River Walk

Took a stroll down to the Green to-day, passed the Nursing Home on the way

To take a look over the river wall and admire the view and all the wonderful wildlife.

The river was alive with swans, geese, ducks and seagulls and who knows what else.

After leaving the Green I headed for the river bank, now disused and overgrown. I paused at
this little footbridge to take in the stillness, silence and beauty of the place.

Through the overgrowth I could see the place was purple with masses of Himalayan Balsam and Purple Loosetrife

I hadn't gone very far when I was surprised to meet my sister Maura walking her dog "Judd", possibly she was more surprised to meet me. My intended walk ended here. We went back

to Maura's place.

Sat out, had tea, watched the tide come in and the sun go down. Now, it was indeed time to head home.

Roadworks Ahead

Careful fish, there's roadworks ahead, this guy is trying to shovel me out of the way.

When the Red, Red Robin...

This is Rory, our resident robin. After a short courtship, he set up home with his wife Rose. The site they choose was a flower pot in the shed, there, they built a very cosy home, made of dead leaves and moss, lined with hair and feathers, it appeared Rose did most of the work. She laid 5 eggs and they hatched out on March 17th.

After the chicks were born, Rory came into his own, he proved to be a great little provider for Rose and their young family. He foraged under shrubs, leaves, rocks, just everywhere, for worms and insects, he had no problem at all taking food from my hand. After going on to have two more broods and working tirelessly through the summer, they have now become rather scarce, probably moulting and not wanting to show themselves.

I now look forward to seeing them emerge with new plumage and in good singing voice for the coming months.

Swat That Fly

I have yet to come across anyone who would say, I love flies as they would dogs, cats, birds etc. I was reading a small article on why the fly is important for the preservation of the environment. Apparently the fly is an expert on recycling and is indispensable to the economy of nature. They lay their eggs on decaying plant or animal remains, this serves as food for the developing larvae and returned to the soil in the form of droppings, thus providing a food supply for plants and bacteria and so the cycle is complete.

I think we know too they can be dangerous as they act as vectors for innumerable diseases, conveying germs from one host to another. I looked around for a fly to photograph, and you know, I couldn't find one, so, I'm happy about that. I had to borrow this one, Here is another appropriate poem by Paddy Lysaght from his collection "A Torrent of Versatile Verses".

A FLY IN THE OINTMENT

"Swat that fly", my hubby said,

"I cannot stand his buzz".

"For goodness sake, relax" I said,

"What is he doing to us?"

He threw a might swear at me,

He fixed me with his eyes.

"I'll kill the hoor myself", he said,

"I hate those bloody flies".

He swore once more. I answered back -

There's more to it, of course -

But that dust-up about the fly

Ended with our divorce.

Fuchsia Inside and Out

This lovely Fuchsia is peering over the wall from my neighbours garden. The variety is F. Magellanica "Riccartonii, the most popular and hardiest of the fuchsias. It looks so elegant right now with its colourful bell-shaped flowers hanging from the branches. I went inside to see my own Fuchsia, unfortunately it is only on a lamp shade, the good thing is, it is handpainted and I like that.

Swallows

While working in the garden I could hear a lot of twittering going on, it was 5 baby Swallows being fed by their parents, that was back in June. It was rather difficult to get good photo's as they were so high up. I am including a nice poem about the Swallow by Paddy Lysaght from his collection of "A Torrent of Versatile Verses".




Swallows
Glad to see the Swallow back again
Perched on the high wires. Soon their song
Will cheer us all this summer long.
And on the rafter by the stable door,
Their mud made nest will shortly be
Relined for this year's progeny.

They flit about the lawn and trees,
Shoot silently in and out the stable door,
They wing-flap and by up-draught soar
Upwards, then down-dive at their ease.
Of beauty and movement the epitome,
They enrapture us as would a symphony.

August Celebration

What was it this morning that brought so many birds to the nut holders just outside my kitchen window. I could see baby birds, teenage birds, mother and father birds, all squabbling away with each other to get their turn at picking the nuts. I wonder was it because it rained heavily all night and they were wet and hungry, or were they all gathering for an August 1st celebration. I was particularly delighted to see several Green finches and Sparrows. They were once the most common bird in the garden, now I almost get excited if I see one or two. As soon as I went out to take some photo's, there was a vanishing act.