The weather has been somewhat grim around these parts of late and having a severe dose of lurgy has me seeing everything through a flu-ridden, glassy-eyed haze.
Still, there is much to enjoy if you look for it! The apple tree is now a mass of rose hips and even has a clematis flowering within it’s depths.
Beauty berry.
My mini olive trees in the front garden are even sporting mini olives. Maybe they will be bigger next year!
Everywhere there are leaves in droves that are continually tramped or blown throughout the house.
The gusting winds do a great job of blowing them into the borders where they will stay and rot down, providing cover for innumerable insects. They also add a layer protecting perennials and bulbs from the elements.
The courtyard is in dire need of a tidy up. I really do need to get stuck in with my secateurs!
The dogs lined up in height order…..come on mum, let us in!
A robin on the dogwood. The males and females will sing throughout winter, day and night, defending their territories.
I’ve also had my wildlife camera out….
hedgehogs are still out and about, if the weather stays mild they can delay hibernation until December.
I spotted this one while replenishing the biscuit bowl. It wasn’t out in the day, that was just the flash on my mobile phone.
Some visitors are more welcome than others….
Ratty!!!
And where’s there’s one….
better out than in though!
And Finally…
Same goes for Curly Cat, in rather than out!.
He’s really happy in the study of late, sometimes staying in for days on end. Can’t say I blame him!
I do enjoy our peaceful stroking sessions. Cats are so much quieter than dogs!
Your courtyard is lovely. I never thought about how leaves that blow into corners provide cover for insects. Assuming that they provide shelter to good insects, maybe it’s okay if I don’t get all of the leaves raked.
Thanks Sheryl, the courtyard is looking a little wild at the moment. Still,there’s plenty of time to sort it out before spring. Leaves do offer great protection for so many insects so worry not!xxx
I love your courtyard, it has such a friendly, lived-in look. I hope you feel better.
Amalia
xo
Thanks Amalia. I’m on the mend now. I do need to get going and straighten the courtyard up somewhat but will wait for better weather.xxx
Love the line up of the three doggies and absolutely adore the picture of Curley cat…wonderful. Try to lay a little low whilst the lurg is with you….I know very hard for the likes of you and me……Nature will take care of itself.
Sending lots of love. Janet “XXX
Thanks Janet, I have been taking it easy and am now on the mend, thankfully! You’ll have to get yourself a kitty, although animals do make travelling problematic! Love and hugs.xxx
This year the crabapples are loaded with fruit – makes a nice display! Your English robins are a bit different than ours, pretty cute though. Hope you feel better soon!
Thanks Jason, I’m on the mend at last! The birds have demolished all my crab apples, I’ve never seen them go so fast. We don’t have many colourful birds so it’s always a pleasure having the chirpy, friendly robins around.xxx
Sorry to hear you are not feeling well. This horrible wet weather doesn’t help. I see people round here out with their leaf blowers and brushes, clearing up leaves, it seems such a waste of time. Lovely that you have hedgehogs, I wish we did. I’d give the rats a miss though. I hope you feel better soon. I should keep warm inside with your dogs and cat in front if your lovely wood burner. We are getting one next week, I can’t wait.
Thanks Chloris, the dreary weather doesn’t do any of us any favours for sure! There are lots of people around here with leaf blowers. I read recently that they are having a terrible effect on insect populations, especially in Germany. You and me re the rats, I do wish they would move on! Oh….you will simply love the woodburner, it’s the best thing we ever had installed. They are just so very cosy!!!xxx
I just found your blog! Love your dogs and cat. We have a feral cat we feed and provide a heated cat house for. He’s almost identical to our Zeppy who is not at all happy about the free loader living on our patio! Hope you feel better soon!
Thanks for visiting Susan. Ahhh, lovely to hear you care for a feral cat. I’ve been looking after Curly cat for over 12 years, I think he was abandoned and took to hanging out in my garden. Laughing at Zeppy’s displeasure! xxx
I am so surprised to see you writing of Hedgehogs and mild weather at your end. But then, we do live on different latitudes, you and I.
Have you been affected by the excessive rainfall? Nowhere seems to have entirely escaped it, some areas having got far more than can be coped with. Terrible flooding in so many places and not just UK.
If the wind continues to do you favours with the leaves, your outdoor work will be reduced a lot.
Now I know the name of a fab. berry I have seen a lot of, Beauty. It suits.
Your dogs take the limelight with their line-up. They deserve a round of applause!
The night camera is as curious a thing as the night life it captures.
Sorry to hear you have taken the bug. I hope you perk up soon. Take a leaf out of Curly cat’s book, I say.
xxxx
The hedgehogs are out late this year but we’ve now had a few hard frosts so I’m sure that’ll sending them scurrying into hibernation. Yes, it’s by far colder where you are!!! Hope you’re all wrapped up and hunkering down for a long winter.
It’s been pretty wet around here but no danger of flooding although many fields are sitting underwater. I do pity those who are flooded, the damage is awful isn’t it? The climate has certainly changed worldwide now, noone seems able to predict what each season will bring anymore. Glad you know the name of that shrub now, it really does have lovely berries. I always enjoy sitting down to discover what’s lurking in the garden, this is the first time I’ve seen rats out there. I’m always surprised by how many cats visit the garden! Thanks Menhir.xxx
Sorry to read you have the dreaded lurgy, I guess the cold windy weather doesn’t help. Good to see your three dogs know how to stand waiting, in order of height, very cute!
Also Curly cat staying inside…the best idea. Our dog (when she got older) loved it when we all went out to school and work, she would jump up on the angora blanket and stay there until we got home…I often wished I was her!
Thanks Gerrie, I’m on the mend now but this dreary weather certainly doesn’t help. I always smile when the dogs line up in height, they don’t do it very often. Ahhhh, your old dog sounded lovely, that’s the best thing to do as Curly cat is discovering. xxx
Hope you’re feeling better, Dina. I love wild and windy weather but all this rain has not been good for some people.
Thanks Gill, I am on the mend thankfully. I love wild weather too, but not if I have to go out in it. Oh….those floods, how awful for all those poor people.xxx
I’ve never heard the word ‘lurgy’ except from one friend who lives in South Carolina. I’m not sure it’s a term from the Carolinas, since she’s a great Anglophile, and may have picked it up from film or books. In any event, I certainly hope you’re better now, and that your weather has eased.
You would have loved being with me on Sunday. I came across a feral hog mama and her baby, a very young alligator walking down the road, the biggest snake I’ve ever seen, and a dragonfly sitting on top of an alligator’s head. I swear — if we could see everything going on in nature on just one day, we’d not believe it.
Keep warm, and get all the rest you need!
Thanks Linda, everyone seems to have some sort of bug or other at the moment….lurgy is certainly a good word for them all! Goodness….I certainly would have been thrilled with all those sightings! Lucky you! You do have some wonderful wildlife. I hope the move is going as smoothly as possible. xxx
Hope you are already well now!
About your garden …. enjoy the tidying works!
Pictures of your dogs really make me smile! Love them!
I enjoyed that picture of the little bird and also those little visitors you captured with the wildlife camera and your phone.
Curly cat is so pampered!
Stay warm and take care!
Thanks Jade, I am getting steadily better. It’s going to take a good few months to straighten the garden out, hopefully I can make a start when the weather improves. If only we had your wonderful weather.xxx
Not my day!
Hahahaha….same here!!!xxx
Oh, wow, Dina, I just LOCE your courtyard! It’s so perfect throughout the year. I cannot believe you have clematis blooming! But yes, LEAVES! They’re everywhere this year here, too. We had so many rain, wind, and then snow storms before they fell, and then they fell and blew in droves!
How I love to see your robins; they’re so different from ours, and how pretty this one looks in the dogwood.
I so enjoy your night camera captures, though I can’t say I’d be too excited about rats. They certainly look healthy. Of course, out in the country we have regular mouse encounters this time of year. Poor dears! Too chilly too early this year!
I so hope you’re feeling better. Stay cozy with sweet Curly and the bow-wows. And your darling husband 😉.
Thank you for a wonderful post. You brightened my day, that’s for sure!
Feel better soon, dear one!
*LOVE* your courtyard. Too many 4-leggeds to type properly!
The courtyard is certainly in need of a little tlc! We seem to have some late blooming clematis in the garden this year, as usual I have no memory of planting them. It’s always a little startling when droves of leaves suddenly appear, I’m sure your snow will break them down pretty quickly though. Like you, I can’t say I enjoy having rats around, they are a menace once they get into the house!!! How I wish they’d go elsewhere!!! Any news re your moving yet?
Ahhhh, thanks always for such a lovely comment. Love and hugs to all.xxx
Lovely post and pictures. I hope that you’re feeling better now. The weather certainly has been rather unsettled recently. I don’t blame Curly either. xx
Thanks Flighty. I am now on the mend, it’s wonderful to have finally stopped sneezing. I’m happy seeing Curly cat indoors, he’s far too old to be out in this weather. xxx
I do sympathise with you being unwell, I too have had a severe dose of the lurgy, several days spent in bed and I’m still not over it yet! It’s amazing how quickly things change though when you’re not taking notice, I looked out of the window yesterday and all of a sudden there’s so many bare patches where the trees have dropped their leaves, it seems to happen so suddenly. I’m with Curly Cat, I think indoors is the best place for us all when we’re a bit under the weather and the weather’s on the change.
Thanks Jo. There are some awful bugs going around for sure. I hope you are feeling better now, I am improving by the day. I thought the same about how bare it all suddenly looked, all our beech leaves are now down. Curly cat is certainly content to pretty much be a house cat now, bless him, he’s earned it given how much he hates dogs.xxx
I’m all for staying in, but need that time outside in the fresh air too. A walk however brief is always welcome. Sorry to hear that you’ve not been well and I hope you feel better soon. xx
Thanks Linda. I agree re going out, a little fresh air works wonders. I am feeling better by the day, there seem to be so many nasty bugs flying about at the moment, everyone seems to have a dose of something.xxx
I’m with curly cat on the staying in idea. Hope you are better soon
Thanks Sue, I am gradually getting better. Yes, I think Curly cat has the right idea.xxx
I am really sorry to hear that you have not been well, I hope that you have been able to rest and are on the slow road to recovery now.
The weather has been dire hasn’t it, like you we have not had as much rain as some parts of the country and my heart goes out to those whose homes have been ruined by the flood water.
Thanks Sustainablemum, we all seem to be continually passing the lurgy back and forth. I am feeling better though, hopefully this will be it for the winter. Oh….you and me both re those affected by flooding. It must be a living nightmare.xxx
Look at your lovely boys all lined up at the door! Curly cat looks a sweetheart too. I don’t blame him for wanting to stay indoors at the moment. Poor you being unwell; I hope you feel better very soon. I love the hedgehog pictures and even ratty looks cute. As for the robin photo – just divine. Like Jan, they are one of my favourite birds. Keep warm. xx
Curly has now taken to sitting on a swivel chair in the study so I’ve lined it with a fluffy blanket. He doesn’t seem keen on going out much these days, only venturing out for a few hours every three days or so. I am always pleased to see hedgehogs in the garden, especially as they are so endangered. Thanks Veggiemummy. xxx
Sorry to read you haven’t been well, hope you are back to 100% very soon 🙂
Loved seeing all of your photographs especially the ones of the dogs in line by the door and that fabulous robin on the dogwood… they are my favourite bird!
The weather really hasn’t been good has it and my heart goes out to all those in the UK who have been affected by the floods.
Our weather has been mixed – some rain, wind and also some sunshine … which has been very welcome.
… and don’t mention falling Autumn leaves! There are so many! LOL!
Get well soon.
All the best Jan
Thanks Jan, the bug is gradually going. I love robins too, such interesting, friendly little birds.
The weather is certainly a mixed bag, it’s mostly wet here. xxx