Whilst the physical location for my second stint at the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch wasn't quite as comfortable as my kitchen there did seem to be plenty more birds on display down at the WWA today.Whilst others took part in the main working party activity the bird spotting team managed to see the following: Bullfinch Redwing Great spotted woodpecker Blackbird (2) Collared dove (14) Greenfinch Robin (2) Blue tit (3) Dunnock (3) House sparrow Song thrush (2) Jackdaw (20) Chaffinch (5) Goldfinch (1) Long tailed tit (5) Wood pigeon (6) Great tit (2) Magpie (2) Wren Mallard (6) Coot ... read more
RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch
Quite a nice way to start the day. Cup of tea to hand. Seat looking out over the snow covered garden. Binoculars and bird book ready. Cue lots of birds. Or not, as the case may be. The morning I spent an hour taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. Compared to when we first moved in here we certainly seem to have attracted more birdlife to the garden. Our results weren't spectacular with eleven different species in total (blackbird, black headed gull, blue tit, carrion crow, coal tit, dunnock, great tit, house sparrow, mapgie, robin and woodpigeon) but I was still more ... read more
Birds, cake, nappies and gardening
It's been one of those weekends where loads seems to have happened if you know what I mean. As it had seemed like such a long time since Mr C and I had had a day out anywhere we planed to make the most of the dry weather and lack of snow and headed up the A1 to the RSPB reserve at Sandy. We've been RSPB members for a while now, but often don't seem to make enough use of our membership and this trip was an attempt to turn that around. I was amazed at how large the reserve site was as it provided several different walking routes around through a mix of heathland, ... read more
First snow of the year
The garden's looking even whiter this morning and the snow's still coming down! The good news is that after a very late night I did manage to sleep in my own bed after a wonderful night at the top of the Gherkin (more about that later). Walking through snow does mean that you use a whole different set of leg muscles to normal and boy am I feeling that today! It's stil that lovely wet snow that clings to everything at the moment so everywhere's looking very picturesque. Not sure how much longer some of the branches will be able to take the weight though. Our new little ... read more
A cold snap
There's no doubt about it, it's pretty damn cold out there right now. This is how the garden looked yesterday morning as the sun came up. It didn't look much different by the time the sun went down yesterday afternoon! A couple of bit of grass had ben in the sun and therefore returned to green, but come this morning and all is white again.We've not yet had more snow here, but I understand that this is highly likely to change in the next 24 hours. In fact, most of the country is likely to be white over by tomorrow morning. Even London is likely to be covered. Of course this has ... read more
Snow in St Albans
At least 5 inches of snow overnight. Looking doubtful that I'll make it to London for my last day at work! ... read more
Scott’s View
There is something quite magical about the Scottish Borders and I think that this panorama from Scott's View gives a fantastic example. With the Cheviot Hills in the background and the River Tweed running through the valley there is no wonder that this was Sir Walter Scott's favourite view. When ever he passed along the road he always stopped his horses so that he could take in the view. The story goes that his funeral procession also passed this way and that the horses stopped of their own accord to allow their master one final look. ... read more
Autumn oranges
Looking around the garden at the end of October there ere numerous different shades of orange to give it a very autumnal feel. Just a shame that yesterday's autumn weather seems to have been replaced by the depths of winter today. Torrential rain and gale-force winds. Hope it isn't a sign of what's to come over the next couple of months. ... read more
A wet weekend
After an incredibly wet Saturday we were woken in the early hours of Sunday morning by yet more rain. Looking out of the bedroom window the wind was raging, the road turned into a river and several rumbles of thunder passing overhead. We therefore headed down to the WWA this afternoon expecting to see some degree of damage from the weather. Luckily we were proved wrong. The butterfly garden seemed to have escaped the worst of the wind, and with only a couple of small exceptions, most of the plans were still standing proud. There weren't that many butterflies to be seen today, but the bees ... read more
Village cricket
One tradition Mr C and I have every summer is to pop down to Mr C's dad's local cricket club in Harpenden. It's a lovely way to spend a lazy summer Sunday afternoon, especially with a cold drink in hand.I wouldn't really call myself a cricket fan - I certainly couldn't even try to explain the rules - but any games that stops for afternoon tea has to be good in some way!Afternoon tea the last time we were there provided a great opportunity for a walk around the area and there can be nothing quite as nice as a field full of buttercups like this. Buttercups just ... read more