Green and country this week - 25 June

I have realised that these notes of being green and country in the city are mainly about wildlife rather than community, craft, food, etc. And it is the same again this week.

• The foxes are still bringing clothing into the garden.
• Tuesday morning there was a magpie flying from fence to wall over several gardens and back, cackling every time it was perched. Then it was on the end wall following a fox pecking at the fox's tail. Fox not bothered.
• Saturday morning magpies saw off two collar doves who wanted to settle on the fence.
• Tuesday after KAPAP there was a kestrel hovering over the sports field behind the VIth form college.
• Had to get a red admiral butterfly out of the photocopier room at work.
• My perennial sweet pea has flowered for the first time - I've had it several years.
• Got pots of african marigold, oregano, Garvina (first winter hardy gerbera variety),a yellow coreopsis and a scabiosa. I have had many more bees and other insects this year and want to make sure I have the flowering plants for the rest of the season.
• I saw two Egyptian geese when kayaking today and one had its wing extended - lovely blue section. I'd like to get a feather of that!

Birds in the garden

Delighted to see a great tit in the garden this morning.

When I first moved here I didn't see birds in the garden. Some would be in the ash tree that partly overhung it, often they flew over it.

Before I moved here I had an allotment where I used grow some sunflowers each year. I would be down working on the allotment while birds were taking the seeds from the sunflowers. I only ever had one self-sown sunflower. My first year here I had sunflowers and the first time I saw a bird on them was one finch on Christmas Day. The next year there were sunflower seedlings everywhere!

The past few years I have seen birds in the garden more and more frequently, though I put no food out for them. I don't encourage birds directly because of the amount of cats that use the garden.

I was worried that the clearing of my elderly ex-neighbour's garden might impact on the number of birds in mine as I have no shrubs. There has been the occasional magpie and wood pigeon. The sparrows were getting nesting material from the plumes of what's left of my neighbour's pampas grass.

But today there was the great tit. And then a group of 5 sparrows on the beanpoles.

One rook is a crow - not so!

This isn't exactly green and country in the city as it takes place in Great Dunmow a town in Essex (a very pretty little town too with a very good local museum).

I went there yesterday in my friend Tony's sidecar and we met up with our friend Tina in the carpark by the co-op. There was a rook there - it was definitely a rook and definitely on its own.

The saying is that lots of crows are rooks and one rook is a crow.

I don't know about the country but here in London you can definitely see large groups of crows. And now it seems one rook can really be one rook!

Green and country in the city 16 June

I had an update on my computer which upset my antivirus so I had to download it and then reinstall. Problems with reinstallation which meant I haven't been able to use my home computer for over 2 weeks, so one big update!

• Got French marigolds for conservatory - I find these most successful at keeping aphids out of the conservatory.
• My neighbour, Pat, says 4  fox cubs in her garden. She's only see one but Winston has seen 4. They are carried along the wall at the back by one of the parents. I've seen the adults with one cub since I spoke to Pat, but only the adults in my garden. The last few mornings I have found bits of clothing etc, probably used by the club to practise its prey-catching skills.
• Have got rid of 2 large scented leaved geraniums in conservatory as they were too big. Have taken one cutting, but I will cut this back every year. I do try to learn from my mistakes!
• The winds we have had recently have knocked over the plum trees in their pots - so a few more plums lost. Will it be yet another year with no ripe plums?
• My bird of paradise plant has 2 flowers this year!
• Been having early autumn raspberries, loganberries, wild strawberries, one ordinary strawberry, red currant (one bush just finishing) and blackcurrants (just starting) with my breakfast cereal every morning.
• Last Saturday got 4 lots of horse shit on my cycle ride for the compost.
• Only 14 gooseberries from the 3 plants in pots but enough from the little bush I have had for years for a large crumble and more to come.
• Wednesday evening at 9.40 pm saw what I am pretty sure was a bat flittering over the garden. I have quite a lot of evening primrose - not yet in flower - which is good for night insects, therefore good for bats. Want to find out what else is good for night insects too.
• There has been a comma butterfly in the garden all this week.
• There have been more bees in the garden than there have been for several years - is this because of what I have done, or that my next door neighbour's garden has been completely cleared so nothing for them there?

Green and country in the city 28 May

• Last Sunday there was a gull outside the changing rooms at Leaside eating an eel.
• This Sunday I saw a gull swoop down and grab a coot chick and swallow it(the chick) whilst in flight.
• Increase in bees in the garden this week - a few times there were 4 on the sage bush. Today two of the opium poppies had flowers open, One this morning had 3 hoverflies. Not up to the numbers of bees and other pollinators a few years ago, but better than recent years.
• Last Sunday I put out the tomatoes and the courgettes. Also the tree spinach and a meadowsweet.
• Swifts over the garden and martins over the Lea.
• First wild strawberry. Also berries from edible honeysuckle (not very sweet/tasty!)
• Sparrows still collecting the "fluff" from the pampas grass plumes
• Early autumn raspberries and red currants (the later from one bush - the other bush the berries are still small and green).  Having for breakfast.
• Bottled elderflower champagne. Did this after 5 days not 3, and also very hot - so strong yeasty smell!
• Got my wormery to the Transition Leytonstone community garden on a luggage trolley.

Green and country in the city notes 20 May

• There was a pair of foxes in my garden on Tuesday, both morning and evening. In the evening at the same time, there was a fox on the fence two gardens west.
• I got some thin strips of clean wood from the garden of my ex-neighbour.
• Wednesday I had off - not able to do all I would have liked due to rain. I put up workmate in the kitchen and sawed up three metre-length branches and all the strips of wood I rescued the day before.
• Today I went to the Transition Town Leytonstone community garden and offered the 2 wormeries I need a home for. They are interested so I now need to get them there.
• This morning the weather was sunny and warm and I went on a cycle ride. I have a badly bruised big toe so didn't try the hills of Springfield Park in case the peddling pressed my toe against my shoe. Instead I went down by the old river, over White Horse Bridge into the Olympic Park, along the old river there, then out on to the tow path by the Navigation and home.
• I took a slight detour to get elderflowers. Luckily despite the rain we have had the flower sprays both looked and felt dry. This evening I started off the elderflower champagne in a bucket on the dining room table.
• Saw some chives in a vegetable garden in full flower - no where near in my garden.
• Having last week mentioned lack of slugs and snails - I spoke too soon. Plenty since then (though not as many as usual after rain in my front garden).
• Got a nice brass necklace at a charity shop on Wednesday which I wore today. Also reading a book I got from another charity shop the same day - not sure whether I like it yet!

Green and country in the city notes 16 May

• The garden is now thankfully getting some rain. It is noticeable how few snails and slugs there are - presumably as the result of the dry spring. How long before showery days increase the populations?
• On Saturday I saw a magpie having a bath in the wildlife/cat water dish - such splashing!
• Saw a few sprays of elderflowers on Saturday. Today walking home from class saw several bushes with lots of flowers out. Got some lemons from Waitrose today and will get some white sugar tomorrow ready for a dry day when I can go and get some flower heads of elderflowers to make elderflower champagne.
• Saturday kayaking on the Lea Navigation towards Tottenham Lock. There was a heron on the towpath. A jogger approached. The heron just slowly walked out of the way.
• Occasionally disturbing frogs in the garden. There is at least one small one. Too big to be this year's, too small to be last year's. Presumably it is one from last year.
• Dorothy, my elderly neighbour (now in a home not knowing who I am) had a hanging basket outside her front door with a red geranium. In the last few years I had several goes at getting a cutting to root but luckily my last attempt succeeded. It was just had its first flower. Pleased to have this as a memento of a friend and neighbour for 20 years.
• On Saturday went with friends on the Epping-Ongar railway. This is the country not the city - but Tina and I got there by tube to Epping then vintage bus to North Weald (no suspension - thrown about when the bus went over a speed bump!).
• Both this morning and this evening a couple of foxes in my garden. This evening saw a fox on a fence 2 gardens away while the foxes were in my garden. The den in Dorothy's old garden now gone.