The Brambles Tale Journal April 2017

April2017

THE BRAMBLES JOURNAL THE BRAMBLES JOURNAL

ataleofagarden

Beautiful Spring

All the happenings at The Brambles

Enjoyingthewondersof Spring

thebramblestale.natashaforder.co.uk

Hello from The Brambles

ME!

Hello and welcome to the April edition of The Brambles Journal. This month has bought more of spring. The garden is constantly changing as different flowers appear; in so many gorgeous colours. As one flower begins to fade another appears in its place.

The bluebells are out and they are an amazing site. They always appear in the shade of the trees at the end of the garden.

It’s all happening with the blackbirds. The pair in the garden have been very busy. More on that later in blackbird talk.

You’ll find The Brambles Journal full of garden updates, photos, a poem or three, as well as anything else that’s going on here of interest. My favourite recipe will return next month, I needed to borrow the space for a poem!

Visit thebramblestale.natashaforder.co.uk to keep up to date with all the latest happenings and share what’s been going on in your garden and/or local area :)

The Brambles is located on the Surrey/Hampshire border, England.

Garden Delights

With spring getting fully underway this month it’s all go! There has been a lot of butterflies but most are so busy they only stop for a few moments. I did manage to capture a peacock butterfly, which despite it’s tattered wings still looks amazing.

Spring is a time for transformation for all of nature and it’s all change!

There is always something to see in the garden, but spring is certainly one of busiest times, as everything “wakes up”.

Peacock Butterfly

this month in the garden

Catch Up

Bird Song

There has been a lot of different birds coming and going from the garden. Even when I don’t see them I know they are there as I can hear them singing. Some birds are regulars and I recognise their tune, some are not so familiar. The blackbirds are all competing to be the loudest first thing in the morning! The other birds join in and before you know it, it’s like there is an orchestra playing outside. There is nothing better than waking up to the dawn chorus.

The dunnocks like to sit on the fence and sing. The one in the picture (top, opposite) spent a long time on the post, turning in all directions in order to broadcast the loudest in all directions!

As well as singing there has been a lot of nest material collecting going on!

Squirrel Chat

It’s been quiet for squirrels. They pop in to “steal” a few sunflower seeds and munch on a some dandelions in the garden and then disappear. Yes, they do like to have a munch on “green stuff”. In the past I’ve also seen them tucking into the camellia flowers!

Squirrels spotted eating

“green stuff”!

A damselfly stopped for a little while on my homemade support for the peas I’d just planted. I think it’s an emerald damselfly. The acer leaves have arrived and an azalea is flowering. And let’s not forget the forget-me-nots that are out now too!

I’ve seen lots of butterflies this month. The brimstone’s really catch my eye though as they dance through the garden. I’ve also seen: orange tip, common blue, tortoiseshell, peacock, white, and speckled wood.

Birds

As always lots of birds seen this month, including: Blackbirds robin, great tit, blue tit, coal tit, greenfinch, chaffinch, dunnock, wren, great spotted woodpecker, magpie, woodpigeon. There are less now of some of the birds as they’ve gone to new territories over the breeding season, but there is still a lot of variety.

Bourley and Caesar’s Camp

I’m not sure what sort of pine is in the photograph above, but I couldn’t resist getting a photo of its cones.

Gorse

The gorse is fully out in flower and there is a lot of it! It has a wonderful sweet smell that you can’t miss when walking by.

While out walking Steve and I spotted an owl! It swooped past us. It had the face of a barn owl but it looked darker. So we aren’t sure what type it was.

blackbird talk!

With the trees now transforming to being almost all full of leaves, it’s getting more and more difficult to spot the blackbird in one of his “singing spots”! I can hear him, singing at the top of his voice, but sometimes I don’t actually manage to see him. I guess this is why they do sing. After all, if he was quiet none of the other blackbirds would know he was there either, and that this was his spot!

The big news this month is that there has been a change in nest site for the blackbirds nesting in the garden. We stopped seeing the female going into the bush where she’d originally made a nest. Of course we were quite disappointed, until Steve spotted her with nesting material going into the forsythia on the other side of the garden. She has created a new nest in there. Mr Blackbird has visited her with food, but there aren’t currently any young. She pops out to feed now and then, but I’ve not seen her collecting.

There is another female who visits sometimes, and she has been collecting food since the start of the month. So I think she must have a brood already. The garden blackbirds might be a bit behind as they’re onto a second nest. I have no idea why the change, but this nest is a little more hidden than the last one. Maybe they found the other too exposed... I’m hoping that this one will be more successful.

As blackbirds are territorial the resident male blackbird is straight over to see off any other blackbird that dares to enter the garden. I often see him flying in pursuit of one that’s “strayed” into “his” garden! It’s not an unfamiliar site out and about either. Wherever there

What’s he spotted!

I’ve been inspired to write some poetry. Inspiration can come from anywhere and this month it’s been from a beautiful digital scrapbooking kit called The Magic of Nature by Lynne Anzelc Designs. The series is called Notes from and I can’t help but feel that I

There are so many wonderful quotes from the Tao Te Ching, and Lao Tzu certainly knew what he was talking about! The natural world is a constant source of inspiration to me and is precious beyond words. As the pace of the world has sped up for so many of us, when will we take a step back and realise that we too do not need to hurry quite so much?

BABBLING BIRDS BLOOMS COLOURS

DAWN

ENCHANTED GARDEN

HEARTS LAO TZU

NATURE RIVER SMILE SONG SPELL

end notes

Spring Wonders Song and

Buds appear and then turn to flowers before our very eyes. Certainly a wonder of spring.

Although I’ve not seen the song thrush so much this month, I’m still hearing it sing! It’s quirky tones are always a delight to hear.

The Brambles Journal is back next month

Have an amazing May

The Bumblebee