Revolting legs

Today’s guest picture comes from our daughter Annie, who went to the Chelsea Flower Show yesterday and took a lot of pictures.  This shows one of the gardens at the show.

Nice lawn and box hedges. I wonder where the designer got that idea from?

We had another spell of very pleasant weather today but between things to do and protesting legs, bicycling was not on the menu (although it should have been).

In the morning, I should have gone for a short bike ride but I did the crossword instead and then Mrs Tootlepedal and I went to the Buccleuch Centre to visit our own local modest garden show.  Mrs Tootlepedal resisted the temptation to buy any of the lovely plants on offer as she already has many more plants in the greenhouse grown from seed than she has space in the garden to plant them.

When we got back, I mowed the front lawn and wandered about the garden aimlessly.  I did have a camera in hand.

The first iris of the year has arrived.

I spent some time watching a parent and young starling on a Spirea.  The baby and parent had difficulty finding a branch strong enough to take both of them at the same time…

…but they did get together once.

There are families of blackbirds, dunnocks and sparrows in the garden at the moment but they are not co-operating with the cameraman at all.

I was round the back of the house looking at the different Potentillas which line the side of the dam there…

…when our neighbour Liz called my attention to some tiny fish swimming about further upstream.

The sun was so bright that each fish was accompanied by their shadow.  They may be tiny trout.

Back in the garden, I noted the development of the Astrantias….

…which I hope will provide me with many pictures through the summer.

I did a little bird watching too.

A family of starlings went for a walk across the front lawn..

…and a dunnock broke cover long enough for me to snatch a picture.

We had been invited out to lunch at the Eskdale Hotel by an old friend Doreen, the widow of Arthur with whom I played many rounds of golf and who was an enthusiastic member of the Archive Group.   It was a very sociable affair with good company and excellent food and wine and when we got back home, the afternoon was well advanced.

Once again cycling fell to the back of the queue and I spent the time in lawn care instead, watering one lawn, mowing another and then spreading some buck-u-uppo around with a free hand.  After last year’s very wet weather, the lawns are looking rather starved and I am hoping that frequent mowing and steady feeding will get them back into good condition.

I looked at flowers too.

In the blue corner: Lithodora and Polemonium

Aquilegias are everywhere in various shades

The yellow poppies are hanging on defiantly, getting redder round the edges every day.

I then mowed the drying green and went inside to make a cup of tea.  I could hear a great squawking outside and when I looked out of the window, I saw a blackbird and a starling perched on the feeder pole and shouting abuse at each other.  I have never seen this before.

They were both most indignant and stood their ground eyeballing each other for quite a long time.

As the sun dropped down, it remained a beautiful and warm day and I managed to avoid several opportunities to stretch my legs any more than by going out to look at yet more flowers…

…and ferns.

The weather seems to be set fair for the next few days so I hope to make up for my lack of cycling.  At least my legs were quite pleased to have had a day off.

The warm, sunny weather has cheered everyone up and the the whole town seems to be smiling.

I did manage to catch a siskin to be flying bird of the day.  Unlike chaffinches, they don’t hover at all when they approach the feeder but just fly straight onto the perches so I have to be very quick if I want to have a decent picture.  I wasn’t quite quick enough today.  I will try to do better tomorrow.