marian's Blog

My Pond is back and has been going fine since I resealed the holes, roughly two weeks now, but I'm thinking of moving it, as it is very hot where it is. I'm just a bit afraid it will drain again while I'm out, then I will lose all my waterlilies. My Hibiscus are making a come back after the attack of mealy bug. but the lobelia had to be thrown out. My roses are recovering after a bit of blackspot. Phew! not too good on the garden front here at the moment is it.

I found some photos on a disc I had forgotten I had, and thought I would share them.They are under Stud farm album

This is the farm in England where we lived for a time. It was called Stud farm, In one of the Parish newsletters put through my letter box whilst I was living there, was the knowledge that Leo Tolstoy wrote a good portion of War and Peace from this farm. The first day we arrived which was the 1st of April we saw twin lambs being born from the top storey window. It was still very cold and we hesitated in phoning the farmer to inform him that they had been born. However in the end we did, they were very grateful. As the lambs had to be rescued from the cold. After that we were considered as being the *shepherd watch*, and looked out for the ewe’s birthing constantly. Every morning I would look out of the bedroom window from upstairs at first light and the garden was full of baby rabbits.  I had a great encounter with a fox outside my front door one evening. It is true what they say, that a fox will freeze when discovered or confronted by man. It seemed an eternity but must have lasted only moments. He then ran off not too worried at all. We saw numerous Pheasants with their bright plumage. We had a partridge nest hidden in one of the beds behind all the shrubbery, under a huge chestnut tree. But soon after discovering them, one day found them all broken with the insides eaten, by the fox we think. We also had the biggest moles I have ever seen. The bumbles bees were *huge* too, with perfect markings in black and yellow just like you see drawn in a child’s book. You don’t get that much in the way of insects in England in comparison to Africa but when you do they are *huge*. We had a couple of hedgehogs living in holes in some flower beds. I never got too many pictures of all the flowers that popped up at various times in the spring and the summer in the garden, there were so many. Daffodils of course, tulips of all varieties, several varieties of poppy, daisies, bluebells. I was also having such a wonderful time, I never thought to stop and take photos of them all.  Who ever planted that garden originally, did well as the beds were always full, once one variety died back the others were almost there to take the spot. I hope you enjoy the photo’s as much as I did finding them again.