Rambling Russells

Have decided to keep a record of the floral highlights of our garden from month to month as this year progresses. Obviously this is going to take a lot of observation, and then remembering to then write it up! We'll have to see how my memory holds up, but here goes. January 2016 We have had a very mild and wet autumn/winter so far with very few frosty nights, and only one significant fall of snow. As a result there are many plants looking much healthier than they should be at this time of year! Polyanthus and primula have been flowering all through autumn/winter and the pink, red and yellow blooms really cheered up the dismal, dark days. Unfortunately the birds seem to like them too - there have been bits of leaf all over the path some days after they have been pecking at the nice new green shoots. I notice the purple globular primulas are pushing through the ground too. I have also had cowslips flowering just outside the conservatory door, just where I can...

I've heard of Robert Burns and the supper that is held in his memory every year but don't  know all the details. So this year I thought I'd find out a bit more.... Robert Burns, also known as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He was born on January 25, 1759 in Alloway and died on July 21, 1796 in Dumfries. A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns, author of many Scots poems. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday, 25 January. The first supper was held at Burns Cottage by Robert Burns' friends on 21 July 1801, the fifth anniversary of his death. They are still held regularly today. Burns suppers may be formal or informal. Both typically include haggis, Scotch whisky, and the recitation of Burns's poetry. Order of the supper:- Piping in the guests A piper generally greets the guests, who ...

A beautiful sunny day today after a very sharp frost last night. Everywhere and everything was white this morning - remember the days when windows had frosty patterns on them when you got up in the morning? Well, it was one of those! The sort of day to encourage us outside, and it didn't take much encouragement as it has been so wet and miserable lately we haven't been going very far at all! Well wrapped up with lots of layers to keep out the cold and off we went. The shore at Newbie was our destination - not far from home but always something to see. Looking around as we arrived the sun was shining and the sky was blue. The moon was even visible too! (I'm a poet and I didn't know it!)   Can you spot the moon?   Snow was visible on Criffel, a local hill overlooking the Solway coastline.       We had a bracing walk along the shore, only meeting one other person on the way. There were hundreds o...

Nov/Dec have been very quiet months for wildlife in the garden. Obviously the atrocious weather has greatly influenced sightings. Even sightings of birds have been down - and often only seen at the beginning and end of the day when they were feeding. Monthly max - for Nov/Dec: Blackbird - 2m 2f Blue tit - 3 Carrion crow - 5 Chaffinch - 2m 2f Coal tit - 2 Dunnock - 2 Geese - 100 flying over Goldfinch - 2 Great tit - 2 House sparrow - 35m 15f Jackdaw - 3 Kestrel - 1 Robin - 2 Song thrush - 3 Starling - 100 Wood pigeon - 2 Wren - 2 January is also the time for the Big Garden Birdwatch with RSPB. It takes just an hour and is suitable for all ages and abilities. More than half a million people across the UK will take part in the survey by counting the birds in their garden, for 1 hour, over the weekend of 30-31 January. They will also make a record of any other wildlife they see throughout the year.  Request a free Big Garden Birdwatch pack from the RSPB.   DGERC hav...