Dear Readers, apologies for the blurry photos but there has been a lot of fun and games in the garden ever since the weather got really cold. At the moment, it’s parakeets vs starlings, and to be honest I’m not quite sure who’s winning. You really have to admire the feistiness of the starlings when faced with a huge green parrot with a strong beak – the little guys think nothing of pecking him (and it usually is the male, at least to start with – you can tell by that strong black line around the neck). The woodpigeon will often hold out for a while as well – if it’s just one parakeet s/he can hold her own, but if there’s more than one the woodpigeon will often retreat and watch as the parakeet snaffles what’s on offer. You can almost hear the woodie harrumphing. And yes, I did just create a completely random new verb – to harrumph.
Disgruntled woodpigeon
In other news, I watched a squirrel carrying a whole chin-full of leaves up into the whitebeam earlier this week, and they’ve constructed quite a fine drey – in December the squirrels were chasing one another round and round, so I think they’re preparing to have their babies soon. It seems a bit early, but then there is pretty much year-round food here, so they should be ok. And once the leaves come, it will be pretty much hidden away.
The drey!
January can seem like a pretty quiet time in the garden, but there’s often a lot more going on than meets the eye. What’s going on for you? Any snowdrops yet?
These are delightful pictures 🙂
Our first unwelcome sign of spring is a mosquito, in the house, that bit me and has since been terminated. How it can be alive now it’s a mystery, with all the local ponds and water butts here in western Bucks frozen for days. Is it possible, I wonder, that it’s been swept here from much warmer climes with the recent storm?
Possibly it’s been blown in, but has it maybe been hiding away in the house just waiting for an opportunity 🙂
I hadn’t thought of mosquitoes hibernating but, of course you are right – it must be one that’s emerged from diapause perhaps with the extra central heating triggered by the cold.
Snowdrops in West Cornwall since Christmas, also one primrose in our garden. In Cornwall spring can follow hard on the heels of winter, with little pause between. This year though we are reeling from the impact of the Storm, with enormous loss of trees and many roads still blocked. Re harrumph, we both know the word as an exclamation and a verb, but so far can’t find it in a dictionary.
Wow, Cornwall has really been badly hit over this winter, I know…
I saw my first two snowdrops yesterday, in the lane leading to our local wood. The wood itself was battered by Storm Goretti, and one of the main paths has been totally blocked by fallen mature trees – it’s always a shock to see such impressive specimens lying on the ground. My walk was an attempt to keep warm, as we had no power for about 60 hours, from Thursday evening until this morning. It’s been a shock to realise how much we take access to heat and light for granted – not to mention the internet, which has now been restored, so I’ve been able to read and reply to this post!