Saturday 30 May 2009

In The Garden

Yesterday was absolutely glorious. We both spent hours lazing in the garden, enjoying the warmth from the Sun which was nicely moderated by a cooling breeze coming from the North Sea. My idea was to sit under the parasol with the cameras and see what turned up. It didn't take long for someone to decide that there was really only room for one in the shade from the large parasol:

From MIDMARSH JOTTINGS


So muggins here had to get out the old one and set it up elsewhere in the garden. This I duly did and chose a spot where I could watch the birds feeding ...

Birds Feeding

Ooo look I can see right down to your tail
I Can See Right Down to Yor Tail

... and any which came to bathe in the waterfall.

Birds Bathing

I could admire the various shapes which were being made by the few cloud formations. The first one looked to me like an enormous white feather in the sky.

Clouds

From time to time I just pottered about seeing how the various plants were coming on and checked which of the potted plants needed watering.

Plants

I found the shell of a Giant Pond Snail on the lawn and after a quick photo put it back in the pond as it seemed to be alive. How it got where it had was a mystery.

Great Pond Snail

I had bought a ground feeder and it was quite a while before any bird gathered enough courage to see what that was. In the end it was a Blackbird who made the first investigation.

Blackbird

There were not many different birds bathing which was disappointing as I had set the camcorder on a tripod next to me. I got a few bits of video but will try to add some more before I upload any.

As the afternoon wore on the breeze got steadily stronger and colder so I called it a day, bought some chunks of Halibut from the visiting Fresh Grimsby Fish van and ended a glorious day with a lovely meal which we both enjoyed.

10 comments:

  1. That sounded like a thoroughly enjoyable day John, it is lovely to be able to spend time in the garden in this beautiful weather, although I was eventually driven in yesterday by allergic reactions :( there is so much pollen around at the moment but so much to be done out there still! Well done Bobby for bagging the best spot, he's not daft!!

    I love all the photos, the first cloud photo did indeed look exactly like a feather.

    The waterfall photos look so lovely and cooling.

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  2. Hi Jan. Thanks for the kind comments.
    It can't be fun to have such allergic reactions to pollen. I think I have a couple of plants which affect me but only while I'm near them. One seems to be Cow Parsley and the other is a tree, but not sure which. All I know is that I was sneezing like mad when going walkies this past ten days but the problem has passed now.
    Bobby, like most animals, works on the principle that possession is nine tenths of the law! All he needs is a bath towel to reserve his spot.
    I think the cloud formations started as aircraft con trails but the winds up there must have kept changing direction to spread them in two different directions.
    I could do with a full size waterfall today. :)

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  3. Excellent set of shots John. The waterfall was just what they needed yesterday, with all that heat.
    I can see by Bobbys relaxed pose, who is the boss. lol

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  4. Great photos here, thanks for sharing!
    I love the House Sparrow shots

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  5. Hi there John :-) Great to hear you’ve been enjoying the sunshine with you too! Yep… it’s a dog’s life indeed ;-)

    Great photos of feeding birds in your garden. There’s certainly a lot to see at the moment. Yep… we’ve seen the young of starlings, blackbirds and house sparrows being fed by their parents too :-D

    Ah… wonderful cloud shots, the patterns they make are quite fascinating don’t you think. They change so quickly too. I love to watch them.

    Yes, the blackbirds are the first to explore ground feeding aren’t they? Hope this new feeder goes down well with your hoards at the moment. I had one like that but got rid of it for some reason that I can’t think of at the moment. I do remember cleaning it took time as the mesh was very fine on mine.

    Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks for all the comments you’ve been leaving on my blog I do appreciate them all. I don’t manage to get round and comment as much as I’d like. I’ve been enjoying your new videos and following your hedgehog stories. I’ve got one to tell myself soon too. Thanks again :-D

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  6. That's a very elegant Giant Water Snail, John. Very streamlined and balanced.

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  7. Sounds like you both had an enjoyable relaxing day in the sunshine and shade ~ Bobby is out for the count! You certainly have many bird visitors ~ the closeup of the starling being fed is great, and I'm sure its tail was visible through that wide open mouth! The feather cloud is is beautiful ~ quill-like, and the lighting adds a special touch. Your flowers are pretty too ~ and nice to have some tasty fish to finish off the day!

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  8. Thank you Keith. The waterfall is a great attraction for the birds and the hairy monster definitely wears the trousers here! :)
    ......
    Thanks for visiting Joe. The Sparrows are always up to something and made good subjects here.
    ......
    Hi Shirl. Thanks for the kind comments.

    Yes there are plenty of bird visitors to see, along with some of their offspring.

    I like to photo the various cloud formations. As you say they are ever changing and there are so many different variations depending on the weather.

    Now the Starlings have found the ground tray there is plenty of noisy activity around it.

    I look forward to seeing what your Hedgehogs have been up to.
    ......
    Hi Rob. It's the first time I've managed to get a clear shot of the Giant Pond Snail. The other day I saw a large Rams Horn Snail in the pond but couldn't get a clear shot of it.
    ......
    Hi Glo. I've had three glorious sunny days to enjoy the garden although the breeze has been quite cold at times. It always looks funny when a young bird opens its beak fully and the parent sticks its head right in.

    It's a pity I couldn't get all of the 'feather' cloud in the photo as it was very long, pointed at one end and rounded at the other - just like a feather. I think it was the result of an aircraft con trail.

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  9. Bobby is one clever dog! I bet he could find the only patch of sunshine on the carpet indoors too! You might like to google the cloud appreciation society. They have photographs and names for all sorts of clouds!

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  10. Yes Matron, Bobby does indeed find the only patch of Sunlight on the carpet! Thank you for the cloud descriptions pointer. There was a very good programme on the television recently but I got lost as the combinations of clouds became more complicated.

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Thank you for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Any comment, or correction to any information or identification I get wrong, is most welcome. John

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