Today I have seen:
2 swans doing a courtship dance on the Lea Navigation (only seen this in photographs until this morning)
a sparrow feeding a young sparrow
Sparrows collecting the feathery bits from my neighbour's pampas grass
2 wood pigeons courting
I also saw swifts for the first time this year
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Fox cubs in the garden.
The other day, looking out of my bedroom window I saw one adult cub and a fox cub playing in the garden.
Then yesterday I saw one adult fox, and 2 cubs playing together.
I am not sure where the den is, with the first sighting it seemed it might be under my neighbour's pampas grass. Often when I am gardening I hear a sound part cough, part grunt coming from there. However a new hole has appeared under the concrete by the autumn raspberries* which was by where the 2 cubs were playing yesterday.
Some years ago, 2 years running, my neighbour's rhubarb and potatoes were ruined by playing fox clubs - it is rather like having toddlers playing football in the garden but without the danger of broken windows.
Already there is a lot of flattened plants, including the tulips, and two foxgloves which have lost their flowering tips. Some of this might be the adult fox lying in the morning sunshine, but there is much more flattened bits than usual.
I got tomato plants and courgette plants yesterday. Too early to put them out, but am trying to think of ways to protect them from the foxes.
But I did enjoy watching them play!
* I cut these down in February but most of them don't seem to be growing again, and I don't think it is the layer of extra earth from the den-digging that's upset them.
Then yesterday I saw one adult fox, and 2 cubs playing together.
I am not sure where the den is, with the first sighting it seemed it might be under my neighbour's pampas grass. Often when I am gardening I hear a sound part cough, part grunt coming from there. However a new hole has appeared under the concrete by the autumn raspberries* which was by where the 2 cubs were playing yesterday.
Some years ago, 2 years running, my neighbour's rhubarb and potatoes were ruined by playing fox clubs - it is rather like having toddlers playing football in the garden but without the danger of broken windows.
Already there is a lot of flattened plants, including the tulips, and two foxgloves which have lost their flowering tips. Some of this might be the adult fox lying in the morning sunshine, but there is much more flattened bits than usual.
I got tomato plants and courgette plants yesterday. Too early to put them out, but am trying to think of ways to protect them from the foxes.
But I did enjoy watching them play!
* I cut these down in February but most of them don't seem to be growing again, and I don't think it is the layer of extra earth from the den-digging that's upset them.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Herby walk on the marshes
On Saturday I went on a herb walk on the Walthamstow Marshes. This is a monthly walk through the growing season looking to see what herbs are there and their uses and lore.
Led by Rasheeqa, a Walthamstow-based herbalist. www.hedgeherbs.co.uk.
I meant to go last month, the first walk of the year, but waited to see what the weather was likely to be and the walk was full by the time I emailed to book.
Saturday was sunny, though chilly, so I was glad of my layers.
We walked from the community centre, The Mill, in the old library at one end of Coppermill Lane, down to cattle creep at the other end, stopping to look at herbs on the way. Then under the cattle creep to the marshes, to the Navigation, along a bit over the marshes, back along the path to the car park at the end of Coppermill Lane, and then back to The Mill to finish.
It was a gentle, interesting walk and I learnt a lot. I wrote a lot of notes, but carefully circled anything I was likely to use. I extracted these notes when I got home. I plan to get some vegetable suet to make some balms.
Although we found no lemon balm, the walk did make me go out into the garden and pick some lemon balm leaves to make a (rather boring) tea.
The first plant we saw was herb robert and I have quite a bit of that in my garden. It is astringent, so will wait tummy trouble to give it a go!
Led by Rasheeqa, a Walthamstow-based herbalist. www.hedgeherbs.co.uk.
I meant to go last month, the first walk of the year, but waited to see what the weather was likely to be and the walk was full by the time I emailed to book.
Saturday was sunny, though chilly, so I was glad of my layers.
We walked from the community centre, The Mill, in the old library at one end of Coppermill Lane, down to cattle creep at the other end, stopping to look at herbs on the way. Then under the cattle creep to the marshes, to the Navigation, along a bit over the marshes, back along the path to the car park at the end of Coppermill Lane, and then back to The Mill to finish.
It was a gentle, interesting walk and I learnt a lot. I wrote a lot of notes, but carefully circled anything I was likely to use. I extracted these notes when I got home. I plan to get some vegetable suet to make some balms.
Although we found no lemon balm, the walk did make me go out into the garden and pick some lemon balm leaves to make a (rather boring) tea.
The first plant we saw was herb robert and I have quite a bit of that in my garden. It is astringent, so will wait tummy trouble to give it a go!
Monday, April 11, 2016
real live dead badger!
This is not a post about living green and country in the city, as I was in Surrey at the time being driven for a day out with friends at Wakehurst.
But we passed a badger on the verge - my first seen in the flesh, so worthy of note to me. Unfortunately it was dead, presumably the victim of a car.
But we passed a badger on the verge - my first seen in the flesh, so worthy of note to me. Unfortunately it was dead, presumably the victim of a car.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
First bindweed and first rhubarb
Sunny day today, though cooler than yesterday.
I was able to have several hours in the garden.
Weeding some of the vegetable beds - mainly violets.
Emptying one of the perennial weed compost bins into the vegetable bed where the tomatoes and courgettes will be
Repotted the watercress as its plastic pot had started to break-up (and also repotted 2 amaryllis I'd missed when I'd done the others, and put the 3 apple blossom geraniums into bigger pots.
I found a bindweed just over the boundary in my neighbour's garden. Didn't expect it this early - bindweed likes to lull you into a false sense of security, making you think you have finally got rid of it, when up it pops!
Also picked enough rhubarb for a small crumble, which is cooking now as I type this.
I was able to have several hours in the garden.
Weeding some of the vegetable beds - mainly violets.
Emptying one of the perennial weed compost bins into the vegetable bed where the tomatoes and courgettes will be
Repotted the watercress as its plastic pot had started to break-up (and also repotted 2 amaryllis I'd missed when I'd done the others, and put the 3 apple blossom geraniums into bigger pots.
I found a bindweed just over the boundary in my neighbour's garden. Didn't expect it this early - bindweed likes to lull you into a false sense of security, making you think you have finally got rid of it, when up it pops!
Also picked enough rhubarb for a small crumble, which is cooking now as I type this.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Frog spawn not looking healthy
I have frog spawn in my pond, but 3/4 of it is black, so it doesn't look healthy!
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Egret in the paddock
Yesterday I saw an egret in the paddock.
It was a lovely spring day, and I went for a cycle ride north of the Leabridge Road. I cycled back between the paddocks of the riding stables. I saw what I thought for an instant was a very large dove, then I realised it was an egret stalking the churned earth of one of the paddocks.
It was a lovely spring day, and I went for a cycle ride north of the Leabridge Road. I cycled back between the paddocks of the riding stables. I saw what I thought for an instant was a very large dove, then I realised it was an egret stalking the churned earth of one of the paddocks.
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