Maximum temperature today 10C, minimum 2C. 13 mm of rain measured last night. North Westerly winds; 12 km/h with up to 29 km/h gusts.
Great tit female ( Parus major) ...
As above ...
Checking the skies...
Hmm what it that I see down there...
Good, I found a sunflower seed.
Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) Look right ...
Look left...
Final decision was that the water was too cold 😏
Male House sparrow hiding in the shrub. (Passer domesticus).
One lone crocus in the garden...
and today's produce from the vegetable garden. Orange and yellow carrots, Jerusalem artichoke (Topinambour) in the background.
A great looking harvest!
ReplyDeleteThanks Marie, maybe not supermarket quality in looks, but we know where they come from, and know they have not been subjected to any 'extra pesticides'!! Diane
DeleteTen degrees huh? we should be so lucky. Spring is on its way.....maybe already there.
ReplyDeleteWe are certainly heading for a few warmer days but the rain is returning as well. We have now had enough for a while! Well of course if the forecast has it right!! It needs to be well over 20C for me to appreciate it though. Keep warm Diane
DeleteThe carrots look quite tasty. I don't know about the Jerusalem artichoke. I've never eaten one.
ReplyDeleteI definitely like the tits. They are very similar to some birds here but not quite as colorful as the blue tit.
Love carrot and Jerusalem artichoke soup very yummy, also JA and onion lightly fried is good. In summer they are good raw in salad. Many things you can do with them. The blue tits are the friendliest of all our garden birds and the easiest for me to photograph. Have a good week Diane
DeleteI know you and Nigel really enjoy having veggies from your own garden. I'm not familiar with yellow carrots, and the one time I had artichoke didn't look like yours. I can tell you though, I really like carrots especially in homemade soup or beef stew. :)
ReplyDeleteYour little bird looking down; that is precious although the rest are cute also.
Take care!
xixi
Sally this year I plan on planting orange, yellow and purple carrots, should be interesting. You probably had Globe Artichoke which is totally different. They belong to completely different families of plants. Globe artichoke is a large thistle that belongs to the thistle family. Jerusalem artichoke, also known as sunchoke, is a sunflower-like plant that belongs to the aster family, and what we eat are the roots. I have two different varieties of the latter. The plants look the same but the roots look different!!
DeleteHope all is well and that you have a good week. Diane x
I am so envious of your garden's produce :-)
ReplyDeleteAt least we get to have fresh veg and know where it has come from without pesticides used :-) Cheers Diane
DeleteA nice array of garden birds - at least I still see one of them on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteCheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Guess that is the sparrow, they seem to be plentiful world wide at present. Hope you have a good week, cheers Diane
DeleteHello dear Diane :)
ReplyDeleteLovely series on the Great tit female, I can see your weather is as dull as mine at the foot of the Pyrenean mountains!
Many thanks for your kind comments while I was away, it means much to me :)
After the sunny Masaï Mara and Baringo lake (+35°C in the shade, which I love!) disembarking from the plane in Roissy was quite a chock!
Can't tell you much about the settings of the sunrise with my Mac (1/200s, Apert. 9) but usually your speed must remain low, depending if you're holding your camera or if it is on tripod (then you can lower even more). An Aperture nearing the lower numbers, ie 5.6, will give you more light in the picture. So one must chose the settings according to the results wanted. I hope this helps!
And yes indeed it is Thomson's gazelle with the Hartebeast.
This trip was a real wonder and since the 2 camps were far from full, the staff treated me as a princess!!
Looking forwards to return next year! LOL!
O hope you are well and let's hope we get sunnier days ahead!
Warm hugs and keep well
Hi Noushka, you and I enjoy the same temperatures :-) I will never get used to winter !!
DeleteThanks for the settings it gives me an idea to work with as we often get good sunsets here though not a patch on Africa. I need to leave the house for sunrise so they are pretty rare!!!! Too many barns in the way. Glad that you were treated so well and that you are hoping to return. We want to go back to RSA but too many complications for this year unless it is really necessary which we hope not. The friend who drove us all through Botswana is having cancer treatment so we are hoping that he will be well again and we will all enjoy more time in the bush, maybe next year.
Keep warm it looks like the temps are going up a bit but not really enough :-)
Take care, warm hugs Diane
Oh how I love looking at these sweet wee birds Diane, you capture their personalities perfectly! I see a yummy pot of carrot soup in the making there ☺
ReplyDeleteCarrot and Jerusalem Artichoke makes a fantastic soup together. Take care Diane
DeleteCute and pretty bird! Garden produce is always safer and tastier than those bought from the supermarket.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt about it. So much more flavour. Diane
DeleteOh Diane, your photos are so beautiful!!! The Eurasian tit is so pretty and funny! I LOVE that decided not to enter the cold water!!! Kisses, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThe birds all have different characters, I could watch them for hours if I had the time. Keep well Diane
DeleteLooks like its getting warmer for you. We have a heat wave at the moment with 35°C most days this week. Inland have 45°C. Looking forward to cooler weather. Love how you grow your own food.
ReplyDeleteThe temperature is all over the place but it will be a while yet before I call it warm!!!! Take care t'other Diane
Delete'Same old' but still enchanting birds. It is so nice having home grown veges. The soil in my garden is very clayey and difficult to turn so root veg don't do well but I do grow my own herbs, garlic (in a window box) and cherry tomatoes, but I loose most of those to the monkeys! Hope your cough is improving, Kim.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of clay and when I first tried carrots it was a disaster, but over 15 years of digging and adding compost carrots and parsnips now grow well. If we had monkeys around here I doubt if I would even try to grow veg. The rabbits are bad enough but at least the garden is now fenced. Cough just the same!! Take care Diane
DeleteI agree with you, Diane, leopards and wild dogs are fabulous animals.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for the latter, things are very hectic and they are becoming seriously endangered so is the cheetah sadly.
Enjoy your evening :)
The wild dogs also have dog diseases to contend with and a lot of snaring in Zimbabwe. It is a constant threat to them. Despite all the problems the 'powers that be' still give license to hunters for trophy shooting Grrrrrrrr. Keep well hugs Diane
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