Remembering Summer And Preparing For Wildlife In Winter

  I had quite a few plans yesterday but youngest daughter is going away for the weekend to stay in an Airbnb with friends at the ExCel Centre in London and it was hair dying day which I was roped into, to help. You could not believe how long it takes. First there is the blonde bleach which has to be done twice as we always seem to miss a bit first time. Then it is what ever colour she is using. This time she is going pink, and that has to be done twice too and as her hair is long it seems to take hours. By the evening my hands were sore with being in and out of water all day, but she looks beautiful and bright so it was all worth it.
  In between the hair dying I thought I would tidy up the very end of the garden. It is the part that tends to be a bit neglected as we can't see it from the house. Last year I made it a little wildlife garden and made a small wildlife pond. The end of the garden is ankle deep in leaves at the moment and they have all fallen in the pond so I decided seeing my hands had been in water all day anyway I may as well clean that out. I loved it this year it was so peaceful and pretty up there sitting by our aviary. I take up a cup of coffee and sit and watch the birds.

  I doubt our little wildlife pond is  big enough to entice frogs and toads but at least it is a water supply for passing mammals and birds. I have planted a hawthorn  hedge, a butterfly bush and other bee friendly plants. I’m hoping it will pay off and all kinds of wildlife will visit. In my quest to use as many recycled items in the garden as possible I have used an old jam pan to make the pond. The wooden and metal chairs were bought at a charity sale for £5 each.

  The stones we have put around the pond were all dug up in our garden. Our house was built in 1908 on what had been a very old farm. When I looked on an old map of the area exactly where our house was farm buildings had stood and our road follows the line of the farm track.  Parts of the old walls of the farm buildings are still all around the garden. Whenever I dig up a piece I use it and display it. Comparing them to old walls on other local buildings I think they date back to the 18th century at least.

It looks much tidier up there now all the leaves have been swept up but not nearly as pretty as in the summer. I felt quite sad thinking there will be no sitting up there enjoying a cup of tea and a sandwich for months now, but at least with the bird feeders up there too it should be a little haven for the wildlife this winter.

   I have put together a video of the summer flowers that were in our garden, my Dad's garden and out and about this summer. When I'm feeling fed up with the cold wet weather I'll watch it and look forward to the summer flowers of next year. I hope you enjoy it.

 My Dad's appointment with the physiotherapist went very well yesterday and today we are taking him to see the specialist stroke nurse at her clinic. Good old NHS they are really looking after him well. Have a brilliant day what ever you are doing. xx