magical muck

Because this is the first time i have had a garden, it is also my first time composting and i can't wait to see how it turns out. I got the bin free from the council and i gotta say i love the whole composting idea, helping the environment and hopefully getting rich sweet smelling compost for the plants next season.
The bin is three quarters full but I'm not sure if i should be turning the contents as yet?
I'm thinking i might just lift the bin and mix the stuff up a little, i have seen compost activator on sale, does anyone use it? I read on this site the best thing to do is pee on it, i aint done that yet but thinking of giving it a go,has anyone else? I'll see how it looks after its been turned!

sugar frosted pansies

The icy fingers of jack frost had traced its way around pansies in the hanging baskets.
The garden is looking pretty miserable today all grey and gloomy, I checked on the plants overwintering in the green house and the geraniums are still flowering. I'm not sure if i should be cutting them back ready for spring, but I think I'll just enjoy the last flush of colour.

here's a fun quiz to test your knowledge on eating flowers

http://my.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz193667162d270.html

I got 9 out of 15 so it looks like I need to do my homework!

Let me know your score.

Magpie

I would really like a better camera, that can zoom and take clearer photo's, or it could be my tecnique, so we will move on!

This magpie looked so cute sitting on the T.V. aerial surveying its territory, probably keeping its eye open for sparkly jewels to snatch and decorate the nest with. Hey, I can relate to that, i also like bits of bling to hang in my nest and garden!

One for sorrow,

Two for joy,

Three for a girl,

Four for a boy,

Five for silver,

Six for gold,

Seven for a secret

Never to be told

Eight for a wish

nine for a kiss

Ten for a bird

You must not miss

oooooo

As kids we used to sing this rhyme whenever we saw a Magpie, as back in the 70's there was a children's programme on called Magpie, whose mascot was a Magpie called "Murgatroyd". At the end of the show they put the above words to music as the credits rolled. Remembering back to those halcyon days, you were either a Magpie fan or Blue Peter fan. For the record, I was a hip Magpie fan!

update on ladybird problem (Harmonia axyridis)

OK the ladybird problem we had in my daughters bedroom is still happening. We are still finding them nearly every day but nowhere near as many. It got ridiculous, they were appearing as quick as we was getting rid of them. They release this stuff called reflex blood when you try to pick them up and it stains yellow and smells unpleasant, and it was driving us all mad! In a week of us having the problem it had gone from "oh look at the cute ladybird," to "arrrggghhh get rid of the bug!"

The update is, we found a hole outside in the brickwork and cemented it up so I'm hoping that was their point of entry, and I'm thinking that although we are still finding them, they might have got in before we filled in the hole so hopefully it will dwindle.

If anyone else is having a problem this year or has had one in the past, I'd be interested to know how you dealt with it.

Bulb Thief

For the past few days i have been seeing the earth disturbed in the flower beds where i recently planted the bulbs. I thought it was the local neighbourhood cats having a scratch around. Then i caught this squirrel red handed digging away, and here is his mugshot. He definitely has balls of steel and attitude, he just ran up the fence and sat looking while the dog was barking herself into a frenzy. he then flicked his tail ( i think i know what that means in squirrel language!) and slowly skipped off, no doubt laughing to himself!

My bargain plants.

Yesterday i went with DH to the local DIY shed, while he was mooching around the tool section, i took myself outside to look at the plants and stuff. I'm so glad i did as they were selling off a selection of houseplants, so this is my bargain find...the small Creeping Fig was 50p, the Boston Fern £2 including the ceramic plant pot it came in, and the spider plant was £1. Then just as i was thinking how well i had done, i looked down and spied this cute little bonsai tree a snip at £2. I'm not sure what the tree is so if anyone knows please tell me.

Dad's Sky

Looking out of the loft window at sunset, over the field that backs on to my house.

The camera really doesn't captivate the full beauty of the colours but it is still a beautiful sight.
My dad was a deep sea fisherman originally from Aberdeen in Scotland but made his home here in Hull, and he used to say " a red sky at night sailors delight, a red sky in morning, sailors warning."

Beanz meanz Heinz

I took this pic while rummaging in the garage and was amazed by how fat it was. I googled to find out more and found it is a common British garden spider called Araneus diadematus or as my daughter calls it "the bean with legs." i just hope there ain't another 57 varieties lodging in there.