Yesterday we had Brimstone butterflies dashing around… and I saw a small, blue butterfly (not large, but bigger and darker blue than a Holly Blue).
I mentioned these sightings to my walking pal… and she solemnly declared that Spring must be on the way!!
Still not actually spotted any Grue, but they can’t be far away now. Our church spire is a regular meeting place and (sometimes) they circle around for what seems like hours.
Box hedging is full of stinky flowers. Hazel trees are full of catkins, gorse is ablaze, forgetmenots, daisies, primroses, daffies, crocuses, hyacinths etc etc are going mad, but no snowdrops this year, not so far.
The Bee Orchids are showing their leaves, as is the lone Lizard Orchid (which I’m guarding from over zealous grasscutting).
Crossed fingers we don’t get a nasty frost and lose the lot.
Lots of butterflies and bees buzzing about down here, little lizards scurrying around too.The ants have started their work in long processions (they are huge black ones) and the birds seem to be increasing in numbers. Mimosa been out for weeks all along the apricot, pommegranite and peach orchards and vineyards and its been very warm, over 20°C most afternoons. My neighbour gave me a bag of lemons off his tree yesterday and they smell wonderful so have sliced some and put in layers of baking parchment to have with my G&T as they freeze well.
As of this past night, the local toad population has evidently decided winter’s over, and it’s now warm enough to head off to make baby toads. This is the haul from this morning at the local toad collection point, to prevent them from being run over on the busy valley road…
I once saw the opposite end of their journey. I was working beside the Dead Sea in Jordan and a few grues started circling above us. A few more kept joining them until there seemed to be thousands endlessly circling above us. Then eventually, as if someone had fired a starting gun, they all headed north.
There have been grues coming across the Pyrenees for the last couple of weeks but the sizes of the flocks seem smaller than usual.
@Stella - I haven’t got the Flower Fairies book but we did have the complete set of Villeroy & Bosch Flower Fairy Plates. That was until they were stolen from a large packing box that we didn’t have time to bring into the house on the first day we moved here. That and a statue bought with inheritance money from my late sister went missing. We’ve never replaced the statue which we called Echo but is commonly known as Shy Girl. To be honest, we’ve not seen one to match the quality of the original one.
Back on topic - our first tête-à-tête is about to open up. We’ve got loads of primroses and greater celandine along our dykes. We’ve got 3 large concrete water troughs full of different bulbs which are all up and in bud (except the tulips). And Stuart did the first mowing session of the year yesterday.
Grues going overhead in large foramtions for the past week.
Snowdrops up for a couple of weeks now. Daffodils are showing, so are Hyacinths
Camelia in full bloom
Bees and a big yellow butterfly sighted + promptly chased by the cats…
It’s been a pretty warm week, and I’ve made the most of it with my gardening jobs. Bees, butterflies, caterpillars munching through my kale, cranes have been passing overhead on a semi-regular basis. I did hear some in December and January, which was unusual. I did my first cut of the grass this year.
The buds are coming out, and hopefully the fruit trees will hold fast until all danger of frost has passed.
They’re gently guided (by sheets of plastic barriers stopping them crossing the road) into buckets sunk into a ditch. The buckets are then emptied early every morning onto the wetlands the other side of busy roads, during the mass breeding migration of the toads. If they weren’t emptied daily, various predators would enjoy tasty, organic, fresh, zero food miles ‘toad in the hole’ - with no batter required!
This shows the hole being dug to house one of many buckets in the ditch…the plastic sheeting is stapled to wooden pickets and sealed with earth so the toads can’t get under it,onto the road.
Last night, we saw 2 foxes. Separate occasions but on the same stretch of our road. didn’t seem to mind the car lights, each was in a world of its own.
A little further , we spotted something odd shuffling along the edge of the ditch. It was a badger. Never seen one alive before, so we very slowy trundled along on dipped beam, letting it wander this way and that and we had the chance to really look at it.
After what seemed ages, but was probably no more than 5 minutes, it finally ambled across the road in front of us… and off into the trees and fields beyond.
@George1 we saw several frogs hopping across the road. did our best not to run 'em over. didn’t see any toads
We had a toad for several years, overwintered under a clematis. Not seen it for a couple of years, but we did/do have them on the other side of the house and even one indoors… I’m careful to keep doors closed now
… this year, we’ve not seen hide nor hair 
