Grow Your Own Magazine

Everdream - can you puncture the bottom of the bin so it drains?

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Resistance is fertile

Was watching a wildlife programme where they were trying to get footage of the "common" lizard. They said it was strange that something so difficult to spot should be called common.

Not really seen much on the allotment - but I was washing up or making breakfast - something that required I stood in front of the kitchen window anyway, and I spotted what I thought was a blackbird on the lawn having a forage. It looked strange, so I studied it a bit more and noticed it was in fact green-ish in colour and had a dappled/spotted front. I think it was a woodpecker, but having never seen one before, can't be too sure.

I'd like to know what kind of bug bit my foot last year! Bladdy thing!

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Updated - 25th August

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png

One of these?

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

Yeah, thanks for that spb, it looked pretty much identical to this photo in fact: http://www.english-country-garden.co...dpecker-19.jpg

Kind of scurried about on the lawn.

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Updated - 25th August

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png

Bit of a baby, maybe, probably eating your ants. Woodpeckers have an odd 'hop' when the move don't they.

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

I know it's not really an allotment that the following list represents but in the past year, visitors to my site have included (in the air or on the land)
Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Osprey (just passing overhead), Carrion Crow, Hooded Crow, Lapwing, Curlew, Pheasant, Red Legged Partridge, Grey Partridge, Fieldfare, Wren (nesting in my compost heap), Song Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, 20,000 Geese (thankfully overhead), Wood Pigeon (Unfortunately not overhead)
Rabbits, Hares, Field Mouse, Stoat, Rats (and I don't mean the family LOL) Foxes.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

[size="1"]Journal updated Tuesday 5th August

We don't get anything exotic in the garden but I have had bats, grey squirrels, hummingbird hawkmoths,magpie moths grasshoppers,frogs, hedgehogs, shrews, mice,leopard slugs, long tail tits & lots of other birds, butterflies & moths. Here's some pics.

Attached Thumbnails

         

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

oooh please miss..... Leopard slugs!
went over to my plot one damp morning, jumped out of my skin- thought it was a .....a... I don't know what but talk about make me jump....it was a SLUG! yes, a leopard slug and it was huge! really really huge. How can a slug make you jump...but it did!

They are huge & creepy looking aren't they but they're supposed to be less harmful than 'ordinary' slugs as they live off fungus & decaying matter, don't think they've told that to the ones in my garden though, I'm sure they nibble the plants. They are quite attractive though I suppose in their own way!

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

Not actually seen but we do know we had a badger in our garden once. Which is quite unusual because we live on an estate.

We are very sure it was a badger because of the size of the hole that had been dug in the top of the wall. We think it was after a bees nest.

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Off to China

Yes Sue, they are huge as slugs go, and also stunning to look at. Never knew they existed until I saw that first one.

When we first went to visit the allotment a couple of years ago we disturbed a Muntjac deer which was sleeping in or near the "shed". Not seen it since, but I know they live nearby, Foxes too. Actually on the plot I've recently seen all manner of birds, get lots of butterflies and dragonflies in summer. Frogs are regulars. AND THE BL***Y NEIGHBOURS CATS.

Quite luckily living in the country we tend to see quite a lot of wildlife. Seem to have resident pairs of Robins, Blackbirds and Dunnocks. We are also regularly visited by blue, coal and great tits. Wood mice and common voles also seem to have set up residence.....so much so that we have been visited a couple of times by a Barn owl. Plenty to see in the surrounding fields as well.....Buzzards, Red legged Partridge, Roe deer, sparrowhawks, foxes, and it's a good time of year for Hare watching as well. The local woods are also teeming with Red Squirrels.....we're lucky enough to be just too far north for the greys to have pushed them out.

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Detroitsburg - Where cool cars come

I think leopard slugs are carnivorous - they eat other types of slug so are definitely a good thing!

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Resistance is fertile

Where to begin? Living in a very rural setting the wildlife is quite amazng so I think that it will just have to be a list.

Birds - Sparrows, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Willow Tits, Longtail Tits, Crested Tits, Wood Peckers green and spotted, Black Redstarts, Field Fares, Redwings, Nuthatches, Tree Creepers, Sparrow Hawks, Black birds, Thrushes and passing by Buzzards, Barn Owls and Long Eared Owls.

Mammals - Field Mice, Harvest Mice, Dormice, Lerot (Garden dormice) Hedghogs, Rabbits, usually dead thankfully, Red Squirrels, Hares and passing through Deer and Badgers, No evidence of foxes or polecats although they are around.

Aquatic things - Frogs, bright green, Toads, Crested newts, back swimmers, water measurers and Water beetles

Misc - Dragonflies assorted large and small, Spiders some quite spectular, Adders nearly stood on one and Slow worms, not to mention a huge variety of butterflies and moths in a good year which last year wasn't.

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Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

a group of beautiful goldfinches visit couple of times a week.

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never be afraid to ask because a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

We have common lizards and slow worms ever year on the allotment- basking in the sun on the black weed control fabric.
Foxes visit and bury eggs, stolen from the ducks and geese on the river.
Deer pass through - never see them but see where theyv'e been.

Headfry - make sure you make a 'cage' for your hive out of chicken wire if you have a woodpecker problem!

cheers
Graham

I have seen a fox on my allotment, was more concerned with chasing him away from my chook run than taking a pic.

Also have a pair of robins, a family of blue tits and various other birds.
Red Admiral butterflies, had loads last year and found a little lizard while cleaning out my hen house too. He was only about 3 inches long, really cute.
Saw a squirrel belting through the trees along the side of my plot too on one occasion.

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I'd rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

http://hollandsroadparadise.blogspot.com
updated 14 May 2008

Hi Graham, thanks for tip, yes we know about the woodpeckers, and cover is made! have both green and spotted types around.
How are your bees?
mine are very busy!!! there seems to be a lot of them now, many more than expected for the time of year. It was such a small late swarm too.

Hi Headfry

Bees are doing well, flying most days when the temperature gets above 10degrees C. Our queen (a buckfast cypriot) seems to be laying well - but I think it maybe her last year as this is is her 3rd season. Hopefully we'll get a couple of new queens out of her, as she (and her off spring) have great temperaments and are excellant nectar/pollen collectors.
Can't wait for the first seasons honey - every year its different!

cheers
Graham

This, with lots of luck will be our first honey year! The 'girls' seem to have survived the gales, how are yours?
I have a glass quilt on so can see them (bliss) without taking hive apart - this has worked very well for my novice ways, I am not sure it was the correct thing to do trough winter but it has helped me when feeding candy. much less time taken with hive open!
What type of hive have you Graham? I'm a national girl!
I love my bees, honey is just a by product for me - but a very yummy one!
I can't wait to hear their humming on a soft summers morning, day, evening! heavenly

They have survived - amazingly still flying even in the wind. We have nationals also (3) - but only one occupied at the moment. Hopefully get altleast one more up and running this year as our queen will be retiring soon!
cheers
Graham