Tag: Birds

Why I garden, Wildlife5 Comments

Birds’ Eye View

Reclaiming Paradise

This weekend has been the Big Garden Bird Watch, the weekend when everyone tries to count the birds in their gardens, and the birds go off for their holidays somewhere else. This weekend the birds in my garden had two very good excuses not to hang about: on Saturday storm Malik blew most of them away, apart from a couple of brave wood pigeons; and on Sunday this impressive beast decided to sunbathe in the garden, scaring off the birds somewhat. Sorry it’s a bit blurred. I didn’t want to get too close in case I scared it away. It … Continue reading Birds’ Eye View

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Wildlife11 Comments

Six from a frosty allotment

Reclaiming Paradise

I nipped along to the allotment today to see if Storm Arwen had done any damage (it hadn’t). So here are #SixOnSaturday from the allotment. This year’s very impressive runner beans were still standing, if looking a little the worse for wear, so I cut down all the bean tendrils for the compost bin: The sweet peas are still hanging on in there, so I left the wigwam up to provide them with a bit of support. Didn’t manage to get an in focus photo though (I blame my frozen fingers). I found a desiccated bean and brought it home … Continue reading Six from a frosty allotment

Wildlife2 Comments

A wild month

Reclaiming Paradise

And so we come to the end of June and the end of the #30DaysWild Challenge. Some people set out to do something wild every day, taking them on all sorts of adventures. My wildness has been rather urban and rather garden based. I just look for something wild every day. Here’s a summary of what I’ve seen in June. That wasn’t everything but there were a lot of bees, a lot of wildflowers and quite a lot of the cygnets and herons on Inverleith Pond. I’ve been watching these swan fluffballs since they were tiny. They’re quite big now … Continue reading A wild month

Why I garden1 Comment

More snow pictures

Reclaiming Paradise

Because who doesn’t love these beautiful patterns made by pigeons in the garden? They are forgiven for demolishing my broccoli, for the moment anyway. The snow was still very beautiful yesterday for #SixonSaturday. Here we have teasels, witchhazel, rhubarb, winter box, two tiny snowdrops, and foxprints on the pond: The snowdrops have been particularly, beautiful, just peeking up above the snow, here in the sunlight under the oak tree: It’s all starting to thaw now but that means that spring really is round the corner. Also, this arrived in the post yesterday: Actually not live plants, but live seeds, all … Continue reading More snow pictures

Why I garden6 Comments

Dreich

Reclaiming Paradise

It’s been a bit of a dreich week. Here’s a Wild and Wonderful Advent Calendar update to cheer us all through these December days: Day 7: I got out for quite a long walk into town (when it wasn’t too dreich) and heard a woodpecker in these trees. Day 8: out for a walk along the river which had been impressively flooded. It looks more worrying than it was in practice. The path goes alongside this, not through it, but it was pretty muddy and we were pleased to be wearing walking boots. Day 9: I didn’t get outside in … Continue reading Dreich

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Wildlife7 Comments

Six from the allotment

Reclaiming Paradise

I made it along to the allotment last week, for the first time in a while. We’ve been trying to social distance there and my allotment partner had been doing all the work this spring. I had a day off from working from home so made a trip to the allotment to do my share, complete with gloves and hand sanitizer for dealing with the gate. Here’s what was happening there. There was a friendly robin, sitting in the apple tree and hopping round my feet. It was excited by all the digging, finding food in the freshly dug soil. … Continue reading Six from the allotment

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers11 Comments

Winter work

Reclaiming Paradise

Last weekend I did some DIY in the garden to provide some protection for the expected storms. I noticed a crack in the door of the seed palace. The palace has done a great job protecting seedlings but this needed some attention. I got out the ancient tools and added a splint of wood to hold it all in place Since the problem had been caused by the door banging in the wind, I also added an extra hook and eye to keep the doors shut. It’s all nice and cosy now and looking after the sweet pea seedlings, which … Continue reading Winter work

Cooking and eating from the garden, Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers4 Comments

Harvest

Reclaiming Paradise

Today was a big harvest day at the allotment. There’s a real nip in the air and temperatures of two degrees forecast for next week. So we decided to harvest all the allotment tomatoes before they succumb to the cold. They are still very green but abundant and luscious nevertheless. We picked about 3 kilos, mostly San Marzano. We also harvested the squashes, a ton of runner beans, potatoes, apples and some more raspberriesThere’s still lots to come,  including more runner beans and sweet peas The Christmas sprouts are coming along nicely: Otherwise the plot is beginning to settle down … Continue reading Harvest

Wildlife5 Comments

Big garden no bird watch

Reclaiming Paradise

Today was the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch day. I’ve counting the birds in my garden at the end of January for over twenty years and have found that the birds vary enormously from one year to the next. One of the variables has been the change in garden. My old garden attracted the usual sparrows and blue tits, blackbirds and robins but also starlings.  In this garden, where I’ve now been counting birds for nearly ten years, there is a wider variety, including magpies and wrens, but I’ve never seen a starling.  The other variables include the weather, the … Continue reading Big garden no bird watch

Cooking and eating from the garden3 Comments

Christmas at the allotment

Reclaiming Paradise

Family commitments caused me to fall a little behind with the advent calendar but here are the last three photos. On the 22nd of December I spotted this Wintersweet’s tiny flowers in the sunshine. This shrub has only every flowered once, last year, when it produced one flower. This year it seems to have finally matured Only two flowers in this photo but there are at least a dozen on the plant. On the 23rd I spent the whole day doing my ‘annual’ housework and didn’t get out until after dark, so the photo for that day was rather enigmatic. … Continue reading Christmas at the allotment