Happy blogging

I’ve been blogging now for just over four years and I’m enjoying it as much, or perhaps even more, as I did when I started.

This has been my main blogging home for nearly for two years now. Besides doing my own posts I’ve always enjoyed reading  entertaining and informative blogs as well as often commenting on them.

Here are four very different Lawn loungers blog posts to illustrate what I mean.

One of my first favourites was Tizwoz and I was sad when he stopped blogging. However I was very glad to see that he’s started again and has done this excellent post  Book Worm reviewing two very contrasting books.

2times20, or MJ to some of us, went to the end of the world which is certainly somewhere a bit different! Even though my desire to travel afar has somewhat  diminished nowadays I can still enjoy visiting unusual places like this from the comfort of home.

I’m not much of a cook but reading Panda-eyed’s mouth-watering post Chocolate and clementine heaven, oops, I mean, cake makes me rather wish that I was! A slice of that cake would be perfect with a nice cup of tea.

Olivia has  recently settled in Washington, DC and knowing her love of museums and aviation it’s not surprising that she visited the magnificent  aerospace museum there.  After I read this I was browsing and found this! They’re civilian owned warbirds photographed two years ago but it could easily have been Vietnam 40 years ago.

I never to cease to be surprised by the output, quality and range of subjects that are blogged about,  and often photographed. I suppose that I shouldn’t be really as it’s something that we surely all enjoy doing!

Happy blogging, and have a good weekend!

I did more plotting…

last week than I have over the past few months!

Wednesday was overcast, but relatively mild,  so after breakfast I went to build the new compost bin. I found that the original compost heap was ready to use so I spread it over the vegetable patch.

I worked steadily through the morning and, with surprisingly few problems, ended up with a bin that’s  big and permanent. On Thursday I went back to apply a coat of green wood preserver  so that it will blend in,  especially once some grass and plants have grown along the front edge.

Next on the list was the new pond which I did on FridayI reckon that it’ll look okay once there’s some grass and flowers around the edge.  I like the way the water sparkles in the sunlight and the wind ripples the surface.

Yesterday was a gloriously sunny, warm day which got off to a brilliant start when I said  Hello again! to Fox Newton.  I spent the morning doing some much needed tidying up all over the plot so that it now looks rather better than it did. Mind you that was only the start as there’s lots  more to do to get it ready for planting and sowing.

Hello again!

This morning as I walked towards the allotment gates  Fox Newton appeared from under the willow tree. I stopped and whilst getting the camera out of my pocket Fox came ever closer

before crossing right in front of me

then stopping to look at me again before wandering off.

If that wasn’t a brilliant enough start to the day once I went  through the gates I saw several pied wagtails just ahead of me on the roadway which I’ve not seen there before.

Later on whilst working on the plot I looked up to see Fox sitting about ten feet away yawning and scratching, but of course the camera was over in the shed!

Four to watch

This evening  on ITV1 at 9.00pm is the first in a new four part documentary series Billy Connolly:  Journey To The Edge Of The World. He travels across Canada by way of the Northwest Passage starting off in Nova Scotia.

At the same time over on BBC2 is Natural World – Cassowaries. These are very large  flightless birds which can be 6 feet tall, weigh 13 stone and have 5 inch long claws so it’s definitely not one I want to see on the plot!

There is another Natural World programme on BBC2 tomorrow at 8.00pm. It’s A Farm for the Future in which Rebecca Hosking looks at  techniques which show that nature may hold the answer to a low-energy future.

Since many bloggers are also keen photographers they  may enjoy watching The  Genius of Photography which starts on Saturday on BBC2 at 7.00pm with 1/6. Fixing the Shadows. This programme looks at early photographic pioneers such as Eadweard Muybridge.

Have a good weekend!

Plot life

I was recently looking through the photos that I’ve taken during last year and was pleased to see several that I can use as header pictures.

I’m starting with this one of a gardener’s friend on one of this gardener’s favourite flowers!

It’s always good to see  ladybirds* anywhere on the plot such as  the blackberries, runner beans and sweet peas.  * That is except Harlequin ladybirds like this!

Sweet peas were one of my real successes from sowing seeds in pots indoors to cutting a bunch of fragrant flowers to bring home.

I usually start any plot visit by walking round looking at the  plants and any wildlife,  although there’s  not been  much to see during the past few months. Perhaps it was just the brown, ripped topped,  sunflower stems or an elusive dunnock feeding on seed that I’d scattered on the ground.

I’m going to have a second pond! This one is a green plastic dustbin lid that is about 21 inches diameter and, at most,  3 inches deep.  I’m hoping that the birds will use it as a bath and insects, such as dragonflies, will be attracted to it.

I’m aiming to do that, and build my new compost bin, sometime during  the next few weeks whilst the ground hopefully dries out enough to be able to start some serious plotting!

Here’s one of my plot best photos which is a reminder of sunny, warm days!

Cold and hot

I didn’t get to watch Nature’s Great Events last night but I’ll catch up with it when it’s shown again on BBC1 Sunday at 6.00pm.  2/6 The Great Salmon Run is on BBC1 next Wednesday at 9.00pm.

If you like monkeys then Natural World- Snow Monkeys on BBC2 tomorrow at 8.00pm should be of interest. It’s all about Japanese macaques, and the programme is Radio Times’ Pick of the Day.

Earlier this week it was good to see that former blog friend MJ has returned to blogging with a new WordPress blog 2 times 20. She lives in Bueno Aires, Argentina where, as you can see, the weather is somewhat better than here!

As you all liked the little koala that I mentioned, and showed, here last week here’s another one over on Maureen’s excellent A View from England blog.

I’m sure that, just like me, plenty of you also wear socks in bed at this time of year. Being a couple of inches longer than my bed and sleeping straight rather than curled up if I didn’t my feet would be frozen! I mention this as a lead in to this wonderful poem by Wendy Cope.

The Joy of Socks

Nice warm socks,

Nice warm socks -

We should celebrate them

Ask a toe!

Toes all know

It’s hard to over-rate them

Toes say ‘Please

Don’t let us freeze

Till we’re numb and and while

Summers gone -

Put them on!

Wear them day and night.’

Nice warm socks,

Nice warm socks

Who would dare to mock them?

Take good care of every pair

And never, ever knock them!

.

Have a good weekend!

February blues!

Back in September the  Met Office had forecast a drier and milder winter than normal so I was looking forward to doing a few hours general plotting most weeks so that come the spring I would all ready to plant and sow.  As we  now know it’s actually been colder and wetter than usual, and looks set to continue!

In view of that it’s not really surprising  that I’ve  had a touch of the February blues!

Considering the snowy week we’ve had here in the UK I thought that this poem was rather appropriate.

Bridal White by Kathleen Gillum

The snowflakes dancing down the breeze

Come softy without  sound,

And spread a fragile, feathered fleece

Upon the hardened ground.

A glistening mantle has been draped

On walls of old grey stone,

And gives to houses, roofs and eaves

A beauty of their own.

An ancient church, an old schoolhouse

Which stand on village green,

Are etched like pencilled silhouettes

Against the snowy scene.

All is transformed with silver wand

Waved by a Winter sprite,

Our old familiar world is dressed

in veil of bridal white.

Wandering and melting

Natural World  Elephants Without Borders on BBC2 tomorrow at 8.00pm  is about the wanderings of elephants in Botswana. There are lots of endearing scenes of elephant herds, and the scientific bit tells us all about their remarkable memory. It’s being repeated next Monday on BBC2 at 7.00pm.

Next Wednesday sees the start of  Nature’s Great Events a major new wildlife series on BBC1 at 9.00pm.  1/6. The Great Melt is all about the Arctic summer when the ice turns to ocean.  It features unfamiliar narwhals, guillemots, artic foxes and ever popular polar bears.

As much as I’ve been moaning about the cold weather, especially when it’s wet and windy, I find it preferable to when it’s too hot as it’s been in Australia,  which has had an unprecedented  heatwave recently. Daffy sent me an email yesterday with some really cute pictures which had been sent to her by a friend of a friend out there.  A little koala had walked into the back porch looking for a bit of relief from the heat. A bucket was filled up and this is what happened next!

Wherever you are stay cool or keep warm,  and have a good weekend!

It’s sunny today…

which always makes me feel better, especially at this time of year. Mind you there’s still plenty of snow around and I felt the chill wind when I went out.

This photo of the plot is deceptive as it was taken mid-morning but right into the sun which makes it very bleak looking.

At least I could find the pond today!

There were plenty of animal tracks to be seen.

I walked home through the ecology park where I spotted a few birds – a robin, a couple of blue tits, a few magpies and pigeons – and a grey squirrel which I stood and watched scampering  in and out of here!

As you can see the pond there is well frozen

Plot white!

By the time I went for a walk to the plot earlier this morning it had stopped snowing but there were at least several inches underfoot. I really can’t remember the last time I’ve seen this much snow here!

Plot white!

I refilled the bird feeders and once I’d found the pond I did that as well!

The pond!

I’ve now got a snow rosemary in the stone feature,

A snow rosemary!

and a proper snow log.

Snow log

Not surprisingly there was no sign, or sound, of any birds even  in the trees at the edge of the allotments.

However I did see two foxes but unfortunately they were over there going away from me.

It was then time to head home into the warm for tea and biscuits. Looking out the window it’s getting very grey and snowing again!