The female blackbirds are getting very aggressive towards each other
and to other birds, the annual pond orgy has started (the frogs won't
stay still long enough to be counted but there's well over a dozen
hard at it today), some of the camellia buds have opened, and I've
found my first hedgehog droppings. And clearly a thrush has found its
first snail. Oh, and the flamin' starlings have gone back home which
cuts the seed consumption by half just in time to avoid the bank loan!

Now if only the fuchsias would get round to dropping last year's
leaves and the birds would get round to gobbling up the last hundred
or so crab apples to clear the way for this year's buds I might be
able to get everything in synch.

So that's winter done for this year I suppose. I wonder if we'll have
a cold spring?

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay where
the four seasons are salt,pepper,mustard and vinegar.

On 13/02/2012 12:19, Jake wrote:
The female blackbirds are getting very aggressive towards each other
and to other birds, the annual pond orgy has started (the frogs won't
stay still long enough to be counted but there's well over a dozen
hard at it today), some of the camellia buds have opened, and I've
found my first hedgehog droppings. And clearly a thrush has found its
first snail. Oh, and the flamin' starlings have gone back home which
cuts the seed consumption by half just in time to avoid the bank loan!

Now if only the fuchsias would get round to dropping last year's
leaves and the birds would get round to gobbling up the last hundred
or so crab apples to clear the way for this year's buds I might be
able to get everything in synch.

So that's winter done for this year I suppose. I wonder if we'll have
a cold spring?

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay where
the four seasons are salt,pepper,mustard and vinegar.


Our blackbirds are having to make way for redwings here. Fortunately,
we still have plenty of berries. Our pond is frozen solid, so I've not
even looked for frog activity yet. Certainly not seen a hedgehog, but
we have a very handsome fox who visits regularly for scraps.

We're promised rain for later in the week and it can't come soon enough
as far as I'm concerned. Frost drought has caused many plants to droop
or collapse entirely. A good natural watering is just what they need.
The only good thing about this icy weather is that squirrels can't dig
up my bulbs ... but neither can I plant the ones I failed to plant in
late autumn:~(.

I very much doubt we've seen the last of winter but, when we have, I'd
like a sensible spring with temps that don't freeze after an unnaturally
warm spell ... oh, and lots of overnight rain, but bright sunnny days.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

"Jake" Nospam@invalid wrote
[...]
So that's winter done for this year I suppose. I wonder if we'll have
a cold spring?

Oi you, don't talk it up!

I'm so pleased to see the snow on my back lawn has almost melted away
that I'll even forgive the grey sky and drizzle here this afternoon. At
least it's not so cold.

There are still promising fat buds on my young Magnolia stellata. I'm
hoping they've not been spoiled.

--
Sue

On 13/02/2012 13:53, Spider wrote:
On 13/02/2012 12:19, Jake wrote:
The female blackbirds are getting very aggressive towards each other
and to other birds, the annual pond orgy has started (the frogs won't
stay still long enough to be counted but there's well over a dozen
hard at it today), some of the camellia buds have opened, and I've
found my first hedgehog droppings. And clearly a thrush has found its
first snail. Oh, and the flamin' starlings have gone back home which
cuts the seed consumption by half just in time to avoid the bank loan!

Now if only the fuchsias would get round to dropping last year's
leaves and the birds would get round to gobbling up the last hundred
or so crab apples to clear the way for this year's buds I might be
able to get everything in synch.

So that's winter done for this year I suppose. I wonder if we'll have
a cold spring?

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay where
the four seasons are salt,pepper,mustard and vinegar.


Our blackbirds are having to make way for redwings here. Fortunately, we
still have plenty of berries. Our pond is frozen solid, so I've not even
looked for frog activity yet. Certainly not seen a hedgehog, but we have
a very handsome fox who visits regularly for scraps.

We're promised rain for later in the week and it can't come soon enough
as far as I'm concerned. Frost drought has caused many plants to droop
or collapse entirely. A good natural watering is just what they need.
The only good thing about this icy weather is that squirrels can't dig
up my bulbs ... but neither can I plant the ones I failed to plant in
late autumn:~(.

I very much doubt we've seen the last of winter but, when we have, I'd
like a sensible spring with temps that don't freeze after an unnaturally
warm spell ... oh, and lots of overnight rain, but bright sunnny days.


Large numbers of mistle thrushes here (London/Kent). Never really
noticed them in previous years.

On Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:07:11 +0000, stuart noble
wrote:


Large numbers of mistle thrushes here (London/Kent). Never really
noticed them in previous years.

Mistle thrushes seemed to almost disappear for a few decades but they
are coming back slowly now.

Steve

--
Neural network software applications, help and support.

Neural Network Software. http://www.npsl1.com
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. http://www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. http://www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. http://www.justnn.com

On 13/02/2012 17:05, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
On Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:07:11 +0000, stuart noble
wrote:


Large numbers of mistle thrushes here (London/Kent). Never really
noticed them in previous years.

Mistle thrushes seemed to almost disappear for a few decades but they
are coming back slowly now.

Steve


I first noticed a pair on some mistltoe (which also seems plentiful at
the moment). Then a flock of about 20 arrived and stripped a pyracantha.

On Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:57:21 +0000, stuart noble
wrote:

On 13/02/2012 17:05, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
On Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:07:11 +0000, stuart noble
wrote:


Large numbers of mistle thrushes here (London/Kent). Never really
noticed them in previous years.

Mistle thrushes seemed to almost disappear for a few decades but they
are coming back slowly now.

Steve


I first noticed a pair on some mistltoe (which also seems plentiful at
the moment). Then a flock of about 20 arrived and stripped a pyracantha.

Lucky you - having a pyracantha getting that berried up before it's
stripped. Here the berries disappear as they form. The only thing that
ever sees the new year is the crab apple which is now getting
stripped slowly.

Strangely, here we don't see mistle thrushes, only their smaller
cousins which are supposed to be rare now.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay where
the four seasons are salt,pepper,mustard and vinegar.

On 13/02/2012 16:07, stuart noble wrote:
On 13/02/2012 13:53, Spider wrote:
On 13/02/2012 12:19, Jake wrote:
The female blackbirds are getting very aggressive towards each other
and to other birds, the annual pond orgy has started (the frogs won't
stay still long enough to be counted but there's well over a dozen
hard at it today), some of the camellia buds have opened, and I've
found my first hedgehog droppings. And clearly a thrush has found its
first snail. Oh, and the flamin' starlings have gone back home which
cuts the seed consumption by half just in time to avoid the bank loan!

Now if only the fuchsias would get round to dropping last year's
leaves and the birds would get round to gobbling up the last hundred
or so crab apples to clear the way for this year's buds I might be
able to get everything in synch.

So that's winter done for this year I suppose. I wonder if we'll have
a cold spring?

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay where
the four seasons are salt,pepper,mustard and vinegar.


Our blackbirds are having to make way for redwings here. Fortunately, we
still have plenty of berries. Our pond is frozen solid, so I've not even
looked for frog activity yet. Certainly not seen a hedgehog, but we have
a very handsome fox who visits regularly for scraps.

We're promised rain for later in the week and it can't come soon enough
as far as I'm concerned. Frost drought has caused many plants to droop
or collapse entirely. A good natural watering is just what they need.
The only good thing about this icy weather is that squirrels can't dig
up my bulbs ... but neither can I plant the ones I failed to plant in
late autumn:~(.

I very much doubt we've seen the last of winter but, when we have, I'd
like a sensible spring with temps that don't freeze after an unnaturally
warm spell ... oh, and lots of overnight rain, but bright sunnny days.


Large numbers of mistle thrushes here (London/Kent). Never really
noticed them in previous years.


Wonderful. I hope we see them here soon. We certainly have enough
snails for them!

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:16:01 -0000, "Sue"
wrote:


"Jake" Nospam@invalid wrote
[...]
So that's winter done for this year I suppose. I wonder if we'll have
a cold spring?

Oi you, don't talk it up!

I'm so pleased to see the snow on my back lawn has almost melted away
that I'll even forgive the grey sky and drizzle here this afternoon. At
least it's not so cold.

There are still promising fat buds on my young Magnolia stellata. I'm
hoping they've not been spoiled.

The snow on our lawn has melted leaving a cluster of sad flattened
crocuses.

It's definitely on the way out here - the head has fallen off next door's
snowman!

--
Kathy

"Jake" Nospam@invalid wrote in message
...
The female blackbirds are getting very aggressive towards each other
and to other birds, the annual pond orgy has started (the frogs won't
stay still long enough to be counted but there's well over a dozen
hard at it today), some of the camellia buds have opened, and I've
found my first hedgehog droppings. And clearly a thrush has found its
first snail. Oh, and the flamin' starlings have gone back home which
cuts the seed consumption by half just in time to avoid the bank loan!

Now if only the fuchsias would get round to dropping last year's
leaves and the birds would get round to gobbling up the last hundred
or so crab apples to clear the way for this year's buds I might be
able to get everything in synch.

So that's winter done for this year I suppose. I wonder if we'll have
a cold spring?

I know good things are to come when my snowdrops come out and the fieldfares
come to my trees.

On 13/02/2012 18:38, Jake wrote:
On Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:57:21 +0000, stuart noble
wrote:

On 13/02/2012 17:05, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
On Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:07:11 +0000, stuart noble
wrote:


Large numbers of mistle thrushes here (London/Kent). Never really
noticed them in previous years.

Mistle thrushes seemed to almost disappear for a few decades but they
are coming back slowly now.

Steve


I first noticed a pair on some mistltoe (which also seems plentiful at
the moment). Then a flock of about 20 arrived and stripped a pyracantha.

Lucky you - having a pyracantha getting that berried up before it's
stripped. Here the berries disappear as they form. The only thing that
ever sees the new year is the crab apple which is now getting
stripped slowly.

Strangely, here we don't see mistle thrushes, only their smaller
cousins which are supposed to be rare now.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay where
the four seasons are salt,pepper,mustard and vinegar.

Every other garden has pyracantha here in the suburbs! This year the
berries were plentiful, and untouched until the latest cold spell.

I've never noticed mistle thrushes before. They create quite a stir when
they come calling so you can't miss them.

I saw a mistle thrush near my house near Amersham the other day, the first time I have ever positively identified a mistle thrush as opposed to a song thrush in SE England. I'm not confident on appearance alone, I need to hear them. I only very occasionally see song/mistle thrushes in my garden, but they have been about of late, and recalling they looked on the large side, I'm now suspecting that they are all mistle thrushes, not merely fluffed up for the cold. Maybe they've flown in from the continent to escape the cold, like other kinds of thrush do.

Saw some little egrets down in the Chess Valley on Sunday, so they haven't been scared off by the weather.

The snowdrops came out months ago. Have you been hibernating?


They might have done for you, but I still have to see one.
The crocus are flowering, well those that the mice and squirels havn't
eaten and the first daff waiting for sunshine to open fully.
David @ the wet end of Swansea Bay

"Jake" Nospam@invalid wrote in message
...
The female blackbirds are getting very aggressive towards each other
and to other birds, the annual pond orgy has started (the frogs won't
stay still long enough to be counted but there's well over a dozen
hard at it today), some of the camellia buds have opened, and I've
found my first hedgehog droppings. And clearly a thrush has found its
first snail. Oh, and the flamin' starlings have gone back home which
cuts the seed consumption by half just in time to avoid the bank loan!

Now if only the fuchsias would get round to dropping last year's
leaves and the birds would get round to gobbling up the last hundred
or so crab apples to clear the way for this year's buds I might be
able to get everything in synch.

So that's winter done for this year I suppose. I wonder if we'll have
a cold spring?

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay where
the four seasons are salt,pepper,mustard and vinegar.

Waiting patiently for the right time to plant my chitting potatoes in my
dustbin container.

Bill

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2012-02-14 18:53:22 +0000, Dave Hill
said:


The snowdrops came out months ago. Have you been hibernating?


They might have done for you, but I still have to see one.
The crocus are flowering, well those that the mice and squirels havn't
eaten and the first daff waiting for sunshine to open fully.
David @ the wet end of Swansea Bay

It depends so much on which snowdrop variety! Having lots of different
types, ours open at widely varying intervals. And we have found that,
this year, the display is much less impressive than it usually is. While
there are a lot in hedgerows nearby, there still seem to be bald patches,
so I'm wondering what's affected them. A year or two ago, this garden was
just smothered in them.

I've found that a lot of mine are coming up blind and so are my species
crocuses.