I continue to be enchanted by my new garden. Last year the bird feeders were populated by Blue and Great Tits, alongside Green and Gold Finches. This year, however, the House Sparrows have arrived and, like the thugs that they are, have taken over, though when I see 6 little chicks lined up on the fence bordering the meadow, their still fluffy wings flapping like mad waiting to be fed, I’m inclined to forgive the invasion 😊. The Sparrow Hawk, however, has also been spotted! I know it has to eat like all the other birds, and will also be raising young, but the thought of him devouring any of the gorgeous little Sparrow chicks makes me want to weep 😢

The two fledgeling Woodpeckers were evident in my garden for about 10 days and came to my bird feeders each morning and evening to be fed by Mum or Dad. It really has been the most wonderful experience and has already made my summer 🙂

This week I picked the first crop from my Blackcurrant bush and used 300g, and some stalks of rhubarb, to make a crumble which we ate with lashings of thick custard. It was absolutely lush, even if I do say so myself 😉 I’ve also thinned out the apples on my small tree, which was laden with fruit. Thinning improves the size, quality and health of the remaining apples and should hopefully ensure a decent crop again next year. The Blue Tits in particular love the apple tree, taking sunflower hearts from the bird feeder back there to devour.

Last year I was too busy with the house renovations to even think about the various fruit bushes in my garden and the resident Blackbirds scoffed the lot. But this year I’m determined to eat at least some of the crop myself, though I don’t mind sharing especially when I know the berries are being used to feed young. This image was taken at about 6.30am this morning and I’ve spotted the fledgeling hopping around the garden all day 🙂

Friday would have been my late Mum’s birthday. In her memory I have a beautiful pink rose bush named Anne’s Rose, as roses were her favourite flower. Imagine my delight, then, when I woke on the morning of her birthday to find the first bud had opened overnight! It almost felt like she were speaking to me 🥹 Blue Tits were my Mum’s favourite birds and they absolutely love Mum’s rose, often sitting on the stems eating the greenfly which proliferate there.

I suspect I may have a hedgehog visiting my rear garden, yayyyy!, though I haven’t as yet seen it. I’ve found several hedgehoggy looking poos on the lawn and would be absolutely thrilled if that were the case. However, I’m not going to put out food for them as I don’t want to encourage vermin like mice or rats. We had a huge rat problem in my last cottage which affected over a dozen houses and it was a nightmare trying to keep on top of their breeding cycle – even Rent-o-kill gave up in the end!

The sun is back out following a period of cloud and rain and my lawns needed mowing. The back lawn, which I use, I have no issue keeping short but the two front lawns, which I never use, pose more of a dilemma. They are covered in buttercups and clover and, not only do they look pretty, the clover in particular is a vital source of food for bees.

I asked myself exactly who I was cutting the lawn for, because removing all the clover certainly wouldn’t benefit wildlife, and decided it was to make me not look lazy to the neighbours. So I’ve compromised, keeping the ‘difficult’ lawn mowed (which becomes a nightmare to cut once the grass gets long) and leaving the ‘easier’ lawn to nature (termed ‘relaxed gardening’ apparently) 😊.

Foxgloves have self seeded in several places in the garden and are a magnet for insects, particularly bees and hover flies, and while I don’t mind pretty self seeders like these the thistles and nettles are less welcome! Having said all that, they also play their part in the ecosystem, with nettles providing a breeding ground for caterpillars and the thistles covered in ‘Cuckoo spit’, ie froghopper nymphs. So I’ve decided to plant just a few nettles and thistles in pots, then try to expel them from the rest of the garden.

It would be impossible for me to be a wildlife photographer with integrity if I didn’t look after wildlife, and in order to do that one has to honour the environments in which insects, birds and animals live. Choosing flowers for our borders which are rich in nectar, not being too particular about tidying or lawn mowing, encouraging birds with food, providing nest boxes and not using chemicals to control pests as this poisons the food chain (I realised a Phlox was being eaten alive this morning, so simply moved the pot onto a shelf out of the way of slugs) are just some of the things gardeners can do to help sustain the natural environment. The rewards are simply delightful.