…hello again

Here we are, sorry for being quiet for so long! planetaye will try her best to keep wee updates going more regularly. Have a seasonal flower – jolly wee yellow winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) 🙂

Winter Aconite

latest brooches – all yellow

My latest wee needle felties are all in shades of yellow, some wi’ buds and fancy veined leaves and some just fat and simple, hope you like them?
As usual, they are available for purchase in my wee Folksy Shop wee Etsy Shop (June 2017)

…oooh hello, 2013!

So where on earth did all that time go? Happy new 2013 to one and all!

Went off up the hill this morning to take a photy of  the bleak owing to the dull light and foggy conditions.  Nothing too exciting to see however but found a wee bit of colour and an unexpected primrose. In fact it looks like there will be a super bank of them later on. Cheers!

this mornings creature – II

Speckled Wood butterfly, behaving exactly as described here.
Very fluttery and quick but I stalked them till they sat still for a moment. The male could be chasing another male or a female, either way they make a wee walk more fun., ‘specially the bit where you lean too far over the edge of the path and nearly slide downhill into the undergrowth… eek!

another spring (plus song)

Another spring, and despite the “smog” took a set of photys around the top of the hill. Comparing them with those from last year (about a fortnights difference), the same plants are out but there might be a bit of cross over with the primroses still in flower.
After ten years I have finally caught the fabled Duke of Argyle’s Teaplant, the winter conditions and the warm dry spring must have prompted it into flower. Or I have just wandered past it for all those years? Nahh!
The number of orange tailed bumblebees took me by surprise too. At first I was sure that only one was following me around till I came to the whins – there were more than a dozen of them! but would they sit still for me, of course not.

I have included the sign describing the castle, click on it for a large, readable version.

And here is the song Another Spring performed by Nina Simone… enjoy

I have to admit that last years photys were brighter and more colourful. Sunnier day, or sunnier photygraffer?

1. Duke of Argyll’s Teaplant
2. light colourd lilacs
3. may blossom (hawthorn)
4. dark orange wallflower
5. sinister ivy flowering
6. fern furl
7. annoyed Orange Tailed bumblebee
8. english bluebells
9. primrose, goosegrass (stickywullie), red deadnettle
10. Halton Castle sign, click to read
11. buttercup
12. dandylion

this mornings creature

Female Orange Tip butterfly, only showing the green and white pattered underwing, but how fluffy and perfect is she? Glad I left the Honesty to flower and it is already making the lovely seed “pods”.

springy…y…y!

Quite unnoticed by me the forgotten pot and bucket of grape hyacynth (muscari) had grown, multiplied and bloomed! So jolly and springy. And today it promises to be warm again. The daffs are out in the street too so here’s hoping they are left alone for us all to enjoy.

A bit straggly I know but has made me feel more optimistic about restoring the wee flower bed and rejigging the space in the coming months.

The deep glowing blue of the flowers is not represented accurately, my wee camera does tend to freak out with some colours but I didn’t want to fiddle with the pic.

Also awake is the first wee violet, these lettle devils are impossible to move so I’m just letting them grow wherever unless they are a nuisance.

forsythia – pruned last year to get rid of the longest straggly branches, this has forced the flowers in nearer the base.

flickr photys added to my blog

After a while fiddling with facebook and not managing to add my flickr photys I have managed to add them here! Hooray! See the panel on the left showing my most recently added 4 pics.

the pollinator

Mooching though my photos I had a closer look at some from last year, sunny and bright, nice hibiscus flower. But viewed full size, which I don’t normally do, I saw the little spheres of pollen. Wow! my camera behaves better than I gave it credit for. …and I’ll have to have a closer look through the archives for any more hidden goodies.

(click the thumbnails for larger versions)

fruit-forage-feast

Another nice day and I remembered to toddle to the top of the hill armed with a plastic box. My objective was a gathering of brambles and sure enough the nice big bush I had already photy’d was still covered with good sized fruit. I soon had at least a punnet full and a hand full of scratches/nettle stings and some purple fingers. Later in the day I decided to turn my hand to jam making instead of scoffing the lot in one go. Although not a great jam eater I am still pretty chuffed with the result – only one small pot but that’ll do fine. mmm…. sticky.