This and That

 

Recent Reading

I have a horrid feeling this is the last in the Mitchell and Markby series which is a shame as I have really enjoyed these books.

I am persevering with this series although its not one of my favourites!

Easter

I made a simnel cake for Easter.  B made Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday and E made these chocolate cup cakes which were rather tasty :) 

I always try and pick a little posy of flowers from the garden to put on the table for Easter.

In the Garden

The garlic David planted last Autumn is growing well. It will be harvested later in the year.  We've made just a small start on sowing seeds.  D has planted some tomato and wildflower seeds and B some foxgloves to take to the caravan.

Violets are starting to flower - the plants pop up everywhere in borders, pots and on the patio.

Primroses and snowdrops seem to have finished flowering but now we have Cowslip flowers. Last year they had really spread in the wildflower meadow area and we had dozens.

Some years ago we had the eucalpytus tree in the garden greatly reduced in height as it was getting rather out of control!!  Some of the stumps removed we placed round the garden and they soon attracted fungi including Turkey Tail. Now we have a new species to add to the garden list as this huge fungus has appeared on the main tree. Its about the size of a small washbasin with a smaller one appearing above it.  There are two similar species Artist's Bracket and  Southern Bracket (Ganoderma australe) and I think it is the latter - thanks to Dean on Twitter for confirmation. 

Nesting Activity

The female Blue Tit has nested in the nest box which has a camera and the first egg was laid on 4th April which seems early to me so I have checked my nature diaries and listed, where I can,  the dates Blue Tit eggs have laid the first egg in previous years since we had a camera in the nest box and going back to 2010.  

2010: 28th April
2011: 25th April
2012: 25th April
2013: 27th April
2014: 14th April
2015: 16th May this was a very late attempt and the young failed to reach fledging.
2016: 25th April
2017: No webcam this year as it had stopped working. So not sure when first egg laid. The young fledged week commencing 3rd June. Food seen being taken into nest box 18th May. Suspect eggs laid end of April?
2018: No nesting attempts this year although birds did investigate nest box around the 5th May.
2019: 23rd April
2020: 28th April
2021: 19th April
2022: 13th April
2023: 7th April
2024: 4th April

Unfortunately I do not have dates for all years due to having no working camera in the nest box one year and another year Blue Tits did not nest. In 2015 the birds nested very late although it had been a cool Spring.  Sometimes also it is difficult to be sure of the exact date as the female does not incubate until most of the eggs are laid. She tends to cover the eggs  with feathers in the daytime after she has left the nest so the first egg can be missed for a few days.   Overall, however, it  does appear that the date the first egg has been laid has got earlier since I started recording dates.  

I know there has been  research into how climate change may be affecting the seasons and how this may affect species in Spring.  Nesting of some bird species, the flowering of certain plants and emergence of leaves are occurring earlier. 

Research has suggested that birds such as Blue and Great Tits are overall now nesting around two weeks earlier earlier than they did two decades ago as a result of climate change causing earlier and warmer Springs and seasonal changes.  The concern here of course is that the caterpillars the birds feed their young on will not follow suit and also appear earlier.  I know we have had some years which have been distressing as the chicks have died one after the other which appears to have been due to the lack of food being brought in.  Phenology is a fascinating subject and I am sure there is a great deal more research being put into it. The Woodland Trust's Nature's  Calendar asks people to submit certain first dates of seasonal events in the autumn and winter to use to investigate the way climate and weather affect wildlife.

Coleshill

We popped to Coleshill last week mainly to visit the monthly Farmers' market.

There are some nice independent shops in Coleshill. 

D popped into Books Revisited for a short while as I wandered around taking photos.

The farmers'  market is held at The Croft which is right by the church.  

There were quite a few stalls there selling bread, fish, meat, honey, etc etc - not too many photos as there were too many people milling around!

Plants in Walls/Pavement Plants -

Ivy Leaved Toadflax and Herb Robert.

Its Dandelion Season.  Each year it reminds me of my father's Dandelion Wine - it was delicious!

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 camera (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would appreciate an email first - thanks).

Herefordshire 2023 (11) - Part 1: Hatfield

 

We returned to Herefordshire last week Monday to Friday. Sadly, the weather wasn't brilliant as it rained a lot on 2 of the days and there were showers another day but we did manage to get out a few times which I'll write about in the next two blog posts.  

The small garden and border at Hatfield is still looking colourful and monbretia is now flowering.

The Octopus Tree

The Herefordshire Oak and the

Constable Tree

There are signs of autumn appearing everywhere - Elderberries and Blackberries in the hedgerow to the side of the caravan and

Hawthorn berries are ripening.

Last year we got over 100 cooking apples from the small apple tree in the garden but this year I think we will be lucky to get a dozen.  We picked a few and some blackberries and B made an Apple and Blackberry Pie.

While we were there there was a Super Blue moon and the clouds cleared for a while so I was able to get a record shot.

A Blue Moon occurs when the pattern of days in a year means there are 13 full moons rather than the usual 12.   A Super Moon occurs when the moon is at its closest point as it orbits the earth.  The combination of a Blue and Super Moon will not occur again until 2037.

That evening the bats were out in full force all around the caravan.

After we arrived on the Monday we did the usual click and collect at Morrisons, Leominster and filled up with petrol.  Tuesday it rained all day and evening! But we did zip into Leominster when the rain eased a bit in the afternoon as D had to pay a cheque into the bank.  Wednesday was drier although there were still showers and we visited Berrington Hall. Thursday meant more rain although it stopped briefly in the afternoon and I dragged D along to a church I hadn't visited before which was thankfully open!  There were dragons and some rather interesting effigies there.  Friday was dry and sunny and we rather wasted it debating over whether we should stay another two nights. In the end we left at tea-time and stopped off for a meal at The Fountains Inn in Tenbury Wells on the journey home.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumiz FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Recent Reading

 

Recent Reading

D and I bought this bat book with vouchers we got for filling in a Sports Survey. Not sure what they would have made my replies though as I never go to the gym and don't partake in any sport. The best I could give them was walking! Anyway the book is brilliant and very informative and useful.

Not my favourite series but I still enjoy these books and they are set in a lovely area.

I really enjoyed this historical novel which tells the story of Katherine Champerowne who was Sir Walter Raleigh's mother. Fairly easy reading and quite unputdownable!

Many thanks to The Wessex Reiver who reminded me of this author recently and I dug out my old copy of this book.  The book relates events in the countryside throughout the year in an area not far from Tewkesbury.  Some of the characters are wonderfully eccentric and this is the book where I got the term "oontitoomps" from!  D and I visited the John Moore museum when we went to Tewkesbury Abbey and it was very good.  John Moore books now seem out of print which is a shame but I am sure the museum had some for sale? I did buy one which was a biography of the author. I wish now I had bought more.

I thought this was the best book so far in this series although I do have to say that the murders were rather gruesome and horrific. There was quite a twist at the end of the book. 

I have been reading this Logaston Press book when we go the caravan and finally finished it a few visits ago.  It tells you everything you could possibly want to know about hops and hop farming over the years in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire.

A little flower posy picked from the garden.

D made this no bake Strawberry Cheesecake using strawberries from the garden.  Its an ideal recipe if you don't have loads of strawberries.  Here is a link to the recipe in case anyone wants to try it (it was delicious!)  Strawberry Cheesecake

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.