Flowers are returning to the Priory ... after selfishly leaving me all alone for long dank months. Still, no hard feelings. There are cautious whispers and murmurings as my fair-weather friends slowly heave themselves out of bed. Beneath large oak and ash on the meadow, small pockets of snowdrops have returned. I did wonder whether … Continue reading Pollarding And The Zest For Life
English Country Garden
Win A Copy Of ‘Shakespeare’s Gardens’ By Jackie Bennett
As 2016 is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, here's the perfect book to hunker down with (until decent gardening-weather returns). ‘Shakepeare's Gardens’ by Jackie Bennett hasn't been released yet but Anxious Gardener Inc. (East Sussex) has a shiny new copy up for grabs. If you’d like the chance to win it, I’ll tell you … Continue reading Win A Copy Of ‘Shakespeare’s Gardens’ By Jackie Bennett
Almost Wordless Wednesday: That Darn Owl
I don't see him very often but when I do, the Priory tawny owl brightens up my day. He'd be so much easier to photograph if he roosted in a less twiggy tree. But he likes his lofty, camouflaged perch and my focusing challenge just puts a twinkle in his eye.
A Frosty Pause
After my last doleful post, winter got her act together. For a couple of days last week the rain stopped, the skies cleared, temperatures plummeted, mud froze, and, at long last, it was shiveringly cold. Not on a Siberian or Alaskan scale but at -5°C, Sussex was cold. My first chore on arriving at work … Continue reading A Frosty Pause
Blight, Rain and Flood
This is a rubbish winter. No snow, no ice, barely a frost, just rain. Lots and lots and lots of rain. Day after day of tedious, repetitive, flooding rain. I'm not prone to depression but weeks of non-stop rain is twisting my arm. "Rain, rain go away, come again another day" is too polite by … Continue reading Blight, Rain and Flood
Grass Cutting – Again
(I've written about cutting the two meadows before but as it is such a big part of my working life at this time of year you might forgive me for revisiting the subject). Cutting the Priory meadow is a job that looms large from late-summer onwards. Cut it too soon and I lose late flowers … Continue reading Grass Cutting – Again
Almost Wordless Wednesday: House Martins
I'd forgotten about some house martin photos I took in July at the Barrowburn Tea Room in Harbottle, Northumberland. This seems as good a time to use them as any - before summer slips away completely along with the swifts, swallows and martins. I've seen plenty of martins here in Sussex recently on their way … Continue reading Almost Wordless Wednesday: House Martins
The Anxious Gardener 