Dec 22 2011

Feed The Birds, It’s Christmas Time….

Just a reminder to feed those birds this Winter. I took a few shots of birds yesterday when I visited my parents farm just outside Belfast. Here’s what was on offer. Not very sharp as they were taken through glass.

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Coal Tit

Robin, shy one. Just managed to get a quick one before it disappeared.

Chaffinch, female and male.

Goldfinch

These were not outside 🙂 My Dad keeps a few more exotic birds about the place. All taken through a wire cage so again, a little blurry.

and lastly, the other side of Christmas 🙂 Life on the farm…

I was going to rotate this one 180 degrees and make it look like they are taking off, but that’s just sick 😉

Dec 21 2011

The Willowbog Experience

Peter had asked me to convert this DVD for use on his blog, Willowbog Chat.

I thought I would share it here as well. I’m glad to say that I count both Peter and Jean as friends. If you get the opportunity to visit Willowbog, you will not be disappointed.

Dec 20 2011

and Seasonal

This is more what I expected to see.

Chocolate Brown foliage on a yew. Yew can turn this colour over the Winter and then green up again in the Spring.

Flower Buds on my Fuji Cherry. Looks like I have major Spring colour to look forward to in 2012.

Dec 20 2011

Unseasonal?

I had a quick look through my trees on Sunday to see what moisture levels were like in the Tunnels. I noticed a few interesting and perhaps unseasonal things going on.

This Korean Hornbeam belonging to Mario is still in leaf and very fresh it looks too!

This recent growth on a Juniper, and it’s outside still!

and fresh shoots on a Sequoia

Dec 19 2011

Flowering Cotoneaster!

I spotted this Cotoneaster had a few flowers opening, rather strange for December, but then, this has been a very strange year indeed!

Dec 19 2011

White Christmas?

Looks Like it!!

Dec 18 2011

Highs and lows

I had a lok at the min/max temperature in my old Poly Tunnel today. I haven’t reset it in about 2 weeks. It was interesting to see the variation in there. from -3°c to 27°c. Mild Sunny days a few weeks back reached 27 in the tunnel and last night was -3. I have reset the gauge and plan to keep a close eye on it. I also want to put one in the other tunnel to compare.

Dec 18 2011

Ice Ice Baby

Only the mad and insane walked today!! The footpaths and roads in my home town of Ards were pure sheets of ice. Rainfall during the night froze quickly and the police had actually closed the road on which we normally park for our walk up to Scrabo Tower. Wise people were turning around and going home.

Anyway, us four eejits just carried on. 😀 If we could make it to the gravel paths, we would be fine. Two cars side swiped the kerb and others had been abandoned. After watching the dogs running then sliding for 30 feet at a time, and watching my brother fall on his hoop, we managed to make it to the gravel surface.

Here are a few photos of the walk once it was safe to bring the camera out! Gravel paths a must 🙂

Tarmac paths to be avoided!!

Scrabo Tower was our first target.

Some nice views from the tower. Only from the bottom as the Tower is closed over the Winter months. Below is Belfast in the distance and the snow covered hills behind.

The drumlins of County Down.

Comber Town and the Mournes beyond.

Trees spotted for inspiration.

Ivy seed heads.

Confused Gorse.

Fungi Branch

Larch Cones

Regeneration

Dec 17 2011

Blog of the Week

Over the next few months, while my own bonsai exploits are sitting at idle, I’m hoping to point you in the direction of other good websites and blogsites. I have an extensive list of blogs that I follow on Google Reader that can be subscribed to at the click of a button once you have got your reader account set up.

However, by featuring my favourites here, I hope to share the love 😀

Today’s offering is Jonas Dupuich’s blogsite, Bonsai Tonight. Jonas, is a Californian Bonsai Enthusiast and he’s currently spending some time at the Aichi-en Bonsai Nursery in Japan. He shares new posts every Tuesday and Friday and some quality bonsai can be seen throughout his blog posts.

Just click on one of his images below to visit his blog. As usual, it’s now been added to my favourites list on the side panel.

Dec 16 2011

Alfred Hitchcocks The Birds!!

Driving down a country road this week, I spotted a field full of crows. I don’t think I have ever seen so many in one place. Proper Black Crows in Ireland used to be quite a rare sight. You only ever saw small colonies up until about 15 years ago. Now…

A few trees on the same road.

A typical tree choked in ivy. The extra bulk from the ivy can cause trees like this to blow down in high winds due to the extra surface area. Most farmers will remove it from time to time. Note the sheep sheltering underneath.