Back at the nursery

Today’s guest picture comes from my friend Mark.

He was one of the volunteers who went to plant trees on the Tarras Velley Nature Reserve this morning. We were a small but select group. Mrs Tootlepedal had cycled up to Cronksbank with me for company, but left us to do the planting while she pedalled back to Langholm where she had various things to do.

It was another sunny morning, but a brisk wind gave the day a cool feeling.

We walked half a mile up the hill to the banks of the Raegill Burn where a lot of trees have already been planted by schoolchildren and visiting volunteers.

The line of rather battered trees in the background marks the edge of the nature reserve. We got busy planting out more baby trees and supporting them with posts and tree guards.

It was hard work on the rough ground, and I for one was secretly pleased when we ran out of posts and guards and had to call it a day earlier than planned. This was the last planting until the autumn as the ground is getting dry. When we got back to the tree nursery, we thought it wise to water the trays before we left.

Regular readers will know that Mrs Tootlepedal and I helped to fill these trays with seedlings two years ago, and it is pleasing, if a bit surprising, to see that they have lasted so well. It will need a big push, probably by professional planters, to get them all planted out in the autumn.

There was some sensational golden lichen on the wall of the nursery.

It was very satisfying to cycle home along the banks of the Tarras water, feeling that a useful if modest job had been done.

I had a look round the garden when I got home and found a white theme. The magnolia is enjoying the warmer weather, the trillium is doing really well, and we have some white bluebells.

I filled the bird feeder and it didn’t take long for a male redpoll to appear.

He was soon joined by others, and in the end there were enough redpolls about to start several arguments.

Redpolls move around to find new sources of food and come into our garden from time to time. I think of them as spring visitors, but looking at my records, I see that we have had them at any time from mid winter to midsummer in past years.

Although we hadn’t spend very long at the tree planting, I had found it quite tiring, so I had a quiet afternoon in, sometimes helping Mrs Tootlepedal tidy up in the garden, and sometimes sitting around and doing nothing.

I did look around while I was in the garden, and noticed that as well as pretty lilac, tulips and daffodils, the ajuga plants round the middle lawn had all taken it into their heads to come into flower today, there was a ladybird in the cow parsley, and wild garlic had turned up unexpectedly beside the dam behind the house.

The apple blossom is looking very promising but as there was only one bee in evidence, I got my pollinating brush out and buzzed round the flowers as well as I could.

I had another look at the birds later on and found a redpoll sparring with a siskin, but soon goldfinches and chaffinches were joining in too.

We had a couple of rain showers as the day went on, and this was very welcome for the newly planted trees on the hill.

After the regular Zoom with my brother and sisters we had our evening meal and subsided into peaceful rest.

The flying bird of the day is a chaffinch dislodging a siskin.