Fire and Water

Midsummer 2012

Rainy Day Natter

It's such a cold and rainy day let's make a cup of tea, take a slice of cake, and have a natter.

I'm not sure why I started this blog in the first place; probably as an attempt to ward off boredom, but since its inception I find myself doing proper garden-y things (makes me think I should start a new on one the topic of ‘shiny swishy hair’, or ‘renovating an old Georgian farmhouse’).  It must be years since I sowed some seeds. It’s the sort of thing you do with the children during the long days of the six week holiday. But 3 months into Garden 65 and there is green manure sprouting outside and flower seeds erupting on the windowsill. At this rate I’ll be exhibiting in Chelsea next year. Maybe not.

I’ve also got a bee house (with no bee occupants, but there is still hope) and a mini herb garden via my friend Sally. It’s all abundance here, I tell you.





The desperate search for topics to blog about has also led me to look closer at the little things in the garden. I’m still fascinated with daisies.  Who would have thought such innocent looking flowers would produce seeds? It's quite shocking.

The insects of the garden are a new interest too. The common species like woodlice, spiders and ants have always been around but now I’m on my knees looking closely I’m discovering another world. I don’t think I’ve seen this little guy before. He’s a Varied Carpet Beetle. Unfortunately his larvae, commonly called a woolly bear, eat carpets and your favourite jumper, but we’ll let him live because he’s cute.

The identification of discoveries is fun. It usually involves intense googling and guesswork, but a couple of times I’ve used I Spot and have had amazingly quick results. A few days ago I snapped this tiny moth lying flat against the outside of the above window. He was difficult to identify because he was so indistinct, so today at 7 minutes past 3 I threw him to the lions of I Spot and within 8 minutes Douglas from Shrewsbury declared him a Green Pug. Which must be right because when I was Photoshopping my Green Pug he was going green but I thought that was the fault of my Photoshopping skills. I’m impressed.


Unfortunately Fate likes a good laugh. Now I've joined the ranks of garden bloggers one of the mainstays of the garden has caught a disease. An Amelanchier has started dropping its leaves which have suspicious black spots on them. Hopefully it’s just a bad year and whatever is causing it will not survive the winter. Us gardeners ... we have to be stoical.

So, I think that’s all the natter I’ve got for today. Who’s doing the washing up?

Big Momma

The Bumble Bee Conservation Trust has produced identification sheets of the most common garden bumble bees. 

I enthusiastically recommend you look at them if you have ever wondered what the name of that huge bee bashing itself against the window is called - I know I have ;-).   The sheets are very clearly laid out with simple information and lovely illustrations.

In case of just such an emergency I have printed them out and blue tacked them by the garden window.

You may also be interested in the post 'A Lone Bumble Bee'

Zebra Spider In A Dusty Corner

Oh please excuse the dust! It’s in a very unused corner. No one will know if you don’t tell them (or blog it).

So here is another adventure in insect identification. This little guy was hopping about while I was taking atmospheric photos of the bathroom window (see here).  

 At this point I’m concerned that I’m giving the impression that I spend a lot of time in the bathroom with Liz and Bobbi, but it’s mere coincidence I assure you.

If you’re not afraid of spiders this site ‘Spiders of NorthWest Europe’ will help you identify any spiders you may find in dusty corners of your bathroom. Keep a note of it; you may need to quickly name a spider when on your continental holiday. 

My little chap is a jumping spider, in particular a zebra spider. The Latin name for the family of jumping spiders is Salticidae, a fantastically characterful name (as is this one).  Apparently this type of spider hunts like a cat, in that it quietly stalks its prey then pounces.

 “Salticids are the tigers among spiders.”

 If I ever get a cat I’m going to call it Salticid. Do you think it is pronounced 'Salty Kid' or 'Salty Sid'? Oh dear, I've made myself laugh.

White Light

The two blossom trees (Amelanchier lamarckii) are very near the house, so that at this time of year the white flowers cast an eerie light into the bathroom. Their more common name is 'Snowy Mespilus', which is apt since the light through the window is just as if the ground was covered in snow.

Obviously you haven't been in my bathroom before so you can't judge how strange it is, so here is a picture of the window taken on 2nd January 2011.  Dark eh?

 

Here it is on 17th April last year.  Nice and green.  Something to look forward to.

Now I know you ladies are taking a sneaky peak and trying to work out what products I use.  Let me tell you.  Liz Earle (goddess), Boots No.7 (convenient), and Bobbi Brown (Christmas presents).

Equinox

At a quarter past 5 this morning Spring sprang, astronomically speaking. 

The slow clock-like movement of the Earth around the Sun has officially begun a new season. But here on the surface of the planet things are a little more complicated.  Birds have already picked their partners, and for days now plants have been struggling out of the ground. And yet they are still in danger of cold weather and frost putting a full stop to their ambitions. 

Life doesn’t travel through time on a clear linear path, or start and stop to a predictable date. It’s more wayward than that.  It likes to keep us guessing.

And so I found myself shivering in the garden despite the sunshine.  Picking up my coffee, journal, and nuts (hazelnuts – a healthier alternative to biscuits!), I shuffled indoors.  This year’s Vernal Equinox was best experienced behind the warmth of double-glazed windows.