera cables into the lawn. Any exposed wires under the decking have been threaded through hosepipe to stop the Mice nibbling, had already experienced this.
Started my next project of creating an Alphine raised bed. It will be where the Bonsai Trees are currently displayed, not sure yet where these will be moved to. I took the opportunity of re-potting some of the trees into some hand made pots my Father made many years ago.
Foxy was out again last night but had competition with a rather large Puma!!
Picture 1 - Puma on the prowl! Well a large cat certainly!
" 2 - Foxy.
Pretty miserable couple of days. Wet, cold with very little Sun. Max' temp' 9c mid afternoon.
Had a job to keep the Bird Feeders from mushing up in this rainy period. Magpies still busy building. Blackbirds appear to have finished. Jays and Woodpeckers very busy today but no sign of Nest Building.
Still hear Croaking from the Pond but still to see a Frog! No sign of Fish since the last Heron sighting two weeks ago. The upside of not having Fish of course will be more Frogs?
Despite the poor weather I have tidied the Front Garden, have cleared the the border of rubbish and now have a 50mm layer of Bark. Have ordered 6 Shrubs from Jersey Plants to plant in the Border, these should arrive end of March.
Picture 1 - Delivery of Bark from Henry Street Garden Centre.
" 2 - Bark laying in progress.
" 3 - Job done!
" 4 - First of the Spring Tulips. Out for a matter of minutes in the afternoon Sun.
Sunny day but very cold icy wind.
Not much to report today as spent over at Mothers carrying out a few odd jobs. Stayed for as Fish & Chip lunch.
Called into Hobby Craft on way home and bought some Picture Frames, intend printing some of my better Photographs and framing them.
Picture today of the Fox last night sniffing at the remains of the Sparrowhawk Kill yesterday afternoon.
Very wet all day, snow shower mid afternoon. Temp' reached a low of 2c mid afternoon.
Spent day connecting all my Cameras to the Monitor in the 'Useful' Room. Connected to two switch units that allow me to switch from one camera to another by the press of a button. Wicked!!
Guaranteed daily results will be the Bird Feeder, nesting boxes of course seasonal.
The pair of Magpies were both busy with their nest building, it really is something to watch them tugging at twigs on the tree before carting them off. Would like to set up a vidio to catch the action.
On clearing up late this afternoon I was aware of some activity outside, looked up to catch a Sparrowhawk with a Sparrow. Did not fly off with it so had a birds eye view for half an hour. Completely stripping of Feathers before eating the meat! After the meal Mrs.Hawk flew to the fence keeping further watch. I was able to get as close as 1.8 mtrs for this picture, even the noise of closing and locking the door did not frighten her.
Picture 1 - Pair Magpies collecting twigs from Silver Birch Tree.
" 2 - Monitor and cable system for outside camaras.
" 3 & 4 - Blue Tit on Fat Ball Feeder.
" 5 - Snow Shower.
" 6 - Mrs. Hawk.
" 7 - Aftermath!
Yesterday was a beautiful day with lots of Sun, today however was very April. Mild, Overcast, Showery. At one point this afternoon there were three Rainbows.
Still managed to put a full day in the garden completing the Veg, Fruit Cage I started yesterday. Is ok and it will work, found the mesh had a mind of its own. Pull to tight and the poles bent, not enough and the mesh sagged!
Yesterday filled four bags of Horse Manure from a Stable in Arborfield. Real good stuff and already spread on the Fruit/Veg patch.
Magpie has started building now in the Lelandi Tree. Interesting to watch, spends a fair bit of time in the Silver Birch Tree tugging away at twigs, letting them fall to the ground before collecting and flying off.
Enjoyed an evening out with Doug and Anna at the Stag & Hounds in Binfield. Sadly Anna's steak was not good and was rejected on two attempts. Chef completely messed up, to their credit they were very apologetic and did a deal with Doug on the Bill.
The evening was a treat extended by Doug and Anna in appreciation for the Hen Palace I recently constructed, cheers Boyo.
Before we left Doug showed us on the HD Telly' the Little Owl footage recently filmed. Abso' brilliant and left me speechless at the the quality, detail etc. Well done Boyo.
Picture 1 - Fruit & Veg' Cage, also showing Horse Manure!
" 2 - Magpie collecting twigs.
A beautiful day after a very misty start. Temp' mid afternoon 18c.
Finished edging the front drive this morning, Bought two sample bags of Chipped Bark from Henry Street this afternoon to infill. It worked so will be ordering ten further bags. Ordered six Hydrangea Shrubs from Jersey Plants which will be planted in the border created by edging the drive.
Found an investation of Ladybirds in front bedroom. Facebook messages from Pippa and Nicola confirmed these are Ladybirds that hibernated during the Winter and the warm weather has now woken them!
Good news with the Pond, Frogs were Croaking away this afternoon so hopefully we will have Spawn shortly. Just hope we do not have late frosts. With no Fish now I may well see a quantity of Frogs we used to see twenty years ago.
Picture 1 - Not a care in the world - sunbathing on a Hanging Basket bracket.
" 2 - First signs of Ladybirds this year.
