Friday, February 11, 2022

On Friday

 A miscellany of things for Friday.

1.  Growing in both garden and conservatory.   

Outside in the little Spring flower 'garden' under the kitchen window the Snowdrops, Grape Hyacinths and Primroses are in flower.  The Winter Aconites aren't.  We had a plant about three years ago but last year it didn't appear so late last year we bought bulbs and planted them.  They were protected by the old oven shelf you see to the left of the photo with all the tent pegs which held it down and still the squirrels managed to get to the bulbs.  We noticed one morning that the shelf had been moved and that the squirrels or perhaps just one of them had somehow got underneath.  You have to admire their ingenuity and dexterity but as you can imagine I'm quite miffed about it.   I just hope they enjoyed munching on them.  You can see one little leaf which is perhaps from the original plant just showing through.

In the conservatory there are little green shoots, Tomatoes, Radishes, Chard and Cress.  

2.  Year of the Tiger

We visited Biddulph Grange Gardens on Monday and found in the Chinese Garden the lovely red lanterns hanging from the trees.  It's the year of the Tiger and I was born in a Tiger year.

We had the place to ourselves for ages.  Obviously a  Monday morning in February is a quiet time to visit.  The weather was okay but by the time we left there was damp and drizzle in the air.

3.  Fossils in Mr Bateman's Geology Gallery at Biddulph Grange.

I just love these - the shapes, the textures, the sheer age of them.  A great deal of work has been done over the last few years to conserve and/or replace many of the fossils in the wall of the long gallery.  I know I've blogged about this space before but I can't find the links to those posts at the moment.  If I find them I'll add them here.


4.  Water birds at Westport Lake.

On the main lake there were Geese, Swans, Black Headed gulls, Coots and Moorhens.

Along the paths in the wooded area by the stream, where we always go to see if we can spot a Kingfisher, there were loads of Scarlet Elf Cups.  Elves lead me on to....

5. Fairies - there are three new ones at Trentham Gardens.  They were installed earlier this week and are called 'The Fledglings.'  When the sun came out this morning we decided that, as a wet weekend has been forecast, another walk would be just the thing. 


The new fairies were a bonus spotted right at the end of our walk.

All for now.  Take Care. 

26 comments:

  1. Such a lovely place. The fossils are so interesting. I wish I had a fossil wall in my garden! The 'fledglings' are so pretty and delicate and I bet they cast some lovely shadows. Hope you have a good weekend Rosie in your Year of the Tiger! x

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    1. I love the fossils at Biddulph, there is a super atmosphere in the gallery. The fledlings at Trentham look so bright and new in contrast to the fairies that have been there for ages. Happy Sunday:)

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  2. Lovely walks & I do enjoy your nature spotting. Pity about the bulbs with naughty squirrels around. Oh..... the fossils are fascinating & I'm in love with those new sculptures. Have a great weekend, take care & hugs.

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    1. We have three or four squirrels visit so I don't know which one was guilty, the one with the plumpest tummy perhaps? Maybe they worked together. If they have cached the bulbs somewhere and then forget them perhaps they will grow there. You too take care:)

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  3. Things are certainly starting to look a lot perkier in the gardens and seed trays, thank goodness. I love the dainty flowers of early Spring. Squirrels! What would you do with them! I shall wait with my fingers crossed for a photo of a kingfisher. I'm always looking for them but never seem to catch sight. Have a lovely weekend. 😊

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    1. The seed trays are looking good and we have had some of the cress in sandwiches. I'd love to be able to take a photo of a Kingfisher, I see some lovely photos on line but I've never been able to catch them before they move on. Perhaps one day:)

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  4. What a lovely week you have had. Such a shame about the bulbs - I planted some years ago and the plants never appeared - now I know why!!!!

    I love the new fairies at Trentham - just magical. We missed the Geology Gallery when we visited Biddulph so its wonderful to see your photos. The Chinese Garden looks lovely too.

    Take care.

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    1. It has been a lovely week of walks grabbed when the weather was good. I wish the aconites would grow here, I love to see them. I think the geological gallery was closed on and off for refrubishment but it is almost complete now and seems to be open more often. The red lanterms were magical around the pagoda:)

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  5. What a shame about the aconite bulbs! They're such an uplifting sight with their bright yellow flowers. Our snowdrops are getting fewer by the year so it's lovely to see at least a few of them in the garden. I enjoyed seeing where you walked. Biddulph must be a pleasurable place to visit with interesting buildings and new additions such as the sculptures.

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    1. We are lucky to have both Biddulph Grange and Trentham Gardens close enough to visit often. I was disappointed about the aconites - naughty squirrels - we were sure we had protected them well too. I'm hesitant to try again:)

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  6. A lovely magical post. :)
    I love those elf cups and those fairies. Certainly add interest to a walk. X

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    1. Thank you, elf cups and fairies were both wonderful to see:)

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  7. The Scarlet Elf Cups are very cool. Never saw anything like that before, and the fairies...oh so sweet. You've got things growing already, that is awesome. Nothing better to end an ugly winter than seeing things grow. YOu have such a green thumb.
    Sandy's Space

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    1. Fungi can be weird and wonderful, I love the Elf cups and they stood out so well against the darker earth and moss background. We try to keep things growing all year so we can have salad leaves and etc:)

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  8. For the last few years I've had a squirrel that insists on digging in my planters and burying walnuts, in the process throwing soil everywhere. This year, in an uncharacteristic act of kindness, I left one planter uncovered for him to bury his treasures in, but he hasn't yet appeared! I haven't seen elfcaps for years - not sure if they grow around here.

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    1. Squirrels seem to like difficulties in getting at food, even though the squirrels take a lot of our bird food I still like to see them around. I hope your visitor appears again. Our neighbour has a Chestnut tree and the squirrels bury the conkers all over the two gardens. We see quite a few elfcaps around here in the woodlands and along canal sides:)

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  9. Those Squirrels!! I've never seen elf cup fungus, how great to see so much of it!

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    1. Yes, indeed, they pinch a lot of bird food too, especially the fat balls. A few years ago they took all the crocus bulbs we'd planted so we always try and guard any newly planted bulbs but this time they still got them:)

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  10. Hi Rosie, making my blog rounds so waving hello and hoping all is well with you.

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    1. Hi Sandy, hope all is well with you too, thank you for visiting:)

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  11. You've taken us to some lovely places, Rosie. Enjoyed tagging along and seeing your photos, it seems that nature is waking up, getting ready to welcome spring.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. Thank you Amalia. Glad you enjoyed the visits, the storms of the last few days seem to have stopped nature in its tracks for a while but that Spring feeling will return soon, I'm sure:)

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