28/08/2018 Anniversary and around the garden.

Maximum temperature today 33C, minimum 16C.  Dry except for a couple of drops of rain late evening that did not even measure in the rain gauge; 9 km/h South-easterly winds with up to 29 km/h gusts. 

Waiting for friends to arrive to celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary.  How time does fly when you are having fun!

Note how brown the lawn is!!!!

Comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album).

As above.

Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta).

Red Admiral and a Comma.

As above.

Red Admiral in flight.

Unknown moth but I thought it was pretty!

Pumpkins.

Butternut squash.

Granny Smith apples.

Californian poppies.

My bird blog

has been updated HERE

06/10/2017 Oil delivery and around the garden.

Maximum temperature 17C,  minimum 10C.  11 km/h NE wind with 34 km/h gusts. I think there was a shower in the early hours this morning but not enough to measure in the gauge.

The heating oil was delivered this morning...

not much room in our road...

and he cannot get in the gate...

the driver watching the level as the tank fills

The same rose, day six....

and the bud which you can see behind yesterday's rose of day 5.

Today's harvest - butternuts 7.8kg (17.2 lb), pumpkins 13.5 kg (30 lbs)  and squash 1.4 kg (3.2 lbs)  (which was one lone self seeded plant).

Crane fly

I just loved the way the sun was catching the fennel.

Speckled Wood.

Sunset before dinner....

and after dinner, probably about 3/4 of an hour between these two photos.

20/09/2017 More wood cutting and only a few garden shots.

Maximum temperature 20C,  minimum 8C.  7 km/h SE wind with 17 km/h gusts. Dry and quite pleasant :-) 

An unusual positional shot of a Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

As above.

This common wall lizard does not look comfy but it seemed quite happy posing on the edge of the compost bins

The Peacock butterfly looks so dull with closed wings...

Here is is again being bombed by a bee...

After about the sixth bombing the butterfly gave up and moved....

here to give me a beautiful shot. (Aglais io)

There are fairies and elves living in our garden.

Le gendarme beetle on the lavender (Pyrrhocoris apterus).

Rose bud.

Pumpkin.

Sweet potatoes, carrots (yellow and orange) and tomatoes.  The largest sweet potato weighed in at 1.11 kg (2.3 lbs)!!

10/07/2017 A walk in the garden and I got wet!

Maximum temperature 22C, minimum 14C.   35 km/h SW winds. 18mm rain measured this morning but we have had more rain since.

Tabanus autumnalis Diptera -Tabanidae Horse-fly

They have a very nasty bite!!!!  This particular fly was about 40mm long at a guess (1¾  inches) it was huge.

Bee in a pumpkin flower

as above.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)

Ladybird...

as above.

Fly on the thyme flowers

A very small hoverfly also on the thyme.

Shield bug.

Leek flower with insect.

Love in a Mist.

First sign of pumpkins appearing.

Eurasian Collared-Dove, 

My first zinnia of 2017 just opening.

Today's produce from the garden.