Monday, June 29, 2020

29/06/2020 Out walking and in the garden.

Maximum temperature here today 21⁰C, minimum 14⁰C. Dry.  15km/h North-Westerly winds with gusts up to 31 km/h.

My apologies for not keeping up with my blogs or yours but we just seem to be extra busy!!!

Looking through the forest.

The track where I was walking.

A hoverfly.

Somebody's insect hotel.

I walked down to the closest dam in the hopes that I might see something of interest.  Not a bird or an insect in sight.  Well, there were some water skimmers on the water but!!!

Back home a rainbow, look closely and you can see the second one.

Plane number F-HCG0 flying over the garden.

The vegetable garden.

Too big for lizard's lunch I suspect but they seemed to be aware of each other.
Hornet (Vespa crabro) and Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis Muralis).

Small stallion seen on a farm on another walk.  He posed perfectly for me!

Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris).  A protected species and they can range from Red to almost black.

Marbled White (Melanargia galathea).

As above.

Peacock butterfly (Aglais io).

Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria)

Wall brown (Lasiommata megera).


My local list of wildflowers. (82 Species 25/06/2020)

See also my

34 comments:

  1. What a great variety of “critters” you have ... and such lovely portraits of each.

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    1. Thanks Sallie, your comments are always welcome. Keep safe and take care Diane

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  2. The horse looks short for its size. The speckled butterfly has amazing markings. I had to look twice at the rainbow above the building. It looks like a dome. Great series.

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    1. He was quite a chubby little fellow and at the withers was certainly no higher than my waist. Not often I see a rainbow but they are generally at about the same place, Thanks Marie and take care, Diane.

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  3. Your vegetable garden is looking very nice and it will feed you well for a time. I love all the forest photos as the deep green looks so healthy and lush. Have a wonderful week Diane.

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    1. I am hoping there is enough there to see us through winter as well, we just made it this year. Last potatoes a week ago, they store well in the cool barn, and I dug new ones this week. Four plants and just over 5kg of potatoes. About 50 plants still in the ground :-) Also a lot of pumpkin and butternut which is great for through winter. Keep well and stay safe, Diane

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  4. Oh my! What a surprise to see that rainbow!

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    1. Rarely do I see one that goes a full rainbow so it was good to see this one. Stay safe, cheers Diane

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  5. I can barely imagine the work involved in a vegetable garden that size, Diane. Seems to be a task for those a little younger than us! Looks like you could feed the village, let alone the two of you. Hope that all is well and that you and Nigel are dealing with Covid-19.

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    1. You are right David, my age is telling when working in the garden but the end result pays off. Vegetables that I know where they come from and no pesticides used, they taste so much better than bought. We generally have enough to see us through winter as well. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and butternuts store well in the barn and we in fact only finished last years potatoes a week ago. Chard survives through winter anyway and does not mind a frost. Tomatoes, chillies and fruit dry well, courgettes, carrots and beans bottle well (and freeze also) but I prefer bottled. It is all work though preparing them for storage and I find everything is taking me much longer these days than it used to!
      I dug the the first 4 potato plants this week and had just over 5 kg of potatoes, I will leave the others to get bigger so the weight should be good this year 😊 (About 50 plants left!!!!)

      Keep well and stay safe, best wishes to you both. Seeing the Little owls daily at present to that keeps me sane. Diane

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  6. Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment and the visit. The rainbow is beautiful. İyi günler. Diane

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  7. How beautiful are yours pictures Daine especially flowers and animals, all beautiful, take care

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    1. Thank you Gloria for the comment. I hope all is well in your part of the world. Stay safe, cheers Diane

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  8. I believe you've been a good kind of busy. Your garden looks spectacular and you'll be really busy when harvest comes on. Love the rainbow and insect hotel. The vibrant patterns on the butterflys blow me away.

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    1. I agree it is a good kind of busy but we both find the amount of work we can do in the garden now takes so much longer then it used to!! We seem to be going through a cool spot at the moment and we will be glad when summer arrives properly. Stay safe, and keep well, Diane

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  9. The small stallion looks so friendly? All the other small stallions must like playing with him.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. Thanks Amalia for the comment. Hope all is well with you. Stay safe, cheers Diane

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  10. Another delightful post, Diane!

    I'm now beginning to realise the scale of your garden, and the work you must put into maintenance, harvesting and storing the produce - no wonder that you find yourself short of time. I'm surprised that you find any time to take photos and publish blog posts!

    Your Marbled White photos just might have given me the inspiration to go out on the next warm sunny day to see if I can find some - it would be a real highlight for me. Not much chance of finding a Wall Brown, however - they used to be common, and we had a reliable site literally just down the road from us, but they are extremely rare locally now with, as far as I'm aware, only one known site in the county.

    My best wishes to you and Nigel - take great care - - - Richard

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    1. Hi Richard, that is the main veggie garden we also have a couple of smaller ones. Yes, it is a lot of work, but oh how much better do the vegetables taste against bought ones. Trouble is as we get older everything takes much longer to it than it used to!!!

      There seems to be a lot of Marbled Whites this year! I read that there are not many Wall Browns left in the UK, I wonder why. I saw a perfect specimen today but it would not hang around long enough for me to get a photo.

      You also take care and stay safe. Best wishes to you both. Diane

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  11. Very quiet walking track. Yes, I can see the 2nd rainbow. I like your vegetable garden. The vegetables are growing well and healthy. Cute stallion and squirrel. Beautiful butterflies. Have a wonderful day. Stay safe.

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    1. Nancy every where I walk is quiet, very seldom do I ever see anyone else when I am out. The vegetable garden looks like we are going to get some great crops this year so long as the weather behaves! Keep well, Diane

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  12. Your vegetable garden has me drooling!!!

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    1. LOL, I cannot believe how much tastier the home grown vegetables are to bought ones!! Keep well Diane

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  13. Very enjoyable, lovely photos! That insect hotel was very imaginative. Wishing you a happy weekend Diane :)

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    1. Thanks Denise, A very simple insect hotel but easy enough to make! Have a good week Diane

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  14. Your summer day sounds just like my mid winter day Diane.. beautiful series of images for us here today. I am 'green' with envy over your veggie garden, I can just imagine the tasty meals made with them. Hope you make some time to relax over the weekend 💙

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    1. Vegetables from our garden just taste so much better than bought, I wonder what they do to things that are sold in the shops!!!!! Looks like our weather might improve this week 😊🌞😎 Take care Diane

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  15. I have enjoyed seeing your wonderful photographs …

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thanks Jan, your comment is much appreciated. Have a good week Diane

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  16. You captured some awesome scenes while you were out and about!

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    1. I have a lovely place to walk and I never see a soul 😊 Keep well Diane

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  17. Hi Diane - I've been wanting to come back to congratulate you on the garden and other smaller ones - the one you've shown us looks amazing ... and just the sort of veggie patch my mother always had ... love my veg and fruits. Beautiful photos too - take care - Hilary

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    1. Thank you Hilary, this year seems to be a good year so far everything is growing well, more rain than usual helps. Rhubarb, potatoes (Prospere and Charlotte), sweet potatoes, chard, parsley, coriander, basil, mangetout, butternuts, pumpkin, courgettes, carrots, haricot beans, radishes, tomatoes and chilies. Have a good week, Diane

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