Spring has sprung.

Hello you lovely people, and thank you for all the lovely comments and emails I receive.

Some years ago South Staffs Council gave away small trees to residents (who applied for one)

as part of the Forest of Mercia planting, I was lucky enough to be awarded a Snowy Mespilus (Amelanchier Lamarckii).  I pruned it back quite hard in February before the sap was rising along with the verigated wigelia it sits along.  This afternoon was nice and sunny and the blossoms were opening..

They make me smile :o)

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I've only bought one item since my last post (see how good I'm getting),  it caught my eye as soon as I walked through the doors....

Lovely, hand carved wooden fungi  which stands about 8" tall and for £1.50 it came home with me.

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Of course there IS the promised hedgehog update.  All the released hogs have been spotted and the night of the 26th/26th April was a bumper one SIX HOGS visited!  I'm pretty sure that it was because it rained for the first time in many weeks and all the little invertebrates were out and about.

The night view from the door that night with the hogs food box in the foreground (I have plans to made a better one soon).  As you can see I have plenty of water out for both birds and mammals.

Can you see a stone hedgehog in left of centre?  On a very recent visit to a garden centre these were spotted at an AMAZING £10 each!  It's so heavy that I cannot lift it.  (I asked why they were SO cheap and was told that their supplier had sent them last year as an 'extra' to their order, the managers didn't like them and didn't put them on sale (?) They had repeatedly asked the suppler to collect them and in the end the supplier gave them credit for them and told them to do as they wished with them and so they sold them off....wish I'd have had another one too.

I've seen similar Owls in the garden centres for around £50.

Sweet Olivia made her first appearance looking happy and healthy :o)

Archie seemed bigger than ever!

(I just didn't get photos of them all.)

Sporting his stripe of course.

then there was a new arrival, a tiny little hog that must have survived the Winter somehow

It was snuffling about here under the old, leaky water butt.

(Such a sweet little face)

We also had my 'live in ' nameless lodger, and another local that I've christened 'Spot' due to a patch of pale spines on his bum!  And finally Otto called in too - a real party!

When I was in the garden this morning photographing the blossom I spotted another old friend in the ground feeder.

One of the wood mice that inhabit my dry stone wall, I'm so happy they are still thriving and not a bit of bother at all.

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Well, I shall have to go as I still have to put out the hog and bird food.  

Hoping you are all well and have a great week!

Best wishes to all

xx

P.S.

I will soon have another TWO rescue hogs to release!