Today’s guest picture is another from my brother’s visit to Chester and shows a view of the cathedral there.
We had yet another calm, cool, dry day today although Mrs Tootlepedal did encounter the briefest of showers while she was archaeologising.
She spent pretty well the whole day at the Roman fort at Broomholm, helping with the grids for the survey. She tells me that they have identified three ovens and a road or two already but more will be revealed as the data is analysed. She has quite enjoyed treading in the Romans’ footsteps and looking at the country as they might have looked at it when the fort was in use.
I spent another quiet morning at home, occasionally looking at birds but not in a Roman way at all.
Blue tits and goldfinches were our most frequent visitors
We run an ecumenical feeder with all sorts of different birds present at the same time…
…but when the goldfinches take over, there is often trouble
I popped out every now and again to do some useful things in the garden. I sieved some compost, which Mrs Tootlepedal is going to need in her reconfigured flower beds and I completed the spiking and sanding of half of the front lawn.
I spread these actions out in small chunks over the day because experience tells me that doing too much at once leads to not being able to do anything at all. Can it be that after all these years, I am finally acquiring a little wisdom? Hope springs eternal.
I also found time to look at the flowers.
A cosmos. The taller variety is lasting well.
The dahlias just keep coming
And I ate a raspberry as well.
If the frost keeps away, I will be still eating them in November
In the afternoon, I went out for a pedal round my Canonbie route. The larch trees are just beginning to turn….
…and with a bit of luck, we will get a nice golden display from them in time.
There was a light crosswind for most of the way round so I concentrated on keeping pedalling rather than looking for photo opportunities but I did stop a couple of other times.
The trees by the roadside on the old A7 at Canonbie were very striking.
I parked the bike at the end of the bike path and walked down to the river at Broomholm Island and although the riverside wasn’t as colourful as I had hoped…
…I was pleased to get a glimpse of a dipper while I was there.
I did think of making a diversion on my route and calling in on Mrs Tootlepedal at the Roman fort but it would have involved going up two steep hills so my legs voted against it.
As this blog is a sort of daily diary, I try always to use pictures that I have taken that day in it but I am making an exception today as just after I had posted last night’s effort, Mrs Tootlepedal called me out into the garden to meet the hedgehog she has been putting food out for.
My hedgehog knowledge is nil so I have no idea whether this is a male or a female, young or old but it looks quite well fed. I hope that we are able to see it again.
The flower of the day is a poppy, as red in real life as it is in the picture…
…and the flying bird of the day is a goldfinch.
Like the Dipper photo – we don’t get them down here.
I saw another today. They are fairly common round here but they are very shy so getting a good shot needs patience and luck.
Lucky you having a hedgehog visit. Their numbers have plummeted in the last 30 years or so.
Mrs T is doing her best to help.
Thank you, Mrs T.
It’s too bad the route is so hilly to the Roman ruins. They might make an interesting and unusual post.
Your hedgehogs are interesting and quite different from our porcupines.
That poppy is beautiful.
I am going to go up to the fort with Mrs Tootlepedal and get a tour when the right moment arrives.
Archaeology is fascinating, pity it is being dropped by some exam boards. You can only tell the gender of a hedgehog by persuading it to show you its “undercarriage”, or if you happen to spy on their conjugal encounters. Yours is looking good and round and that is all that matters 🙂
I think we will be happy to remain in ignorance.
🙂
I know very little about hedgehogs, don’t they burrow? If so, I’m surprised that Mrs. T would be encouraging one to stick around in her beautiful gardens, even if they are kind of cute.
The cosmos and dahlia are looking great, almost as good as in the spring.
Hedgehogs are no problem to a gardener and Mrs Tootlepedal is very pleased to have one.
A splendid variety of delightful photographs, the hedgehog and the Autumn colours were my favourites.
Good to see the hedgehog. Well done to Mrs T for all her hard work archaelogising.
that red poppy is beautiful and I like the dipper photo too.
I always like to see a dipper but I wish that I had had my dipper camera with me. (Too heavy for my back pocket!)
Shame. However you do get good photos with what you have used
As we have wintered lots of hedgehogs over the years, my best advice is to have somewhere in your garden a corner left a bit untidy – with sticks and leaves in a heap. Hedgehogs burrow into these heaps to hibernate. The one you showed seems to be fully grown and healty. Hedgehogs should weigh at least 500 grams to live through hibernation. Please put out no milk for them as this leads to indigeston. They like cat-food, however this may attract cats. There are special feeding and hibernation-boxes to help the (meanwhile – at least in the UK – endagered) hedgehog population.
She thanks you for this sound advice and will do her best to follow it.
A lovely nature study post to enjoy especially the hedgehog, the dipper and those colourful autumn trees. Have I missed a link to Mrs T’s archaeological work?
No. She worked away without me pestering her for pictures.
A beautiful little hedgehog! Mrs. Tootlepedal is not only a remarkable woman, but also has a kind heart.
The cosmos blooms look radiant! Do they normally bloom this late where you are or is it the unusually warm autumn?
Most of our cosmos is well past but for some reason the taller variety flowered later and has lasted longer than usual.
Nice to see you have a regular hedgehog visitor. I love the bright poppy!