What on Earth is it?

On Saturday Gizmo was poking about with something in the garden.  I thought he was toying with a field mouse or a grasshopper and almost freaked out upon investigation when I saw the creature pictured above!  It looked as though it was going to launch itself at me!

Well, thank goodness for Google images where I quickly identified the 'alien'.  It turns out that it is an Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar.  I am so happy that it isn't a sinister creature but apparently they will strip the leaves from your fuchsia bush overnight if you have one!

I  hope that it finds a safe spot to pupate, away from predators.  I would dearly love to see it in its adult form next spring.  You can see what it looks like in adult form here.

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Toad

This lovely, plump toad was found amongst a pile of rotting wood and leaves at the bottom of the garden. It was probably feasting on the slugs and snails that had accumulated there.  Although I had once dreamt of it, I don't think I am ever destined to have an organised veg patch but it is highly likely that my garden will become a nature reserve with the amount of wildlife that come to visit!

There is a distinctly autumn flavour to the air today.  I can't say that I will be sorry to see summer go as it never really got started for me.  My OH (a teacher) has had whooping cough since the end of June and now with just two weeks to go before the new term starts he is just getting over it.  It has been so distressing to see him choking and gasping for breath knowing that there is nothing I can do.  Hopefully we can move onwards and upwards towards the latter part of the year.  Thank goodness I have had my crafting to keep me sane and help me to hold things together!

Defeated?

I am trying very hard to remain positive just now.  My husband has been ill for almost five weeks and we are still no further in finding out what exactly is wrong with him.  I will spare you the details other than to say that each day is very traumatic for all of us.  I have had a cold for 16 days and today it has developed more into a cough.  I have felt like rubbish for ages and this is meant to be 'summer holiday' time.  looks like this is going to be another summer of staying home.  Another year of disappointment.

In addition to feeling wretched the garden did not live up to expectations this year either.  None of my Sarah Raven seeds germinated and virtually all of my vegetables and flowers have been ravaged either by caterpillars or slugs and snails. This is the price I have to pay for not using chemicals or pesticides in the garden. I have all but given up (whatever that means).

Now you can see why my posts have been taken up by crafting recently.  It is a diversion to the utter misery I am experiencing.

On the upside, Gizmo is in good health.  Each day he comes to me to be brushed.  Something he used to detest but has now taken a liking to. 

I don't think I have done a 'moany' post for a while for now so please forgive me on this one.  I felt like I had to let off steam today as this run of bad luck (in all areas of my life) seem to have been unrelenting for the past couple of years.  Enough is enough.

A Pigeon's Tale

*There is a happy ending to this so please read on!*

Sunday morning and there was a commotion going on in the garden.  Magpies and rooks and blackbirds screeching and swooping  down over the ground.  It sounded ominous.  I went outside to discover a trail of feathers.  Quite a few trails of feathers.  I followed them to the greenhouse where I spotted Gizmo cornering a very wet and dishevelled pigeon, battle scarred and shaking.  I grabbed Gizmo and put him indoors grabbing rubber gloves on the way back out.

I didn't hold out much hope for the pigeon.  Most of its back feathers were missing, it was bleeding from the back and the chest and there was a droplet of blood forming on its beak.  I put the bird into the greenhouse where it lay on its side momentarily before mustering strength to perch on my son's old pedal car residing there, whilst I was trying to figure out what to do for the best.

Thank goodness I still have the old wooden hen house.  I did a bit of on line research about injured wood pigeons and it said to keep them in a quiet and confined space whilst they get over shock and injury and leave them for several hours.  I placed the pigeon in the old house with a few freshly podded peas and made it a hydrating solution (1 litre water, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt) to drink should it wish to.

As the rainy day got progressively hotter I worried about the pigeon getting fly strike.  I could see flies buzzing about the entrance to the hen house and knew that flies would lay eggs on the pigeons open wounds given half a chance.  Throughout the day I checked in on the pigeon.  It sat perched unmoving except for the occasional blink of an eye.  That night I prayed that its death would be swift without suffering and comforted myself that it was safely sheltered with food and drink .

This morning I woke bright and early.  I went straight to the hen house and with trepidation opened the door.  A bright eyed pigeon greeted me.  It shuffled along the perch, jumped out of the pop hole and waddled out onto the grass.  It sat down.  It stretched its wings to their full expanse and soared away up into the clouds.

I breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Theme Park for Wildlife

Much of the garden has fell into rack and ruin over the past 6 months or so.  The incessant wind and rain felled trees and shrubs, fences were broken and I left nature to her own devices.  It is now time to claim back a bit of order and get the garden ship shape again.

To be honest, I am not looking forward to it at all.  I still feel in hibernation mode and there is so much that needs sorting out inside the house as well as outside.  I don't really feel up to the challenge.  Part of me feels like handing it over to the wildlife that seem to relish in its theme park qualities.  There are felled branches to hide under, a disused eglu to shelter inside, an empty chicken run to climb over etc;

I feel lethargic even contemplating the tasks to be done.  The green house hasn't even been cleaned out yet and I haven't sown a single seed.  Do you think I will ever be able to catch up?  In addition to this I am awaiting an order of some scented leaf perlagoniums.  They will need potting up straight away.  Maybe their arrival will be the incentive I need to crack on.

It is sunny today so I will go outside and survey what needs to be done.  I think I will be making a very long list, but first I need a restorative mug of coffee and to contemplate for just a bit longer..............

One Eyed Fox

Something caught my attention as it slowly moved past the dining room window.  Unaware that I was watching, the fox sat down and started to scratch furiously as I went to get my camera.  It was only when the fox looked up at me I realised it only had one eye.  He gave me a pleading look the other side of the glass as if to say 'please don't harm me'.  His tilted head action was so dog like that it moved me to tears.

When I had chickens the fox was my enemy, but today upon seeing this distressed animal all I could think about was how to help it.  I went out into the garden and despite making encouraging noises towards the fox it bolted off and jumped through a gap in the fence at the bottom of the garden into a neighbouring one.  I have put down a little piece of cheese and left the door of the now defunct hen house and run wide open  so the fox can seek refuge should it wish to do so.

My heart aches thinking how much pain the animal has suffered with the loss of the eye and the terrible mange and lacerations on its skin.  I am moved to tears just thinking about this poor maligned creature. I have contacted a local wildlife hospital for advice on the fox and await to hear from them.  I hope it is sooner rather than later.

Rook or Crow?

I see many of these birds around parkland where I do my voluntary work.  Is it a rook or a crow?  I have heard this saying:

'a crow in a crowd is a rook, a rook on its own is a crow'

Do you know if there is any truth in this saying and how do you tell them apart?

Edited: I now believe the bird above is a crow after going to the RSPB website and listening to the audio of the sound they make. 

After the Rain

Yesterday afternoon it rained incessantly. I collected 113 of the above from the garden.

The Visitor

This information came from my notebook dated 21st April 2007.

'We had a bit of a garden spring clean today. Old lawnmowers and bikes were shifted. Bottles for recycling, leaf mulch, cardboard boxes and bits of wood came out of their hidey- holes to find new hidey -holes. Our 'tidying up' usually means just a shuffle around a bit.

Anyway, whilst my other half was dismantling some trellis from a fence he could hear a noise coming from under a pile of 'junk'. He called for me to come and investigate. 'What do you think it is?' I asked him. He said he thought it could be a cat or a toad! I thought it would more likely be a rat and felt a bit vulnerable in my skirt and slippers. I gingerly started to dismantle a pile of bikes and bottles and there tucked up against the fence was a .....................................hedgehog!

I was particularly delighted as this is the second time I have seen a live hedgehog in all my life. The other occasion was when I caught a fleeting glimpse of one running along a street many years ago.
It wasn't possible for us to leave the hedgehog where we found him, so kitted out in my rubber gloves I picked him up and moved him to another sheltered spot in the garden. I do hope he stays. He is a great pest controller if all the empty snail shells nearby were anything to go by.'
I never saw the hedgehog again. Maybe I'll find him again this year when we do our annual garden clean up!