First meeting of our small town’s Nature Watch group. The aim is to record the plant and animal species of the town. I learned a lot and I’ll be off on my morning walk with added purpose and enthusiasm and to listen out for the firecrest and spotted flycatcher that are apparently in a small patch of woodland nearby.
Swifts! The tree canoy joining up. The joy of sitting outside more, at least till a chilly north wind picks up. The golden glow of buttercups catching the sun. Two geese staring intently through the window at work, looking like they are supervising the patients using the treadmills.
Wishing you a very happy birthday and a wonderful year ahead!
Happy belated birthday, your day sounds heavenly! I am lucky enough to walk to work each morning along a quiet country lane in North Wales where the Cow Parsley is now starting to pop and the hedgerows are full of fresh shoots and green fullness! Looking down through the field towards the sea, the clouds have looked huge and spectacular this week too with all the cold and windy weather. I’m hoping for a return to warmer weather soon! 🌱🌿
What a lovely way to spend a birthday. May is the best month for birthdays (mine is September but both my boys & my husband are in May so there’s lots of cake). It’s all about the birds here so many caterpillars and insects heading into the blue tit, great tit and wren nests. The female blackbird is gathering nesting material for her second nest.
A maelstrom of wind then rain , then hail battering against the doors! Umbrellas lifted up and inside out, their owners struggling to keep their balance and my little one year old cat out in the garden dives for cover under the decking
My alliums have opened and are still standing tall after the heavy rain/hail and wind this week. Lawn covered in dandelions clocks and daises (hurrah for no mow May). Lots of birdlife on my walks - Stonechats feeding their young, goldfinch, greenfinch and a female blackcap. Congratulations Wendy and Cathryn on your prizes 🌸
I look forward to this week all year, when the farmer puts his sheep and lambs in the field on my commute, it’s always a bottleneck but seeing the lambs gambling makes my day.
The drizzle obscured any views of Holy Island, horse riding on Saturday, but there were still bluebells, primroses and a roe deer on the way to the top. Then we scattered the lambs as we skirted their field and there was a hare just ahead. The last half hour horizontal rain, like buckets of water thrown at our faces. We were soaked but it was worth it. The next day we got the views walking and in the pub.
The intermittent showers are rewarding me with such a verdant green garden, against which the aliums and perennial cornflowers are POPPING.
Lia - how wonderful to share a birthday with Sir David! Curiously, mine on May 4th, is shared with Chris Packham, so there's got to be something in an early May birthday generating a love of the natural world. And so grateful to be a book winner. Xx
Happy belated birthday! I've been spotting kidney vetch popping up, so the Small Blue butterflies will be appearing soon and that makes me really happy ☺️
I’m thrilled about my prize! So looking forward to reading. I’ve been dodging rain showers this week but managed to spot a little group of goslings on the canal.
The clatter of hailstones, a distant thunder rumble, the long awaited smell of petrichor, the rain returns after so long. After a cool dry spring it could mean a (also not very warm?) wet summer as it seems the weather these days sticks to one kind of weather for weeks/months, and we really need more rain, but I’m hoping the warmth and constant sunshine returns for at least enough time to enjoy it!
A week of fresh asparagus and rhubarb, chilly temps flirting near the freezing mark at night, and in the woodlots, beautiful dappling as the tree canopies converge.
First meeting of our small town’s Nature Watch group. The aim is to record the plant and animal species of the town. I learned a lot and I’ll be off on my morning walk with added purpose and enthusiasm and to listen out for the firecrest and spotted flycatcher that are apparently in a small patch of woodland nearby.
Dark stormy skies, suny blue skies, a vivid rainbow bridging between them
Swifts! The tree canoy joining up. The joy of sitting outside more, at least till a chilly north wind picks up. The golden glow of buttercups catching the sun. Two geese staring intently through the window at work, looking like they are supervising the patients using the treadmills.
Wishing you a very happy birthday and a wonderful year ahead!
Spectacular mini thunderstorm - one roll of thunder, immediate explosion of lightning, five minutes of drenching rain. And then blue skies.
Happy belated birthday, your day sounds heavenly! I am lucky enough to walk to work each morning along a quiet country lane in North Wales where the Cow Parsley is now starting to pop and the hedgerows are full of fresh shoots and green fullness! Looking down through the field towards the sea, the clouds have looked huge and spectacular this week too with all the cold and windy weather. I’m hoping for a return to warmer weather soon! 🌱🌿
What a lovely way to spend a birthday. May is the best month for birthdays (mine is September but both my boys & my husband are in May so there’s lots of cake). It’s all about the birds here so many caterpillars and insects heading into the blue tit, great tit and wren nests. The female blackbird is gathering nesting material for her second nest.
A maelstrom of wind then rain , then hail battering against the doors! Umbrellas lifted up and inside out, their owners struggling to keep their balance and my little one year old cat out in the garden dives for cover under the decking
My alliums have opened and are still standing tall after the heavy rain/hail and wind this week. Lawn covered in dandelions clocks and daises (hurrah for no mow May). Lots of birdlife on my walks - Stonechats feeding their young, goldfinch, greenfinch and a female blackcap. Congratulations Wendy and Cathryn on your prizes 🌸
I look forward to this week all year, when the farmer puts his sheep and lambs in the field on my commute, it’s always a bottleneck but seeing the lambs gambling makes my day.
The drizzle obscured any views of Holy Island, horse riding on Saturday, but there were still bluebells, primroses and a roe deer on the way to the top. Then we scattered the lambs as we skirted their field and there was a hare just ahead. The last half hour horizontal rain, like buckets of water thrown at our faces. We were soaked but it was worth it. The next day we got the views walking and in the pub.
The intermittent showers are rewarding me with such a verdant green garden, against which the aliums and perennial cornflowers are POPPING.
Lia - how wonderful to share a birthday with Sir David! Curiously, mine on May 4th, is shared with Chris Packham, so there's got to be something in an early May birthday generating a love of the natural world. And so grateful to be a book winner. Xx
And my Kattie , my little cat her first birthday on the 14 th May !
Crimson peonies, in their full blowsy glory, thankfully hanging on through the wind and rain!
Happy belated birthday! I've been spotting kidney vetch popping up, so the Small Blue butterflies will be appearing soon and that makes me really happy ☺️
I’m thrilled about my prize! So looking forward to reading. I’ve been dodging rain showers this week but managed to spot a little group of goslings on the canal.
The clatter of hailstones, a distant thunder rumble, the long awaited smell of petrichor, the rain returns after so long. After a cool dry spring it could mean a (also not very warm?) wet summer as it seems the weather these days sticks to one kind of weather for weeks/months, and we really need more rain, but I’m hoping the warmth and constant sunshine returns for at least enough time to enjoy it!
A week of fresh asparagus and rhubarb, chilly temps flirting near the freezing mark at night, and in the woodlots, beautiful dappling as the tree canopies converge.
Woodlots, a new word to me I checked it’s meaning x
I reckon perhaps is a mid-western US term, apparently not used so much on the other side of the pond!
Yes it said that, but it’s a good word 🙂