I go away for a couple of weeks and the weather goes from record breaking heat, to a soggy August in a matter of days.
They should rename August as autumn, given the late evening
and early morning feel in the air, not to mention the wet and windy weather.
Over the last ten days the swifts seem to have departed for
warmer climes, can’t say I blame them, while the garden birds have definitely
quit the breeding season for this year.
I have seen the swallow family, now looking great with seven
fledged youngsters, taking to the air and learning the aerobatic skills that a
swallow needs.
It’s a fabulous sight, watching the newly-fledged swallows
dancing around the skies, flirting with the fields and trees, and all the time
chattering away to their parents.
They’ll be off soon and to me it means autumn has already
started.
The garden is quiet with the likes of blue tits, great tits,
house sparrows, dunnocks, blackbirds, robins and wrens only sporadically
visiting.
I’ve cut back on extra food for them, apart from a couple of
feeders, but perhaps with the weather conditions I’m tempted to put some fat
balls out there.
The flora is growing significantly with all the wet and
warm(ish) weather, but not the ones I want to.
The sunflowers are not as tall as last year (no they’re not dwarf ones), the tomatoes are only just flowering, and the broad beans have
basically failed.
But the grass, rose bushes and ivy, the ones I have to trim
regularly, are flourishing – so plenty of time in the garden for me at the
moment.
With Bank Holiday weekend coming up shortly, the weather is
bound to improve…
The wildlife might not care about this, but the humans who
use the garden certainly do!
