Monday, March 14, 2016

Monday Miscellany

It was so beautiful yesterday, the sky was bright and the sun was warm.  We spent all morning and some of the afternoon pottering in the garden.  Pruning bushes, taking the old heads off Sedum and Hydrangeas.  Pulling up the already encroaching weeds and brambles.
 
There was quite a lot of wildlife in the garden 
 We spotted a Comma butterfly


The sage was full of Ladybirds

 Both of these are seven spot ladybirds

The frogs were croaking in the pond;  every time I looked into the pond there was plenty of activity, there must have been about ten frogs in there and a couple of newts too.
 This friendly frog allowed itself to be photographed

By the end of the day there were four areas of frog spawn.
 The heather was alive with bees, so hard to photograph.  I may have caught one in the photo below.


 It was good to get out in the garden and feel the warmth of the sun as we worked.

I did take half an hour out of the garden to make some scones for afternoon tea I thought we deserved them and they were lovely with crab apple jelly.

 

28 comments:

  1. Yummy, afternoon tea!, the butterfly is amazing, not seen any yetxx

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    1. We saw one a couple of weeks ago and now the Comma both on warmish days:)

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  2. nice to see the bees are out and active, lucky they have plenty of heather to feed on! great shot of the frog, perhaps he was really a prince waiting for a kiss?

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    1. Ha Ha - if he was I missed him! There were loads of bees on the ehather:)

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  3. It looks like you have done a good job in the garden Rosie. The grass looks so healthy. Love the frog photo! x

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    1. Frog is great isn't it? The grass needs cutting soon, we did one area last week that wasn't too damp:)

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  4. Looking good Rosie. I've been out today as well but there was a bit of a breeze, not quite as pleasant.

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    1. It was a lot chillier on Monday than it was on Sunday - extra layers needed again:)

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  5. Looks gorgeous. We spent most of yesterday mending a fence panel that collapsed in one or other of the winter storms. It was a wonderful day, wasn't it?

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    1. It was a beautiful day! We have fencing to mend after it broke when a couple of chaps tried to climb over it in the middle of the night last year:)

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  6. It looks fabulous Rosie. I could just fancy one of your scones :-)

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    1. Wish I could share one with you - they did taste good after all the work:)

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  7. I love your spring photographs, particularly the frog. What a treat hearing the frogs in the pond. Lovely photo of the comma, too - I haven't seen a butterfly yet this year. I'm hoping, with the warm sunshine this week, I'll get my first sighting

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    1. The frogs get quite loud and you can hear them across the garden. That is the second butterfly I've seen recently both on extra warm days:)

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  8. How wonderful that you could get out in the garden and get lots done! It is so good for the soul isn't it. You have a lot of wildlife enjoying it already! xx

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    1. Yes, it was good to get out in the garden after such a long time hoping for warmer and dryer weather:)

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  9. Well done, Rosie. The sun was shining in Shropshire, too - and I am cross because the Best Beloved saw a butterfly and I didn't. Harrumph. Lovely to see so much wildlife in the garden this early in the year. And the scones look scrummy. Looks as if you earned them. x

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    1. What a shame you missed the butterfly. I can't wait to get into Shropshire and Shrewsbury again, the nearest I've got so far this year is Market Drayton Morrisons:)

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  10. Wow there is a lot going on in your garden, did make a small pond last year but no frogs. A bumblebee whizzed through the garden today.
    Lovely set of photos and a joy to see.
    Amanda xx

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    1. The pond was in the garden when we moved in nearly 20 years ago and was well established then with frogs, toads and newts. I think we are the only pond around so all the frogs come to us:)

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  11. Lots of ladybugs, good to keep the aphids down and for good luck. Like Mr. Frog, Mac is raising 2 in an aquarium.

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    1. We sometimes take frog spawn into a fish bowl and then let them back once the tadpoles are big enough to escape the jaws of the newts. Usually when they are little froglets with legs and tails:)

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  12. what a fab set of pictures. Love the frog image. Your scones look lovely, whenever I try to make them they always look flat and squished:)

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    1. Frog is cute isn't it? Sometimes my scones look like biscuits too, I try to make fewer than the recipe says and make them bigger so they rise more:)

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  13. Flowers, wildlife and scones with crab-apple jelly. It just doesn't get much better than this! I think I have to follow....

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    1. Hello and welcome and thanks for the follow. Glad you enjoyed the post:)

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  14. Lovely Spring photos and the scones with crab apple jelly look scrumptious :) Our frogs and newts were very active but over the last couple of days activity has more or less ceased with the colder temperatures and we are still waiting for frogspawn to appear. Still waiting to see my first 2016 butterfly so it was lovely to see your Comma.

    Thanks so much for leaving a comment on my blog. Amanda at The Quiet Walker recommended your blog to me a short while ago and I am so glad she did :)

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    1. Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment. Amanda recommended you to me hence my visit. I'm so glad I did venture to your blog as I see we have much in common:)

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