Ah so its normal to see buds on the Hellebores around now,..my brain is sort of scrambled of late,..lots of things with loose ends running around in there lol. We are having it very mild just now,..really mild with just a heavy mist in the mornings,..the Daffodils are just peeping above the surface Raddison Hotel on left and town bridge.
Both photographs are very atmospheric but my favourite is the first one. I can almost see myself standing looking out over the water.
Eileen that's where i stand lol,..i can check my boat is still there and see that the protective cover is still in place,..however i can just see the boat that is in front of mine,..no sign of mine but its there.
We had drizzle all day on Christmas Day,..so no doggy walk for Foxy Molly,..however we both visited a friends house and remained there until 0100 on St Stephens Day,..the friends went off to Spain for Christmas and asked me to show that there was someone in the house,..leaving lots of goodies for me and the dog to chew on . Hellebores dripping wet. Surprise surprise one Snapdragon in bloom. Rose ( Rosa 'Handel' ) still in bloom,.. though its the unusual bloom still surviving.
Thank you Sjoerd and Islandlife,..not a lot happening in the garden just yet but its only 26 days to go for the start of our Traditional Spring Start,..1st of Feb,..the Met Office Date is 21st of March. Hebe,.. still giving that lovely glow,..the green leaves are of the 'Chilean Lantern Tree. First time visit to my garden in 14 years is the Blackcap,...'Sylvia atricapilla',..it has visited every day since just before Christmas,..its shy so when i slide open the door off it flies,..this image is through the glass door. Lots of Sparrows.
First Dunnocks and now a Blackcap - birds seem to be visiting your garden more often now. Hopefully they'll still be seen once the weather improves. So far this year I haven't seen any Long Tailed Tits. They usually arrive with the bad weather but haven't this year and I don't know why.
Hi Sjoerd,..thank you,..i have never noticed one before,..either in the outdoors or my garden,..so its not surprising you have not seen one either,..they may stick to urban areas or/and just winter Europe,..i must check on this,..though Eileen will have better knowledge than i on birds. =========================================================== Hi Eileen,..yes the Dunnock was a first,..and now the Blackcap,..hard to know why i never spotted them before,..maybe they were never in the garden,..then again i now only have two cats so perhaps they feel safer than when i had 12 or more cats and looked at the garden from a safe distance lol. ========================================================== Mentioning Cats,..'Dennis',..the troublemaker tripped me up when i had my laptop in hand,..of course it never worked again,..had to purchase a new one then delete all the junk that comes with a new laptop and add my own software likes,..a long process,..that cat is not called 'Dennis',..without good reason
Oh dear not the best of things to happen. "Dennis the Menace" for sure!! I hope you get to grips with the new laptop. I don't think I'd know how to deal with a new computer what with Windows 10 and all the new technology they have on them these days. I'm a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to things like that.
Hi Eileen,..got to grips with the new laptop,..i uninstalled about 15 programs that i didn't like and replaced them with more familiar programs,..MacAfee Firewall and Anti Virus was given Free for 12 months they were the first to go and replaced with Comodo,..it was interesting and kept be busy for three days,..thankfully no blunders. Oh that Male Sparrow posted above must be very old as i noticed he doesn't have that dark head top. Black Cap is still here,..two of them now,..also the Finches which i love to see. This chap appears to be trying to unscrew my fittings lol. I found some bulbs in the shed last summer and just left them in the container they were in then threw some soil on them,..they were there since the end of spring 2015,..looking good yesterday.
Philip you have so many different birds visiting your garden now. Let's see - there's Dunnocks, Blackcaps, Chaffinches and Goldfinches - I wonder who'll be next? The Long Tailed Tits have arrived in my garden. I was beginning to think I wouldn't be seeing them this winter. Looks as though you have some daffies coming up. You must let us see them again when they burst into flower.
Always love seeing your updates Philip! Such pretty birds. Bob and I enjoy feeding and watching all our birds, but I’m not quick with the camera.
Eileen it will be interesting to see just what blooms appear from those daffies,..ah yes more and more new birds appearing makes looking out into the garden exciting,..i have had 'Siskins',..such a small bird,..oh nice to know your Long Tailed Tits have arrived,..i wonder what delayed them?,..maybe they know something weather wise.
