Bird Flue

We gave the stove its summer clean-out a bit back - swept it (got a nice pan-full of black bits), hoovered it all out, cleaned the glass, etc, etc.  Decided then to put some candles inside, so that we could enjoy the cosmetic effect of firelight, without the heat.





What we hadn't quite expected, was the sight that greeted Martin earlier today.  What he thought was a 'bird-shaped' shadow in the glass, turned out to be an actual bird (sparrow I think) that had found its way down the chimney and into the stove somehow:

It appears that the candle-holder formed a handy perch!  After taking a picture or two, Martin prepared for operation 'let the bird out' by closing the curtains, and leaving the open french doors as the main source of light.  As soon as the stove door was opened the bird swiftly made its escape, so it can't have been too traumatised by the experience - although we do now have a stove full of bird-droppings!

Baby Swallows

There were young swallows lining up on the guttering outside one of our windows today.  Most of them seemed to be fairly independent, but one was still making the most of its baby feathers and still demanding to be fed:

Also the got the action on film (twice!) - you can see how the baby flaps its wings before being fed, I'm assuming thats some kind of 'feed me, feed me' demand!

Raspberries Galore!

 

The fruit cage has definitely come into its own this year.  We do have a mouse problem which we need to look at for next year - they are burrowing under the base boards and appear to be living on a diet of strawberries, although there are always plenty left for us!  Indeed, we're still picking a good bowl of strawberries every couple of days or so, and the raspberry harvest is now well underway, and well out of reach of small furry creatures . . .


Since we've already got a good stock of jam, we've been freezing much of what we aren't actually eating.  Will have to look at raspberry recipes in due course:

Solomon's Seal Sawfly

Spotted this lot merrily munching their way through the Solomon's Seal recently - a lot of the plants had been stripped of their leaves entirely. Concerned that they'd move on to decimate more plants, Martin started picking off handfuls of the things (literally - see below!).  

Having looked them up online though, it turns out they are the larvae of the Solomon's Seal sawfly and only eat Solomon's Seal.  Since the plants grow back every Spring, I don't suppose they're really much of a problem after all - hopefully we didn't devastate the population too much!

A New Door Opens . . .

Our new garage doors were fitted today - the old ones weren't in a very good state, on one the spring had gone and it didn't open anymore, and both had warped. Now we've got two brand new doors, one of which is automatic (to save Martin getting wet on rainy days and cold in the winter!).

Anyway, here's the before and after (can you tell which is which?):

I Said There'd Be Jam!

We've been harvesting strawberries now for nearly two weeks, and as predicted last year we reached the point where it was time to make jam . . .  there's nothing quite like the smell of strawberries bubbling away on the road to jamness.  

Added a sachet of pectin to the mix this time, which made the whole process much less angst ridden, although do rather feel like I cheated.  The mix only made four jars, but expect there'll be another jam-making session in the offing in due course!

Apart from the strawberries, we've also got gooseberries that are nearly ready, and raspberries that should yield quite a crop themselves in due course.  

We picked the first of the blackcurrants today though - again there'll be a few more to follow, but probably not enough for jam this year!

Update: 6th July 2010
More strawberries - four more pots of jam!

June Sunshine!

Time for a re-cap on June's weather - a lovely sunny month, perhaps a little too dry from the lawn's perspective:

July has just started with a nice downfall of rain - which I'm sure the garden will appreciate!