30th

 It's quite early and only a few people here. I'd not realised it had been windy, but the ground was covered in apples. Not just from the old tree but also the long eater and even a couple from the little red apple tree. Too many for me to carry, so I sorted them and left three bags in the shed for later collection. The plums are dropping as I walk over, so ripe the wasps and butterflies are feeding. 

Red Admiral.

So I picked some while they are still on the tree.

Just to the right of the long apple is a wild carrot. I was sat next to it, having coffee and there was a wonderful floral fragrance, not carrot-y at all.

Life on the plot - wasps, bees, mint moths, speckled wood butterflies, many red admirals, a green shield bug on the blackcurrant leaves.

There was a single house martin flying over, the last at the party?

A surprise was a single ribbon of green beans. Perhaps a left-over from last year.

I had put away the tools after cutting back some of the brambles, a last sit before folding up the seat when I spotted a hairy caterpillar on the back of a blackberry leaf (and the camera was still in my pocket!).

So, there is a choice of - fuzzy but some colour, or clear but lighter because of the sunlight.

Not identified as yet.

Blackberries are starting to ripen, raspberries are still performing well, one or two brave strawberries (half eaten by - something!). 

Only one asparagus beetle and no squidgy black young. And there were two different crickets. No camera by then, of course. But the first one leapt about a metre into the grassy knoll when disturbed and the other was quite brown and only jumped about eight inches (cms?). I did heard its rasping call. 

Last job was to pick some mint. Having put last weeks apples through a jelly bag, I plan to make apple and mint jelly.

Tis the season of mellow fruitfulness.

Herbal storehouse

 I have been trying to decide how best to describe the plot, so looked for some definitions on t'internet.

Cottage Garden - an informal garden with colourful flowering plants. (No)

Physic Garden - a herb garden with medicinal plants. (Hmm, maybe)

Apothecary Garden - (from the Greek, meaning 'storehouse') herbs of a medicinal and/or culinary use.(Yes?)

What it isn't, is what is generally thought of as a traditional allotment (straight lines of potatoes, onions, carrots etc.)

Nevertheless, it takes a lot of work to plan and develop the planting even (or perhaps especially) if you opt for no-dig, raised beds.

This is one of two triangular ericaceous beds.  The heathers are flowering and the blueberries seem to fruit successionally over the past couple of months. The cranberry also has a reasonable crop this year.

The second bed has lavender, hypericum perforatum (?) on the left and chicory (blue flower) on the right. I have only known chicory as the bitter salad leaves (once sold as an exotic winter salad, wrapped in blue tissue paper and boxed). This plant is about my height and has beautiful blue-washed flowers.

Life today included four butterflies (Painted Lady, Red Admiral, both too fleeting to capture) a Large White (female) and a Comma.

Also a hover-fly (Volucella zonaria) which is spreading up the country year by year and lots of Greenbottle flies (Lucilia caesar) on the mints. So many bees, bumble, honey, flower and all too quick to photograph.

Swifts and house martins seem to have all flown south to their winter palace. Not many birds about at all today (apart from the ever-present gulls and pigeons). Perhaps it's the weather. 

16th Tues

 The weather has been hot, hot, hot but now it is cooler and might even rain! There is no water in the butt and I don't approach the well when I'm here alone so I brought some water in a gallon container - not full, but as heavy as I can manage. Added to the compost bin, tidied around, squished the beetles and grubs on the asparagus ferns, picked up the apples. Globe artichokes coming on. Picked the rest of the blackcurrants (well, those I could reach and those that didn't drop as they were so ripe!) and some plums, after discarding the manky ones (technical term...) The upright tree growing through the prone apple tree (eater) is definitely a gage, so shook it and picked some. As usual, fruit is mostly too high for me to collect! 

Sat under the old apple tree (cooker, possibly Bramley)  for coffee and saw - something. Thought it might be a frog hopper, but not sure. Luckily I had the camera (usually at least 3 goes to get one in focus....)

 

Well, I did say.....

Then, after I'd finished my drink, there was further movement in the grass towards the trunk of the apple. After a gentle prod with a stick, I found a sleepy, black hairy caterpillar with a red line down its back. 

Identified as the caterpillar of the White Ermine Moth. Amongst other food, it likes dock which is plentiful on the plot. Note - don't touch hairy ones as they can cause irritation, a bit like a nettle.

I also disturbed several mint moths (tiny, but very pretty). 

A good day and it didn't rain until after I'd got home!

Tuesday Life.

 

The idea is to make a note of what is out, what is moving, growing, living in the space. So over the past months I have gathered a rough list of fauna (the flora is Alex's domain, I only recognise some things).

This was the list I compiled for Open Day this year.

Butterflies

            Fritillary - Common Blue - Peacock - Red Admiral - Small White - Large White - Orange Tip -       Small Copper - Speckled Wood (caterpillar on Horseradish?) - Gate Keeper

Moth

          Poplar Hawkmoth - Cinnabar Moth - Mint Moth

7 Spot Ladybird - 5 Spot Ladybird - Shield Bug - Asparagus Beetle - ? Nezara Viridula - ? Rhagonycha Fulva (common soldier beetle)

Ants and eggs - Crane Flies - assorted Hover Flies - assorted shiny black beetles

Bees -

     Red-tailed Bumble Bee - Honey Bee

Orange lipped slugs - Frogs - Toad - Weasel/Stoat - Purple poo (Hedgehog?)

Birds -

       Great Tit - Blue Tit - Goldfinch - Various finches - Robins - Wren - Great Spotted Woodpecker

Around and above the plot

       Grey squirrel - Pheasant - Jay - Magpie - Swifts - House martins - Pigeons - Buzzard - Gulls and Terns - Corvids - Pigmy Shrew (on Open Day!)

Not a bad list but now I will try to do a post each time I go and I will try to remember the camera as well as the clock! 

Here's hoping I see something!

P.S. And the photo? Unidentified as yet!

Now and then

 

Let me introduce you to Plot 22, as of summer 2022. It is now the fourth year and is a work in progress.

You may think - progress? Well, yes. This is what it looked like at the beginning (well, after we had cleared all the brambles and other accumulated growth of several years of neglect).

There were also numerous dips and hollows, random methods to get rid of the horsetail (mares tail - call it what you will), bricks and bin lids.

We knew there was a well somewhere. P. found it one day when he was there alone, by falling in it. (Overgrowth, remember....)

There were pluses of course. Fruit trees (plum, 3 types of apple, a mystery which we now know is a gage), fruit bushes and an asparagus bed.

We do what we can, when we can. Tuesday mornings are mine, when I have coffee under the old apple tree.

Bliss!