Wednesday 28 April 2010

A little work in the garden - Part 52


I am still in recovery mode from the dentist, and although I am feeling very much better, I do not feel 100%. I am aware that something is not quite right!!! Oh well, guess I must just keep myself busy and hopefully I will forget. I return for a nerve block and crown on the 18th and 26 May, so I hope that will then be the end of it all. Nigel arrives on the 25th for a few days, so I have at least something to look forward to.

Today I have dug a new flower bed where we had some peonies growing out of the lawn. They pop up every year, but they have been so overgrown with weeds and long grass, that I thought this year I would allow them to breathe a bit. They must have been planted years ago, in what I presume was originally a flower bed, but it had been allowed to grow over. When we first bought the house, there was no sign of the peonies and the grass had grown over the top. The first I knew about them was a couple of years ago when the grass had been too wet to cut. I saw these plants growing faster than the grass and I then discovered what they were. Obviously they are very hardy, as they have certainly taken a few knocks. As they are all in bud now, I hope in the near future I can show you a picture of them in full flower. Last year's hailstorm hit them for six!
I also  hit all the stakes for the rabbit fence a bit further into the ground today, as I decided that more of the netting was going to be required under the soil level to stop the rabbits burrowing under.  Internet advice is that a depth of 150mm (6 inches) should be enough, but I think I have it now so I can get 200mm (8 inches) of netting below ground. I sincerely hope this will keep the little critters in next door's garden and away from mine!!

I found this chap in the house this morning. I really do not like them at all, although I know they keep down the mosquitoes etc. They remind of the big rain spiders we used to get in South Africa but these are less aggressive. This local variety measures about 60mm (2 ½ inches) across body and legs. 

I also heard my first cuckoo today, so spring must very definitely be here.
Photo credit http://www.treehugger.com/cuckoo-bird-photo1.jpg

17 comments:

  1. I'm normally a sane and rational person - after all, I'm a mechanical engineer, and not prone to fits of hystrionics. That said, your visiting spider would have had me shrieking while standing on a chair, quaking in fear. Thankfully, I have many sons who will remove such visitors for me!

    I don't think we have cuckoos here. My grandmother had a wonderful cuckoo clock, but I think my mother sold it.

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  2. I am pleased to hear things are going better Diane.

    Poor bunnies. :) They sure are going to be mad at you!! :)

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  3. I only see now that I am not listed as a follower although I am sure I did it a while back. Sorry about that.Oh well, added myself to your list now.

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  4. Hi Marjie, I have to say I used to be like that with spiders in S.Africa, I guess being on my own here so much I have had little choice but to sort the problem out myself. I do not like them though!

    My parents also used to have a cuckoo clock back in the 40's or 50's but I have no idea what happened to it. I seem to remember it was Swiss made.Diane

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  5. Hi Joan, Good to see you are a follower, thanks. I hope the bunnies are going to be mad at me! LOL Diane

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  6. Your peony bed will be quite lovely when the flowers come into bloom. They are a gorgeous flower. I'm glad to hear you are feeling better. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  7. Thanks Mary, I will take a picture when they are in flower and put on the site. Have a good day. Diane

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  8. Love it with the cuckoo bird! We heard them all the time in the woods behind the house when we lived in Germany. They made me laugh so many times!

    Love peonies also. Ours are about a foot tall now and I'm looking forward to their fragrant blooms as I'm sure you are also!

    Don't like that spider inside though! I just killed one yesterday after it drove the cat crazy watching him crawl on the wall.

    Hope all goes well with the dentist in the future and that you're doing better! Have a good day!

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  9. Pam - I love hearing the cuckoos, but I hate it that they leave their young for another bird to rear, and the young of the real mother gets kicked out. I guess though that is life.

    I am also looking forward to the peonies coming out, I have quite big buds so it will not be long.

    The tooth is still very sensitive but...... Diane

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  10. I like very much the cockoo picture.It's so common, but I haven't ever been able to shot a good image...

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  11. Glad to hear your tooth is feeling a bit better. I am not a fan of spiders either - ugh!

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  12. Hi Andrea, I find you can always hear the cuckoo, but it is rare for them to be easily seen. I have not got a telescopic lens (only my zoom) so birds are not the easiest for me to get shots of! Diane

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  13. Hi Pam, The tooth is ceratinly having its moments! I just hope I can hold out until the 18th and the nerve block. As for spiders......... I thought I was very brave taking this picture! Diane

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  14. Interesting and kind of sad with the cuckoos! I didn't know that, thanks for the info!

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  15. Hi Pam, The Cuckoo is a brood parasite, it lays its eggs in other birds' nests and leaves the host birds to incubate and rear its young. Dunnocks, Robins and Meadow Pipits are frequent host birds. Each female Cuckoo specialises in using a particular host species and will lay eggs with similar markings to the host bird's eggs, and the young Cuckoo will imitate the begging calls of the host's chicks.

    When the Cuckoo nestling hatches, it instinctively pushes the other eggs and nestlings out of the nest.

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  16. That is amazing with the cuckoo birds! They are definitely a unique bird and they certainly have it all figured out. Thanks for the update, I really enjoyed it!

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  17. Glad it was informative about the cuckoo Pam. Diane

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