Flighty's plot

In all the years that I’ve been blogging I have always browsed other blogs looking for ones that are interesting and  informative. Above all they have to have that certain something that makes them satisfying to read and  in the case of photo blogs to look at.

I’ve been enjoying  Uphilldowndale’s blog since she started it back in May 2007 as it combines the best of both worlds.  Her photos are wonderful and writing always a pleasure whatever the subject be it the seemingly mundane, the family puppy Spud or wonderful wildlife.

As one of the best I think that her invite to become one of the collaborators  on  a new blog, Vision and Verb,  is well deserved.

It was launched on Monday and is a collaboration of women of a certain age.  Having looked at the about me’s of  the collaborators, and read the first posts,  I think that this blog will very quickly establish itself as another one of the best.

Have a good weekend!

One of the few TV programmes that I miss is Gardeners’ World. I felt that  last year’s series lost it’s way so I stopped watching it after a couple of shows.

I wasn’t the only one as viewing figures dropped and there were complaints galore.  Thankfully the producers have recognised that they got it wrong and the new series, which starts in March and runs through to October, is going back to grown-up gardening. The show has to be informative, interesting and appeal to all gardeners.  Let’s hope that the new half-hourly programmes do that!

For those of you who like Monty Don he’s back on TV next week with a new series My Dream Farm which is on Channel4 starting next Thursday at 8.00pm.

Coming soon on BBc2 is Alys Fowler’s new series The Edible Garden – a home grown life. I’ll mention this again once I know when it’s being shown.

Among the regular birds that I’ve been seeing from  my back doorstep over the past week have been a couple of  grey wagtails and a mistle thrush. The tits, mostly blue tits, mostly stay up in the trees flitting about. Being small they’re difficult to see but I’m sure that one day I saw a coal tit. I really must clean the windows and find my binoculars!

Have a good weekend!

I always treat myself to a non-fiction book for Christmas and this year it was Allotment and Garden Guide by Twigs Way.  Subtitled  A monthly guide to better wartime gardening it’s proving to be an enjoyable, and fascinating, read.

I was given some book tokens which I’ll be using to buy a non-fiction book with. I used to buy aviation books but, not surprisingly, in the past few years they’ve been  about gardening. However this year I think that I ought to try and find a useful cookery book!

I’m not much of a foodie so my cooking is pretty basic and simple. I’m not interested in any of the so-called celebrity chefs books but Nigel Slater’s book The Kitchen Diaries has been recommended to me as it contains over 300 straightforward receipes.  You can see why this book appeals to me if you read this review of it!

So that’s it then for another year except to wish you all a…

Happy New Year!

I live in a rather unprepossessing looking block of flats built in the 1930’s. The view out front is mostly of parked vehicles and the flats on the other side of  what is usually a busy main road.

However the narrow strip of garden that you can see is full of trees and shrubs which attract plenty of birds.  Yesterday I heard an unmistakeable bird sound and looked out to see two ring-necked parakeets up near the top of the large tree just along to the left.

The view out back is little better but there is a wide strip of grass and plenty of trees.  As the service road is now blocked off to vehicles and there are few cats and dogs around it has meant that the wildlife is relatively undisturbed there.

Last week when it was snowy I started  scattering some bird seed and porridge oats on the concrete areas that were still clear.  This morning I did that, made a cup of tea then walked into the back room to see if anything was out  there.  I was delighted to see four squirrels, a handful of  starlings , two magpies, about ten wood pigeons, the  robin and a pair of blackbirds (the female being brown with a dark beak, unlike the glossy black male with a golden beak). Yesterday I saw a lone female chaffinch and some blue tits flitting about in the trees.

The squirrels are resident and provide endless entertainment both on the ground feeding and scampering through the trees. Mind you I got a shock when one fell out of the nearby palm tree yesterday but thankfully it seemed unfazed!

I would love to get some good photos but with my camera that seems unlikely but I’ll keep trying!  I took this through the window this morning and you can see some woodpigeons taking flight, and can you spot the squirrel!