Monthly Archives: April 2020

Citizen Science Calling You!

Posted on April 24, 2020 by smallPaws

All around the world this weekend, a major citizen science project to document biodiversity will take place in over 200 cities.  It’s so easy!  We already updated a link about seeing a rare red damselfly on our plot (spotted earlier this … Continue reading →

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Earth Day updates

Posted on April 23, 2020 by smallPaws

22 April is Earth Day, and 2020 this marks fifty years of trying to draw attention to the beauty and biodiversity of mother earth.  Fifty years of conservation efforts and trying to get human beings to value their environment, with … Continue reading →

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fruit futures..

Posted on April 21, 2020 by smallPaws

Signs of crops to come abound on the plot. Gooseberry, now safely ensconced in their netted new bed, are swelling nicely, promising what may be our first ever crop of berries. Or at least the first crop that we will … Continue reading →

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the sea-holly resurfaces – again

Posted on April 20, 2020 by smallPaws

Signs of a return of the sea holly once again.  It didn’t flower last summer which was a disappointment, but it did have a good show of flowers in that first summer in 2018. The timing is pretty much the … Continue reading →

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after the rain…

Posted on April 20, 2020 by smallPaws

After a slight rain on Saturday, life on the allotment exploded into life.  The first signs of the broad beans I planted way back in March showed themselves, shyly but present nonetheless.

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cold Friday & wildlife snaps

Posted on April 17, 2020 by smallPaws

Not only is it noticeably cooler in the past two days (just over 10 degrees again today), it also rained lightly. The rain wasn’t heavy or lashing down – more of a gentle shower – but it was fairly sustained … Continue reading →

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little chirpers – blue tits

Posted on April 17, 2020 by smallPaws

We spotted these little chirpers zooming in and out of the plum and apple trees. Can you spot him in the midst of the plum blossom and branches? It appears they peck and nibble at the blossoms.  Is it these … Continue reading →

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new wild favourite: poached egg plant!

Posted on April 16, 2020 by smallPaws

The big guy has a new favourite wildflower: the poached egg plant.  The name says it all. It’s also known as Meadow foam, of the Limnanthaceae family, and is originally native of California. They are low-growing annuals with pinnately divided leaves … Continue reading →

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cold snaps & doing things out of season

Posted on April 14, 2020 by smallPaws

The weather report warned on Easter Sunday of a big dip in temperatures, with days going from low 20s to 10 degrees Celcius.  Brrrrr!  We’d been lured into false confidence that spring was truly with us, and yesterday it was … Continue reading →

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pond life with Percival

Posted on April 14, 2020 by smallPaws

Earlier this week we spotted our palmate newt, who’d taken it upon himself to shimmy up the plastic lining of the pond to catch some sun. Percival seems to have grown and is now about 3 inches long, with a … Continue reading →

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