One of my water lilies snapped during a short sunny period:
From time to time I am trying to thin out some of the other aquatic plants which have got out of control.
Showing posts with label Water Lily. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Water Lily. Show all posts
Sunday, 26 June 2016
Water Lily
Recently the weather has been typically British - never knowing what it will be like in an hour's time. Anything from brilliant Sunshine to tropical downpours.
One of my water lilies snapped during a short sunny period:
From time to time I am trying to thin out some of the other aquatic plants which have got out of control.
One of my water lilies snapped during a short sunny period:
From time to time I am trying to thin out some of the other aquatic plants which have got out of control.
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Wanted - Hedgehog ASBO
Talk about an unprovoked attack. I think one youngster needs an ASBO banning it from coming within 2 metres of any other Hedgehog.
I am still keeping an eye on the garden pond for signs of winged life. So far I have only seen two damselflies:
A Blue-tailed Damselfly
A Common Blue Damselfly
The few really hot days we had recently have also brought out the first of the pond lilies.
I am still keeping an eye on the garden pond for signs of winged life. So far I have only seen two damselflies:
A Blue-tailed Damselfly
A Common Blue Damselfly
The few really hot days we had recently have also brought out the first of the pond lilies.
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Bird Behaviour
A few days ago I was watching a pair of Wood Pigeons. First the male was walking along the ridge tiles following a female. He was making the usual cooing sounds with his chest puffed out and his head bobbing up and down as he walked. She was moving ahead of him but slowly so he could keep up. This activity usually ends up with the female flying off, but not this time.
Shortly after that they were together on next doors roof. Both standing very close together. Every so often the male appeared to rub his beak down his back between his wings and then offer his beak to the female. There would then be a rubbing of beaks. I can only assume that he is picking up some oil from a gland on his back and offering it to her, which she appeared very willing to accept.
Several times I have heard the sound of a Song Thrush bashing the living daylights out of a snail. usually on one of the concrete paths. Yesterday one was down the bottom of the garden trying to use a piece of timber to do the job. I managed to get a few still photos but as I homed in with the camcorder it moved out of sight behind a planter.
Earlier in the day I had heard a Song Thrush singing very close by but couldn't spot it. Towards dusk it was sat high up on a Leylandii in the pouring rain singing away. As I got the camcorder set so I could see it and waited for the thing to auto focus, that was painfully slow as the light was poor by now, the Thrush flew away. Once again the bird's inbuilt camera detecting radar was working to perfection!
The day before I did manage to film a male Chaffinch on the same branch of the same tree as it was calling. It was a long way away so I couldn't get as close a shot as I would have liked.
BLOOMS
A few more flowers are showing their blooms to perfection. This is the second of my pond lilies to show this year.
And this is a small grafted standard rose, Raspberry Royale, which produces an absolute mass of flowers each year. It grows in a planter next to the pond.
No sign of the Hedgehogs before I went to bed but it was raining the proverbial cats and dogs. All I saw was a frog as it leapt its way across the paved area under the bird feeders.
Shortly after that they were together on next doors roof. Both standing very close together. Every so often the male appeared to rub his beak down his back between his wings and then offer his beak to the female. There would then be a rubbing of beaks. I can only assume that he is picking up some oil from a gland on his back and offering it to her, which she appeared very willing to accept.
Several times I have heard the sound of a Song Thrush bashing the living daylights out of a snail. usually on one of the concrete paths. Yesterday one was down the bottom of the garden trying to use a piece of timber to do the job. I managed to get a few still photos but as I homed in with the camcorder it moved out of sight behind a planter.
Earlier in the day I had heard a Song Thrush singing very close by but couldn't spot it. Towards dusk it was sat high up on a Leylandii in the pouring rain singing away. As I got the camcorder set so I could see it and waited for the thing to auto focus, that was painfully slow as the light was poor by now, the Thrush flew away. Once again the bird's inbuilt camera detecting radar was working to perfection!
The day before I did manage to film a male Chaffinch on the same branch of the same tree as it was calling. It was a long way away so I couldn't get as close a shot as I would have liked.
BLOOMS
A few more flowers are showing their blooms to perfection. This is the second of my pond lilies to show this year.
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| From MIDMARSH JOTTINGS |
And this is a small grafted standard rose, Raspberry Royale, which produces an absolute mass of flowers each year. It grows in a planter next to the pond.
No sign of the Hedgehogs before I went to bed but it was raining the proverbial cats and dogs. All I saw was a frog as it leapt its way across the paved area under the bird feeders.
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
White - Feathers, Lily and Lighting for Hedgehogs
I have noticed over the past year that quite a few birds have white feathers. This has been mentioned on other blogs that I read (including Bird Table News) and has been spotted in several parts of the world but nobody seems to have come up with a reason as to why this seems to be increasing. Today my attention was drawn to this Sparrow with the large amount of white on its head. It looks as though it has been standing out in the snow.
The other day I was pleased to see the first of the water lilies opening in my pond. Many people think that they need deep water. Some do but there are varieties which prefer shallow water. Mine grow well in just 10 inches of water. This is a large flowering variety with a bloom about 3.5 inches across. Each flower only lasts a short time but once they get established there is a sucession of blooms right through the Summer. The large leaves give shade and shelter to the pond dwellers.
For a while now I have toyed with the idea of increasing the amount of white light where the Hedgehogs come to visit. Yesterday I finally got round to converting a small flood lamp to hold two 12 volt LED lamps. Not long ago LED lamps gave poor lighting but the technology is moving on and these give the equivalent of about 20W each. I tried them out last night and the Hedgehogs were not put off at all. Unfortunately the camera switched to black and white about 5 minutes before the hogs arrived so today I altered the camera to stay in colour all the time. Tonight I hope to get some colour video.
The photo shows one of the bulbs. It looks massive but in reality it is the standard size used for halogen spotlights in the home. The juvenile Starling is looking down on the flood light which itself is quite compact.
Writing of colour hog video, Shirl at Shirl's Gardenwatch has a terrific entry about Hedgehogs visiting her garden with a great piece of colour video, photos and lots of information about attracting them to your own garden.
Regular readers may remember the video of the Rook unhooking the fat ball feeder. I sent that to Springwatch and they have included it in the videos on the site. All the movies that people have sent in can be seen on the Your Movies section of the BBC Springwatch site.
The other day I was pleased to see the first of the water lilies opening in my pond. Many people think that they need deep water. Some do but there are varieties which prefer shallow water. Mine grow well in just 10 inches of water. This is a large flowering variety with a bloom about 3.5 inches across. Each flower only lasts a short time but once they get established there is a sucession of blooms right through the Summer. The large leaves give shade and shelter to the pond dwellers.
For a while now I have toyed with the idea of increasing the amount of white light where the Hedgehogs come to visit. Yesterday I finally got round to converting a small flood lamp to hold two 12 volt LED lamps. Not long ago LED lamps gave poor lighting but the technology is moving on and these give the equivalent of about 20W each. I tried them out last night and the Hedgehogs were not put off at all. Unfortunately the camera switched to black and white about 5 minutes before the hogs arrived so today I altered the camera to stay in colour all the time. Tonight I hope to get some colour video.
The photo shows one of the bulbs. It looks massive but in reality it is the standard size used for halogen spotlights in the home. The juvenile Starling is looking down on the flood light which itself is quite compact.
Writing of colour hog video, Shirl at Shirl's Gardenwatch has a terrific entry about Hedgehogs visiting her garden with a great piece of colour video, photos and lots of information about attracting them to your own garden.
Regular readers may remember the video of the Rook unhooking the fat ball feeder. I sent that to Springwatch and they have included it in the videos on the site. All the movies that people have sent in can be seen on the Your Movies section of the BBC Springwatch site.
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