Nearly a year has gone by since my last entry and my 85th birthday has come and gone. I have lost much of my mobility but can still walk from the house to the Square Metre and sit there comfortably provided the weather is warm. And winter seems especially hard at my time of life especially with energy prices going stratosphere. Still, as Shelley said "if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind" and, after a few rather dreary weeks, it has arrived here with a vengeance.
In the Green Sanctuary/M3 (GSM3), most of the trees and shrubs are now breaking into leaf. The ash and the oak are still tightly in bud as is the tiny, self-sown wild service tree (below laft). A week or two ago I visited GSM3 with a friend and, despite finger tip searching we could not find this little survivor, so I was pleased to discover it still in place..
Despite the warm, sunny weather there were surprisingly few insects about. A few dark, nondescript flies, a busy bluebottle and a questing brimstone butterfly that came and went several times. A chiff chaff called persistently from somewhere in the high bushes and the rattle of a woodpecker sounded loudly from Churchland Wood maybe 80 metres away.
The birch tree in M3, now some twenty years old, is full of ripening catkins and, in its far top, a small brown bird, perhaps a leaf warbler, was foraging among them.
My mystery object for today is the horror teddy bear pictured below. I will reveal its identity to those who haven't guessed it tomorrow.
