Our fabulous swifts usually return in the first week of May. Had a look yesterday morning, no sign of them, none in the afternoon, then just as I was shutting up the greenhouse for the evening, I looked up & there they were! Five of them, so only the advance party. Swifts are a declining species & I feel privileged that they nest in our eaves every year. Swifts not only make their way all the way back to the UK from Africa, they come to the same nest site! I can barely get my head around migration, let alone that some of those little birds are setting off from Africa with our very own roof in mind!
And another piece of birdy info - we've got a blackbird nest! As feathered real estate goes, this isn't the brainiest of choices. It's deep in our hedge (a mixture of privet & fire thorn) but it's very close to the conservatory & my 'cafetiere & good book' sitting out corner. More worryingly, it is right above Albert Whiskers' self-appointed area for...er....more sizeable ablutions. If I can hear the chicks bibbling away, & I really can, then he'll definitely be able to, with his radar tabholes. Oh well, have moved my chair away & will keep putting out bird food. Hope they make it!
The garden's looking happier for the bit of sun we had yesterday. Love this colour combination....pale yellow from the primroses & bright magenta honesty. Both self-sown. Free plants - my best kind!
Greenhouse also looking better for the warmth. The tomatoes I set out in pot rings the other day have settled in well.......
......& you can see I've got a sneaky row of lettuces in there, to make use of the space for a bit of extra food before the tomatoes take over. I didn't buy the official pot rings for growing tomatoes. They were silly money for rings of plastic. I showed them to my Resident Grunt-work Operative in the garden centre & he said if I found him some big pots from the shed, he'd punch the bottoms out. These are now on about their 6th year, & just help with that little bit more soil-depth for hungry roots.
Pleased to see my courgettes & squashes (scallopini) coming through this morning. The only ones not doing anything are the yellow 'Sunstripe' courgettes & to be fair, that was old seed. They can be a bit arsey about growing too, so I'll give them a bit more time.
Coriander looking lush this morning. Will definitely cut a bunch to sprinkle over our lamb curry tonight. I usually get about 3 good cuts from a pot this size.....more if I've grown the 'Calypso' variety, which this isn't, as it was a cheapo free packet I had from somewhere or other. Intend to make another sowing this afternoon, also of radishes, to keep the good stuff coming.
Albert Whiskers thinks 'Sod the veg, when's me dinner coming out?' Strongly suspect he's been out all night (cat turf wars on our street, Big Grey Fluffy has been waddling his way up our end upsetting the applecart in local cat relations). Albert Whiskers appeared at breakfast time absolutely ravenous, wolfed his pouch in one while barely coming up for air, then laid into his biscuits. At 7.47a.m precisely, he started asking for his dinner. No chance yet, Matey!
OK, well I'm off down the greenhouse with those seeds.
Cheers Friends,
C x
Glad to hear about your Swifts! And 'Thank You' for being such a wonderful landlady.
ReplyDeleteI would be gutted if they failed to turn up. We sometimes have as many as 5 or 6 nests!
DeleteI would be gutted if they failed to turn up. We sometimes have as many as 5 or 6 nests!
DeleteMust be Spring, BGF on the growl lol. Looking good in the garden Cathy!
ReplyDeleteThanks Parkie! Yes, it's coming together a bit now. Still loads to do though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Parkie! Yes, it's coming together a bit now. Still loads to do though.
ReplyDelete