Andrex puppy?

I think Jenna has her eye on a career in advertising . . .

Flower Power

Not only does Buddy Liver Spots enjoy brushing through and standing under shrubs and plants, he also likes smelling flowers. Lying on the sofa next to a table holding a vase of flowers he stretched his nose to sniff the Stargazer lily - beautiful strong scent . . . mmmmm . . .

Unfortunately, lily pollen stains so Buddy is temporarily a liver-spotted Dalmatian with a golden spot on the top of his head.

Champagne!

Today is the first day of the grouse-shooting season. It is also our Wedding Anniversary. We have been married for more years than I can believe possible. I have known Barry for most of my life and that is a very strange thought. We met in our late teens, married in our early twenties and brought up four children. He is my best friend, the only person in whom I can confide anything and everything and he makes me roar with laughter. He is honest and true and constantly surprises me with the breadth of his knowledge and his ability to retain sometimes obscure facts. This evening we shall have Champagne as a little celebration and it will be good because Gillian and Paul are here to share the bubbles. Marnie will probably have a little taster, Kiri and Callum a lot less. We shall eat together and laugh a lot and toast our good fortune and good health.

Willow Beauty

'Between our birth and death we may touch understanding,

As a moth brushes a window with its wing.'

Christopher Fry 1907 - 2005

Monty and Winston were highly entertained yesterday by a moth flying near the patio door. I thought it was a nocturnal or at least a crepuscular moth as it seemed to be seeking shadows in which to settle.The flash from my camera upset it somewhat and it just wouldn't pose long enough for a decent portrait! I later discovered it flies both at dusk and by night and this is when it mates.

To identify it I searched in books without success and then online on the Natural History Museum website where I found 'The Cockayne collection' which displays photographs of British and Irish buterflies and moths. There really are some stunning moths with very evocative names. Eventually I think I found this particular visitor's name - Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria). The antennae are feathered so it is a male - the female's antennae are plain.

Willow Beauties are very common throughout England, Wales and southern Scotland in most locations, including woodland, gardens and hedgerows. The female lays her eggs singly on vines and fruit trees and may produce up to 500. The eggs hatch in the Autumn and the caterpillars start to feed for a short period before hibernating in slits in tree bark or underground. They leave their winter shelters in April to feed on buds and leaves and towards the end of May when they are fully grown they bury themselves underground, just under the surface, spin a cocoon and pupate.

The adult moths emerge from July to August.

Winston’s mid-August blog

Winston here . . . p'rrrrr, p'rrrrr . . .

We were all up early today – it's like that sometimes, don'tcha know. It's been quite busy in a quiet sort of way what with Mr Human having swine flu and then a problem with his teeth yesterday. Turns out it was a dead nerve – is that what the humans mean when they say, 'He's got a nerve'? No? Oh well – he went to the dentist twice yesterday and now he's got some tablets to take – hope he don't get them mixed up with Frodo's anti-falling pills! That would be funny . . . No?

We had a laugh the other day. Monty acts so cool and laid-back and he was on the foot-stool sound asleep when he stretched and fell off. Mr and Mrs H had to pretend they weren't laughing coz us cats don't like looking silly. I laughed but it sounded like a sneeze so Monty's feelings weren't hurt. He wasn't so kind to me today – I was resting on top of some clean washing on a box and the whole lot fell down with me underneath it. (I don't know why the humans don't PUT IT AWAY.) I couldn't get out and Monty didn't help one little bit. Mrs H picked the box up and then Monty started a fight with me (they call it a rumble in Berkshire don't cha know) That wasn't very nice when I was feeling a bit fragile. Then we all had breakfast. Me and Monty had chicken wings and all the dogs had chunked beef heart. Me and Monty don't like heart much. It's not surprising really – have you ever seen a domestic cat bring down a cow? I didn't think so – our big cousins in the wild do but they'd prob'ly eat us too if they had a chance. So we have food that's kind of like the things we might kill for ourselves though Mrs H hasn't served up mice and rats and birds yet – well, only chicken. It's called' Pray model' – does that mean we have to say grace? Oh – Monty (clever claws) has just told me it's 'PREY' like what we hunt and chase.
Well, he might be very clever an' all but he hardly ever goes on the laptop and he don't blog like me.Mr Mr H took some photos of me blogging this morning. Mrs H had trouble editing them to leave out the untidy bits – I don't think she did a very good job. (I don't know why the humans don't PUT THINGS AWAY.) Ooh, Mrs H didn't like me saying that. She's muttering something now about Mr H and says she'll have to blog about it. She'll have to wait till I've finished though.

Gillian's coming later – goody – lots of cuddles and treats from the children. I s'pose that means that Tia and Foxy will be going home soon – pity, that – it's nice to have them around.That's all for today.
TTFN

Some one came knocking ...

Some one came knocking
At my wee, small door;
Some one came knocking,
I'm sure-sure-sure
Walter de la Mare
Today Barry was in the conservatory tending to cucumber plants when he heard a tapping.It seemed to be coming from the direction of the wood-burning stove. Flower on cucumber plant


It looks much better when alight!
This has a glass door and it's wonderful in the winter to see the wood glowing.To his great surprise he saw a blue tit behind the glass tapping to find a way out. This is the steel chimney leading up through the conservatory roof

View from outside showing the chimney leading out of the conservatory and up beyond the roof line

Showing the straight stretch to the cowl
It must have got in under the chimney cowl and had difficulty finding its way out again. As he watched it disappeared behind the baffle and we hope it managed to fly up the chimney and out into freedom.

Close-up of chimney cowl

This is not the one that got away!

We shan't be having any fires for a couple of months yet, otherwise we might have been 'treated' to the smell of roasting blue tit - poor little thing!

Wandering in the garden, camera in hand ...

Our back garden is not large but there are distinct differences between the two sides. The left-hand side as I look out of our patio door enjoys sun for much of the day and we can be confident that daffodils and tulips and sun-loving plants will thrive and flower there. We grow herbs on that side as well - three different varieties of mint are rampant! The right-hand side gets less sun and we refer to it as our 'woodland' area which is rather too grand a name for it but it is where hellebores, lily-of-the-valley and aquilegia grow happily. Cutting down two large oak trees has meant that a lot more light is allowed in and this may alter its character. Wandering along this side the other day I noticed that the Mexican Orange Blossom (Choisya ternata) was flowering for a second time. It has done this before but not as profusely. The insects are enjoying the sweetly-scented flowers.

I watched a Greenbottle (Lucilia caesar) basking in the sun on a hydrangea leaf and another one on a blossom perhaps sipping nectar. Bees and hover-flies were also much in evidence.

As I looked more closely I saw spiders in a rather messy web. I couldn't tell which were predators and which were prey - it's unlikely they would be working together.

The crab-apples are heavy with fruit. Our weeping crab-apple, Malus x scheideckeri 'Red Jade' has red fruits and Malus x zumi 'Golden Hornet' has yellow fruits (You'd never have guessed either of those from the names, now would you?)

Malus x scheideckeri 'Red Jade'

Malus x zumi 'Golden Hornet'. This flowers slightly later than 'Red Jade' and the fruits are a little larger. They will turn golden-yellow in the next few weeks.

The first time I made crab-apple jelly I separated the fruits from the two trees but the resulting jellies were the same rich translucent red even though books and articles claim they will look different. The only trouble is that all those hundreds of tiny apples produce a very small amount of jelly - ah, but it is delicious!

I was about to go indoors when I noticed movement in the grass. Lo and behold - a tiny frog! We used to have hundreds of froglets every year - they would leap away from advancing feet, paws, lawnmowers. Crows would come and feast on the larger frogs in the pond - and still do - but the frog population has dropped markedly. I'm sure it's the fault of the sticklebacks I introduced three or four years ago. Their breeding programme is remarkably successful and I think they eat the frogspawn. Next Spring I shall try netting off part of the pond to preserve the spawn and see if froggy numbers increase. We're always told that frogs and fish cannot live in the same pond but before the sticklebacks joined the throng they lived harmoniously together.

Common frog (Rana temporaria) He was moving very quickly, desperate for cover - hardly surprising when so many frogs become snacks for sharp-eyed birds. Poor frog - he has no defences other than an ear-piercing shriek and I've never yet seen a bird startle at that and release its capture!

The bat that flies at close of eve . . .

This evening we thought at first there was a large moth flying very fast around our sitting room. Too big, too fast - we couldn't capture it on film! Suffice to say our sitting room is free of insects . . . and the cats and dogs didn't react - obviously their sonar is not up to it. What a privilege though to have a bat flitting round our living quarters. This has never happened before - we count ourselves lucky to see an occasional bat flying overhead. Wow! We think it found access through the Velux window in the kitchen. (Note to self - have camera at the ready at all times . . . and learn to react speedily . . . ) My goodness, still thrilled (what a sad life I lead . . . ;-))

Today's Flowers #52

There are many pink flowers in the garden right now.

Antirrhinum, commonly called 'snapdragon' and a flower I knew as a child as 'rabbits' mouths' or 'bunny rabbits'


Japanese anemone - there is a white variety, too, but we only have the pink ones

In our pond, along with the fish, frogs, newts, duckweed . . . and so on and so on . . . houttuynia 'Chameleon' thrives

Lacecap hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla normalis) - I've lost the label so can't name it

Stargazer lily (Lilium 'Stargazer') - very showy with a heady perfume

Sweetly scented pink climbing rose - again I've lost the label :-(

This is the first anniversary of 'Today's Flowers' - congratulations!

Thank you to Luiz Santilli Jr. for creating this meme and to Luiz, Denise Gullickson, Laerte Pupo and Valkyrien for hosting it each week.

To enjoy more beautiful blooms please click here

Pet Pride - Jenna waits

Earlier on Sunday morning Jenna was waiting patiently for her run. Her Labrador friends (Tia is just behind her) are spending their summer holidays with us so they accompany her and Frodo the Faller as Barry leads them through the forest on his bike.
Thank you to Bozo and his human for creating and hosting this meme.
If you'd like to see more gorgeous pets please click here

Shadow Shot Sunday #64

Animal, vegetable or mineral? Twenty Questions anyone?

Thank you to Tracy at 'Hey Harriet' for creating and hosting this meme.

To see more shadows please click on the logo

Camera Critters #70 Munch of the Caterpillars

Three Cabbage White caterpillars making short work of something the humans were hoping to eat. Sad to say - for them at least - they went to a watery grave to feed the fish.

Thanks to Misty Dawn who created this meme and to Misty and Tammy for hosting it.

If you'd like to see more Critters please click here

Invasion!

Great Britain has been invaded and can expect to remain occupied for at least six weeks. It's the Europeans again! Through the centuries we have suffered from assaults from Romans, Vikings, Normans – even the Germans declared intent to overcome but were repulsed before reaching these shores.
This time it is ladybirds that have marched or rather, flown into parts of Norfolk, on the East coast, and Somerset, in the South-West. The spotted hordes have swarmed in because of a glut of aphids that has resulted from the hot, wet weather. Cars, roads and buildings have been covered in layers of the brightly-coloured creatures – I didn't know aphids could be found in those locations – maybe the ladybirds know something the rest of us don't.
It is the most extreme invasion since 1976 though we always have some ladybirds flying across the Channel to holiday in these fair isles.
The name ladybird has been in use for centuries and was originally a reference to the Virgin Mary – Our Lady – because she was often portrayed wearing a red cloak.
The collective noun for ladybirds is a 'loveliness' and folk lore holds that they can predict the weather. If one falls off your hand that means it will rain but if it flies away the weather will be fine. Be careful, though, for they can nip. The intruder Harlequin ladybird has a more unpleasant bite that can cause mild skin irritation.
If a ladybird lands on your hand you may make a wish and then blow it away.
Unlike humans, who develop 'age spots' as they grow older, ladybird's spots fade as age. They live for just about a year but in that time will consume more than 5000 aphids, justifying their reputation as the gardener's friend. If plenty of food is available the female will lay more than 2000 small yellow eggs. These are laid in the same locations as their prey so that the developing larvae have a convenient source of food. However, they don't like cooler weather and will not fly if the temperature drops below 12.7c (55f)
The unfortunate human holidaymakers who have witnessed this influx may find themselves reciting the old nursery rhyme with some intensity:
Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home
Your house is on fire and your children are gone
All except one, and that's Little Anne
For she has crept under the warming pan.
Naturally, when I hunted in the garden there was not a single ladybird to be seen. I suppose they've all packed their bags and joined their friends and relations at the seaside.Common Seven Spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) Image from Wikipedia