Spring is Coming!

[Ashley 288]

Yes and free after 9.30am if you have a pass, typically bus left at 9.10am! so what you do is get a ticket to derby, I think it was £3.20, then once there (after 9.30) without getting off get a derby to manchester etc ticket for £0.00, loads of oap ramblers etc on bus, all did same. Interesting journey,lovely scenary (till you get to stockport!)

[Limey 242]

It's snowing - AGAIN! We had about 8" on Monday, and expect several more as the week progresses! However, I did just learn that World Superbike racing from Australia is on this weekend - so spring can't be too far away - or can it?

[firbeck 860]

Spring is here, at the moment. Last night I went outside to hear a very noisy frogs chorus coming out of the pond, our youth reckons he's seen them hopping across the road to get back into peoples gardens.

The dunnocks are lurking in the undergrowth with beaks full of moss and the robins are showing an interest in their nesting box.

Funny, when we did the springwatch the other week, there were no starlings and few sparrows, they all seem to have appeared within the past few days.

Another sign is that the passion flower has shrivelled up and died over the last couple of days, it likes the cold weather then dies back when it gets warmer, we also noticed that the broad beans are being to appear in the greenhouse.

My problem is that the nectarine tree needs spraying for leaf curl rather urgently, but it keeps raining, I'll have to do it today and cover it in plastic sheet, the weather forecast down here tomorrow is terrible, wer'e going to cop a big storm thats blasting it's way across Portugal at the moment, they're talkng of torrential rain and 90mph winds, sounds a bit worrying to me.

[Brian36 0]

It sure is my daffs are poking their leaves above ground and the crocuses are well and truly out, no snowdrops I’m afraid, planted a few dozen last year but no sign so far.

As mentioned the grass is growing and will want a cut the first few dry days we get.

Experimenting this year with growing Garlic, I have grown it before in a previous garden with great success, also with asparagus, my rhubarb has died I think, last year wasn’t a good year I only had very thin stemmed rhubarb as apposed to the previous years very thick stems.

36.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Passion flower grows wild around here on my place Firbeck, dies off in late autumn when the frosts hit and comes back in spring flowering all through summer.

[mick2me 3,033]

Can you eat the Fruit John?

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

I wouldn't imagine so, these are not the tropical passion fruit, but passion flowers, a temperate climate annual vine.

[Beefsteak 305]

Coincidence or what??

One of the wonders of the natural world is the Passion flower, not only with it's Biblical links , but also the tendrils it sends out create there own natural spring with out a coil. Firstly , on contact with a potential support they can sense whether it is a viable option , if it is it then wraps itself on and then twists its tendril firstly in one direction(Clockwise or anti) then halfway it turns the coil in the opposite direction, thus removing the potential to strangle itself if the support were to move to far in the wind (It simply straightens itself out )

Amazing what you can pick up from a book that you're in the process of reading at the time of writing !!!!!

[plantfit 7,638]

My Passion flower seems to be in the same state, all the leaves have come off now and the last fruits fell off during the snow about three weeks ago, Skylarks are now rising and singing in the back field, the pheasants are beginning to act a bit randy towards their harem as do the Partridges, still no sparrows though but a nightly roosting display from the Starlings, I also notice quite a lot of Swans (mute) out in the fields more than usual for this time of year, 38 in one field down Martin fen last evening, I agree with you Brian about having to cut the grass as soon as it gets a bit drier, I don't think it's really stopped growing over the winter though. By the way I have been asked to carry out a "Breeding bird survey" for the Notts wildlife trust from March till June on one of their nature reserves so that should be interesting. enough for now

Rog

[firbeck 860]

Yesterday was horrendous, we had the predicted monsoon, though the winds weren't as bad as suggested, even our nutter JR wouldn't step outside the door, not surprising, the lawn had become a swamp, never seen it like that before.

Today is all sweetness and light, I'm about to go and investigate the state of the river, looks pretty bad from the window, but fortunately I'm way above it's flood level, wellies on and lets see what the dogs think about all this.

[Beefsteak 305]

Sure signs of Spring??? The Snowdrops are looking good , The pair of Ravens are gathering 'Branches' (Still don't know where they are building though)The sun is out a, I've been taking photos of some military stuff high , high up (Too high to do a positive ID but I think they were F-15s on their way to the Mach Loop, The kids are in the garden playing on their bikes, and ignoring their Nintendo DSs for a bit!!!

[Beefsteak 305]

And I wake this morning to half an inch of frost everywhere !!!!

[firbeck 860]

Yep, same here, not a cloud in the sky though. I'm worried about the frogs in the pond, I've had to go out and do a bit of ice breaking. It's a good job I put a cover on the nectarine tree as the buds are all opening out.

Where's the Mach Loop by the way, would that be the low flying area in Central Wales.

[Beefsteak 305]

That's the fellow

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machynlleth

One of these days I'm going to be fit enough to get up there and take some of those fantastic pictures you see on the aviation web sites , like on here!!!

http://www.lowfly.net/index.html

[loppylugs 8,429]

Snowing like crazy here in Georgia this morning.

Oh well! reminds me of Canada.

[Limey 242]

It has been hitting the 40's since Saturday here - gorgeous blue skies today! About half the snow has melted - with luck it will all be gone by the weekend and, just maybe, a crocus will poke it's head up?

[radfordred 6,284]

Climate change / Global warming ! My backyard

Last week.

[Beefsteak 305]

Wake up this morning , take the dustbin out, notice the car is well frozen up, get the kids ready for school, and go out side with a kettle of hot water to 'do' the windscreens only to find it's thawed out completely in 20 minutes flat !!!! Wierd or what??

[mick2me 3,033]

Mine was frozen solid at 0620.

Temperature showed as 28 degrees!

[Beefsteak 305]

My that was cold , it froze the bloody thermometer!!

[Fynger 841]

Beefy...you need a new kettle if it takes 20 mins to boil

[plantfit 7,638]

Not sure whether this should come under wildlife, spring is coming or a childhood pleasure because thats what I felt like after seeing a Great Grey Shrike (lanius excubitor) or Butcher bird as it is sometimes called because it hangs it's prey on thorns in the bushes until it's ready to eat it, prey being insects, small birds, and mammals to the size of stoats, this is a bird that is not as big as a blackbird. First time I have ever seen one, it is/was between Welbourn and the A15, only about 8 miles east of Newark so I suppose it nearly counts as Notts. Any way I'm chuffed (only about 40 in the UK)

Cheers

Rog

[firbeck 860]

Great sighting Rog, how did you spot it and pick up on what it was, must be more of a story to it.

The only time I've seen one in the UK was at the Minsmere Reserve about 30 years ago, it was sitting on a fence quite close to us, I think they were breeding there then but I'm sure they've gone now. I recall having to go on a holiday that I hated in the Algarve once, luckily for me, there was some derelict land next to the appartment complex that I discovered was inhabited by a pair of Shrikes, I prefered to sit and watch them building up their larder than sitting by the bloody pool.

It's great when the unexpected appears. I used to work in a luxury barn conversion office in the middle of the Essex countryside, we had a huge reception area with 2 storey windows, I was fiddling about on the computer in there one spring day and saw this 'blackbird' hopping along the windows and looking in, I then realised it had a bright red tail, it was a Black Redstart, not an Essex country species, again, the only time I've seen one in the UK, it must have been a continental migrant.

The weather has been fantastic here the last few days, freezing cold, but glorious. In a mad moment we got up early and took the dogs for a walk yesterday at about 7:30, it was fantastic, not much wildlife apart from noisy woodpeckers, but we saw some rarities by the river, for here, a yellow wagtail and a couple of snipe. The Sparrow Hawks are very active around the garden at the moment, I hope they are tempted by the large number of starlings that have suddenly appeared.

More pruning yesterday, I'm trying to persuade the grape vines to go where I want them to, we're still waiting for news on the allotment though, we're all ready to go, plants all over the place and spuds in egg boxes in the shed.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Spring IS here!! Was in the 70's yesterday and forecast to be about the same today!!!

[Limey 242]

Sortof here too - only about 50% of the snow is left - and we have 50F forecast for today. One or two green shoots showing in the front (East facing) garden - the boss says they are Hostas.