Autumn is upon us...

[FLY2 10,108]

As the weather hasn't been too chilly this last few evenings, I've sat on the patio with the chiminea lit, and it's been quite pleasing watching the birds are squirrels.

However, one thing has caught my eye recently, and I wonder if any of you bird experts can answer this. Every night about 6 pm, literally dozens if not hundreds of crows have flown across the garden in what appears to be a NE to SW direction. Locally, that is Bestwood Park to Basford. Are they migrating, or is it the same crows every evening ? I just don't know. 

[FLY2 10,108]

Sparrows and blackbirds seem in short supply recently though. However, plenty of various tits about.

[Jill Sparrow 10,304]

My garden has had several blackbirds nesting this year. Also had wrens nesting in the trachycarpus and robins right at the bottom of the garden. Seem to be having less visits from the Sparrowhawk which often resulted in piles of feathers under the trees.

[FLY2 10,108]

We had blackbirds nesting in the Montana which grows over the gate, and robins somewhere in the privet besides the shed. 

No sparrow hawk this year for some reason. Plenty of blooming wood pigeons though !

[Compo 10,328]

Ah yes....."Stop with the hop." Was that the Kimberly motto or did that belong to one of the other locals?

 

Hops grow well in my polytunnel - in fact they have to be kept under control or they would take over the entire tunnel.  They also grow outside but as you would expect, the yield and quality of hops is not very good in comparison to the south.

[FLY2 10,108]

Over the weekend, I took a plum  flan out of the freezer as I didn't fancy it, and threw it in the waste bin. However, when it had thawed out, I unwrapped it, scraped the fruit off the top, and put the base on the lawn. Yesterday I noticed about six blackbirds pecking away merrily. 

I've just looked out of the bedroom window, and it's nearly all gone. Brilliant !

[katyjay 5,090]

Down here, we are not allowed to feed the birds, brings all kinds of vermin into the gardens, but up north I can merrily chuck out any scraps of food. And I do, and it doesn't matter how weird, it will be gone the next day. 

[loppylugs 8,427]

Snakes should be hibernating by now but maybe not in sunny Az.

[katyjay 5,090]

Thankfully, we don't seem to see them around here. But I'm sure this cold weather (70's) will make them hibernate, LOL.

[loppylugs 8,427]

We have been in the forties overnight and sixties during the day.  Hard to believe in Dixie.  Although I have seen snow here on occasion.

[Compo 10,328]

A tip for feeding the birds is to make a little extra next time you mash some potatoes and mix it thoroughly with wild bird seed - they love it.

[FLY2 10,108]

Since my marathon leaf clearing session on Sunday, my garden has been absolutely inundated with birds getting seeds and insects. In just ten minutes this morning whilst having my breakfast, I noted several types of tit, wood pigeons, city pigeons, collared doves, blackbirds, goldfinches, starlings, various types of sparrow, and a robin. Plus of course the family of squirrels. Five this morning, the most I've seen together. 

On the way to walk my daughters dog, I popped in Homebase at Daybrook for yet more feed. A 12.5kg bag of mixed wild bird feed was £5.99. Very reasonable. 

[Compo 10,328]

#25: I grow hops both in the polytunnel and in the open. those in the tunnel obviously do better than the outdoor ones but nonetheless I still get a usable crop from outdoors (some years), despite the latitude.

[Compo 10,328]

Fly2: Is it rooks?  They gather in huge herds at this time of year.  They roost as a flock.

[FLY2 10,108]

Could be I suppose Compo, I just assumed it was crows as they are fairly numerous around here. 

[Compo 10,328]

Take a look at their beaks.  If they are white, they are rooks.  Rooks also stand upright on the ground, whereas crows stand with their heads and tail in line, more or less horizontally.

[FLY2 10,108]

Thanks Compo, ill look next time I see some on the ground.

The ones I saw the other week were about 100ft in the air, so it was impossible to differentiate them. 

Maybe Specsavers can help !

[Compo 10,328]

One of the nice things about a garden is that it is always in a state of flux. It changes almost daily and each time you go and take a look around you see something different.  At this time of year it is fungi that pop up all over the place; some big and some tiny.  They come in all sorts of different colours and shapes.  Here's an example of a fungus that is new to my garden - I first spotted it yesterday whilst cleaning out the pond filter.  It is a 'Polyporus varius' and is a very strange fungus.  It has the thickness and texture of leather and has no gills or visible pores.  Handling it is like holding a piece of damp shoe tongue. It is not an edible variety.

 

 

[FLY2 10,108]

Well Autumn is well and truly upon us now, and although I love the changes in colour to the foliage, the leaves are beginning to fall rapidly now. The oranges, reds, bronzes and golds give a different perspective to the garden, but I've spent the last few hours raking up the Japanese Maple, and silver birch leaves. The annoying thing is, I'll now be doing it weekly up until about March. 

I've then just mown the small stuff up, and it'll all go onto my compost heaps in readiness for next spring !

A cuppa and Genoa cake, then it's prepare myself mentally for Strictly tonight !  I love it. 

[Oztalgian 3,270]

Autumn in Nottingham equals spring downunder and last night we put our clocks forward now our curtains will fade, the cows will not know when to be milked and the birds will not know what time to start the dawn chorus.

Even worse the people who live on the NSW/Queensland border that are on the same line of longitude now have a time difference of one hour. NSW has daylight saving Qld does not. The state border passes through the Gold Coast/ Coolangatta Airport. The airport actually runs on Qld time but when staff and passengers are in the terminal building their phones often change timezones — when they are in the southern end of the terminal their phones change to NSW time and when they are in the northern end of the terminal to Queensland time how stupid is that!

[plantfit 7,580]

And I thought the UK had lost the plot.

 

Rog

[Compo 10,328]

It being autumn I thought I'd make a few changes to my hedgerows. First of all I cut through from the tunnel garden to the Beer garden, making a new entrance that should make the beer garden more readily accessible in fine weather.  Secondly, I decided that a cut-through from the tunnel to the greenhouse would be a good idea instead of walking around the two gardens to get there.  I cut a large swathe through the hedge, stood back and realised - I had cut through in the wrong place - ARGH!  Fortunately, I hadn't dug out the roots so the hedge should grow back in due course.  Meanwhile I have made another cut-through close by, which should do the job better.

[Compo 10,328]

Spotted these giant fungi in Glen Affric last Thursday - they are about a foot in diameter.  I identified them but unfortunately, they are not edible varieties.

 

 

[Oztalgian 3,270]

2 hours ago, Compo said:

First of all I cut through from the tunnel garden to the Beer garden

You've got a Beer Garden now I am impressed!

[Compo 10,328]

Currently doing a bit of work on the beer garden, Oz. I have seriously pruned a hazel tree that was blocking light to the picnic table and I'm cutting back the hedges on one side and ash trees on the other.   The aim is to let in more light and sun, when it bothers to shine, and thus make it more pleasant to sit out with my pint instead of in the tunnel doorway.  Before the tunnel there was only the beer garden and so we sat out in it whatever the weather.  Since then it has become somewhat overgrown and not as frequently used.  The winter work should rectify this