20/01/2022 Three weeks since my last post - I must do better !

  The maximum temperature here today is 7⁰C, minimum 2⁰C. Blue skies but with quite a lot of clouds. Wind 15km/h North-Easterly winds with gusts up to 33 km/h.  4mm of rain was measured this morning.  We have had a very chilly week, today thankfully it is a bit warmer. 

The Christmas decorations in our supermarket just after New Year....

and the window of my hairdresser with reflections from outside and the lights inside.

Fascinating clouds that just caught my eye.

A Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) on a frosty morning.

A walk around the January garden......

A raindrop showing the house upside down!

European Holly (Ilex aquifolium).  No berries this year!!

Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana).

Hydrangea dried on the plant.

Calendula (Calendula officinalis).

Viburnum tinus.

A surviving but very brave rose.

Camellia japonica bud..

Playing with the Pampas grass. 😉

We have had a few icy mornings.

Eurasian Running Crab Spider (Philodromus dispar) on the poinsettia.

13th January

14 January

16 January about 20 minutes before the Full Wolf Moon.  Clouds moved in about an hour after taking this photo!

19 January after a very stormy day.

A lovely surprise 9 January when this Cirl Bunting ( Emberiza cirlus) was spotted on the verandah.

More photos on my bird blog.

My local list of wildflowers. (91 Species 02/12/2021).

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World.

10/01/2021 Trying to catch up......

   Maximum temperature here today 3⁰C, minimum -2⁰C.  Dry  26km/h North-easterly winds with gusts up to 52 km/h.  

I apologise for not answering comments on my last post but feel now, that it is far too late.  There were no questions to be answered, so to all of you now I can only say Happy 2021 and let us hope that the vaccines will soon work, and the rising numbers of COVID cases will soon drop.  The numbers now are beginning to have names and I have lost one friend in South Africa to date.

Much has been going on and time never seems to be on my side.  I will though try to get a few blogs done over the next few weeks.  These photos were all taken in December, I still have to work on January!!!

23 December Nigel had an appointment in Soyaux the other side of Angouleme, we really picked a bad day for the drive!

Sunset, not the same day as above.

I just liked the reflection in this muddy puddle seen out walking.

The Gorse seems to have the dates all wrong as do many other plants!

Common Holly (Ilex aquifolium).

Our garden on a very grey day when a glimmer of sun suddenly poked through a cloud

Flowers on the rosemary.

Seen out walking, the farmer's way of hooking up the telephone line!!

Ivy in an oak tree.

Striped Toadflax (Linaria repens).

Sitting Bull!!

The local, quite small chateau.

Box Holly (Ruscus aculeatus).

Mistletoe.

Puzzle that we both did over the Christmas week - not easy!!

Take care everybody, keep well and stay safe.

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World.

 

10/02/2019 Spring must be in the air but I am sure it will not last...

Maximum temperature today 12C, minimum 5C.  2mm rain measured this morning;  rain on and off today not measured as yet.  32km/h North-westerly winds with gusts up to 78 km/h. 

  

A walk around the garden.

Snowdrop.

Bergenia Cordifolia.

Cotoneaster.

Crocus...

As above.

Holly.

Choisya ternata.

Viburnum in bud.

Winter broccoli from the garden.

Something I rarely see... sunrise.

I have updated my bird blog HERE.

04/11/2018 An odd collection of photos.....

Maximum temperature today 16C, minimum 6C.  Dry; 19km/h South-Easterly winds with up to 38 km/h gusts. 

We have had a few cold and damp days so the fire has been working overtime.

Indoors the Christmas cactus has got the months a bit muddled, but it is good as we will be away for Christmas anyway.

We are both Porsche fans as you can see.  I made this garage many years back in South Africa as a present for Nigel.

House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) and Eurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto)

Common crane (Grus grus), also known as the Eurasian crane.  They were milling around in the sky yesterday getting into bigger groups ready to fly South for winter.

Look what the bit of sun brought out...

Bee as above...

and a bumblebee.

The holly is starting to look very pretty.

Petunias after a shower of rain a couple of days back.

Still some roses around.

And for those of you that could not see what I could in the clouds....

Does this help 🎠😉

I have at last updated my bird blog HERE