Thursday 26 November 2009

After the Storms

Mahonia x charityI have been away for the last few weeks and therefore unable to post.

Today was the first occasion to look around the garden to see what has been happening while I was away.

Apparently it has been quite stormy - high winds and heavy rain. Most of the leaves have gone from the trees, which is rather a godsend. As you can imagine, with so many trees in the garden, leaf clearing is a huge job which usually lasts from September to December. The ash leaves are usually the first to fall and the oak the last. This year, maybe we can get them cleared by early December.

There is not much flowering at this time of year, just some Winter-flowering Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) and Mahonia (Mahonia x charity), but they add a little bit of colour.

There are still lots of fungi. The lawns are peppered with what look like tiny Waxcaps (Hygrocybe), white and yellow, but I have not been able to identify them exactly yet. There are also Blackening Waxcaps (Hygrocybe nigrescens), Shaggy Parasols (Macrolepiota rhacodes), Deceivers and some Cup fungi which I am not sure about.

While I have been away, the birds emptied the feeders and then disappeared. They turned up again very quickly when I replenished, including 2 very greedy crows and the athletic magpies which manage to hang onto the feeders like the little birds. There were also a couple of mistle thrushes around the house today.

Luckily we don't seem to have had any storm damage and let's hope we are in for a calmer winter.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Finally a Hare Photo

European Hare - Lepus europaeusThere have been hares (Lepus europaeus) in the garden for some time, but they have proved very elusive and, until today, I have been unable to get a photo.

Just before it got dark this evening I saw this little chap (chapess?) nibbling away on the lawn. I managed to sneak up on it and take this photo, although I did not really get close enough.

What a magnificent creature. It is larger and lighter coloured than a rabbit with quite distinct long ears.

I hope it will make itself at home so that I can get a better chance of a photo.

Sunday 1 November 2009

Autumn Colours

Autumn ColoursThey promised heavy rain and stormy winds this weekend, so I thought I should take some photos of the autumn colours in the garden while the leaves are still there!


It has been a very pretty autumn and there are a surprising number of leaves still on the trees even though it is the first of November today. The tree in the foreground is a beech and its leaves are still remarkably green.

The high winds and rain did materialise and our driveway is now ankle deep with leaves.