Ring-neck Parakeets

 

What a lovely site to see - like being on holiday !  Certainly heard before seeing them. 6 ring-necked parakeets in a local wood. Lovely blue sky but scorching hot so didn't hang around. Not easy to photograph with the blaring sun to fight with !

Pixi and one of our garden foxes

We have been feeding our local foxes in our front garden for a while now. I put out fresh water and peanuts each night. We have 2 female and a male fox that visit each night. Never seen them though, only on a camera trap. 

We also have a little cat, Pixi, who is a good 12 years old and the tiniest cat. She is a real scrapper and all the local cats give her a very wide berth despite being twice her size. She is very protective of her garden and patrols her boundary as soon as she sees an intruder !

This night was the end to fox feeding, you will see why when you watch my video. She saw off, physically and verbally, one of the female foxes and then strutted back down the drive....job done !  Good job it wasn't the male fox which would probably have retaliated. She has pushed her luck to the limit with the foxes. I know they do get fed at many other local houses, so don't feel too bad not leaving food out anymore.  

Pixi is a formidable character that has no fear whatsoever. Please have sound on when you watch it.

Lots from the garden and a camera catch up

 

The planters at the front of the house have looked spectacular this year. People walking past stop and look ! They are stunning !

Lots of frogs in the garden. Everytime we move a planter there is one.....we have seen young aswell this year. Happy garden - happy frogs !

I often make vegetable flans where all the veg topping comes from the garden.....they are scrummy !

Elephant hawk moth caterpillar making it's way across the grass

Dahlias looking good, often brought in as cut flowers for the table

We have just started to harvest our corn cobs. About 100 plants with at least 2 cobs on each. This was absolutely the best corn ever, simply delicious with a good dollop of lurpak !

Chillies ripening, these are in the greenhouse. Turning red as we speak in this heat

Carrots, so sweet and crunchy. We had these for tea !

Beat supermarket veg hands down for taste

Simon loves growing fuschias and this is one of his favourites....Gartenmeister. Stunning flowers

Hoverflies

Peacock butterfly

Bell peppers ripening

Long peppers ripening, wont be long in this scorching weather

Red Admirals

Every day I pick this and it is prepared and frozen within the hour. We have tomatoes on toast every day for breakfast with eggs. Gosh they cannot be compared to shop bought tomatoes, the taste is on another level.

Every day !  No complaints, it's all flipping delicious !

and a yellowhammer !

Garage roof gulls

 

Lesser black-backed and a herring gull

We have masses of gulls that visit the garage roof for scraps. They seem to fly in from miles around.....wonder how they know bread has been thrown out ? The noise is deafening !

Juvenile cuckoo on our morning stroll

 

Just visible through the twigs ! Still being fed by reed warblers, constantly calling to feed it.

White-letter Hairstreak Butterflies

 

Quite a few white-letter hairstreaks around the tree tops, but getting them to land, finding them and them photographing them is almost impossible

A few from RSPB Blacktoft Sands

 

Spoonbills from Marshland Hide.....they barely moved an inch in the two hours we were there !

Greenshank from the hide

Lots of godwits, spotted redshank and ruff

Egret reflections