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Happy gardening!

Tuesday 12 January 2010

Enjoying the last days of snow it would seem?

As today is partly raining/sleeting and generally pretty disgusting, I decided to cheer myself up and you hopefully, by posting the photos I took on my walk yesterday late afternoon - it was WONDERFUL!

I've always loved the snow and any chance to get out in it, wherever I've been has been taken! There are lots of places to walk around here without taking the car which is just the best and one such walk is about an hour in length and follows a track most of the way - going gently a little bit up and down but reasonably level , surrounded by a mix of fields, meadow and woodland. As the sun was going down with temperatures dropping below freezing around 5.20/5.30pm yesterday all the lovely hues of pink and orange were reflecting in the snow... real food for the soul!

















Nothing better than coming in from the cold and enjoying the benefits of a lovely log fire and a cup of tea :-)

Another noteable thing these last two days in particular is the quantity of bird food that is being gobbled up!! We seem to have lots of very hungry birds and so today have put up more feeders as well as a coconut which I've split in half - they seem to love these! I don't think we've had the same quantity of birds here this year as we have the last two and wonder if other people have had this experience - do hope that this isn't as a result of them surviving the cold. We haven't yet had the Nuthatches as last year, very few visits from the Great Spotted Woodpecker and as yet no Siskins or Brambling... the little Black Caps were new to the garden but other than them - it's mostly lots of Blue Tits, Great Tits, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Blackbirds, a Song Thrush, Robins, Wrens (a garden visitor but not to the bird feeders), Dunnocks, Redwings (in our woodland) House Sparrows, Jays and Magpies. - I think that covers them all!













As well as lots of food, don't forget that birds need a regular supply of water too!
If any of you are considering adding a small tree to your garden that would be good for wildlife - our "Everest" Crab Apple has been wonderful - there are still one or two crab apples remaining and have been a wonderful source of food for the Black Caps, Blackbirds and Thrush during this cold weather... the Greenfinches and Robin (seen hiding!) seem to enjoy this as a place of refuge too! The male Greenfinches in particular looking rather stunning along with the deep red of the apples!



And on a happy note I'll leave you with a photo of our snowman... a very funny incident involving Lucy - our dog who on coming around the corner from the woodland in the dark the day he'd been made started barking madly and jumping about. We'd infact used 3 dog biscuits to create the mouth of the snowman and before I realised what she' d infact eaten part of the mouth - such a typical trait of a labrador! Take care and keep warm Mx

12 comments:

Cheryl said...

Hi Miranda.....Glad that you are enjoying the snow....beautiful walk, I can see why you love it so much.
I must confess, I loathe the snow....it is the only weather that really does get me down. Bring on the rain, say I.

Some beautiful bird shots....I have gone through a lot of seed....they are indeed very hungry.

Miranda Bell said...

Dear Cheryl - this weather must be a nightmare for you - sorry you don't like the snow... looks as if a thaw is on it's way despite being pretty icy - is it like that with you?

I imagine you'll have watched Snow Watch last night - wish they would do this every week - May seems a long time to wait for Spring Watch!

Anyway - keep wrapped up in the knowledge that you'll hopefully be able to see more green in your garden in the days to come and with any luck some little spots of colour as the bulbs start to appear! Take care Miranda x

A wildlife gardener said...

Happy New Year, dear Miranda :)

Glad to see you have enjoyed the snow...and you and I have been doing similar things...

http://ourlittlecornerofparadise.blogspot.com/2010/01/importance-of-finding-beauty-in-light.html

easygardener said...

Our snow is slowly melting. It has been a bumper year at the bird feeders here too. Unfortunately five male Blackbirds and four Robins coming at once has led to a lot of squabbling. Entertaining to watch but not for some of the more retiring birds that get in the way!

Miranda Bell said...

Hi Wildlife Gardener - thank you for your visit - certainly have enjoyed the snow - and infact sad to see it go really - makes going out for a walk and taking photos so magical! Bon weekend Mx

Miranda Bell said...

Hi Easygardener - you're right on the squabbling front - I think both the robins and also greenfinches are the worst and as you say are quite amusing to watch - especially when you start to consider the captions to match their vicious mannerisms towards each other!:-) Have a good weekend Mx

Kanisha said...

Clearly you are not feeding poor Lucy enough! some of the tales she's told me I think the poor dog is very hard done by. still a labrador and its stomach is rarely full...... Kanisha now enjoying the sunshine, nice as it was I was pleased to see it go and can't wait for those first spring shoots!
Ps Lucy reckons this womment will get moderated!

Barbara said...

Wow, you've got snow too! I think this is quite a rare experience, isn't it. Beautiful pictures. I also like to watch all the various birds coming to the feeders. I am glad they are here, so they will stay in the garden in summer too.
Bonne semaine et salutations,
Barbara

Miranda Bell said...

Hi Kanisha - thanks for dropping by... glad to hear that you're enjoying the sunshine... what a gorgeous day in comparison to recent weeks... Graeme most likely off to the UK in the next week or 2 so let's get a beach trip booked as you say before the weeds start growing... will give you a call as soon as I know... take care Mx

Miranda Bell said...

Hi Barbara - many thanks for popping over - you have a lovely blog too and full of lovely photos and what a beautiful country to live in too... Have a good week - do pop by again - Miranda

Barbara said...

Hi Miranda, once more a little hello. Yes I know Monty Don and have read his "My Roots". I always liked to see him when he participated in TV's Gardeners World on BBC.
I'll certainly come back and visit you again.

Miranda Bell said...

Thanks Barbara - he was great on Gardeners World - it's not been the same since he left - do you manage to see the Spring and Autumn Watch on the BBC - last week they did a special "Snow Watch" which was wonderful! Have a good week - Miranda