All things bright and beautiful, all creatures……

Acer unfurling.

I wouldn’t say spring has sprung, but it’s beginning to get there!

Apricot blossom.

Hoping for fruit this year.

Flowering Cherry, confetti season is upon us.

Magnolia stellata, utter perfection.

The Montana is taking it’s time! Sam loves playing in the cave formed by it’s stems.

I ventured into the wilderness that is currently the front garden.

A girl must start somewhere, so I seeded the edge of the new drive.

A little top soil and some very expensive grass seed should do the trick.

Sam doing his slug thing during a rare sunny spell. Fell asleep on his feet he did!

Annie doing her endless herding thing…

Curly cat doing his casual stretching thing…

Mr Hoppy, the magpie with the broken wing, doing his peering through windows thing…

And Finally….

Buddy doing his predatory thing….

because….

a peahen has taken up residency in the garden.

It’s been around since we got home. Life is somewhat complicated these days as I constantly have to check where the bird is before letting the dogs out, and it can be literally anywhere.

It’s eating all my plants despite me leaving seed out for it.

It roosts in a Beech tree in the back garden. Can you spot it? Like a scene from India it is!

I’m more used to seeing crows roosting here!

Life sure is strange!

LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!

Subscribe below to stay up to date with the latest from Gardens and Wildlife!

Don't forget to check your email junk folder to confirm your subscription!

36 Comments

  1. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing that giant peahen perching on that branch…..weird or what?
    I do love the spring blossom, confetti everywhere, if only it lasted a little longer, one brisk wind and it’s gone. Thanks Anne.xxx

  2. Oh what a funny bird. She looks most ungainly perched so high in your tree.

    It’s such a joy to see spring coming to your garden from the small unfurlings to the cherry blossoms readying the confetti party. Beautiful!

  3. I don’t know much about India, so I can’t compare, but your home and garden reminds me a bit of Noah’s ark. All the different incompatible animals living together with the plants you love for their beauty… and you, trying to maintain some sort of minimal order. I wish you luck with all my heart. It seems quite a job. But your pictures of nature awakening fill me with joy. Spring has truly come. May it be a beautiful season for all the your family, folks and animals alike.

    • You have me smiling Shimon, it is a little like Noah’s ark here and I do spend my life shuffling animals around that shouldn’t be here!!! I muddle through though and they all give me so much pleasure in their own special ways. Spring is something isn’t it….Thanks Shimon.xxx

  4. Fancy seeing a Peahen in your header, it was and is, a surprise; a very interesting one too. You’ve quite a range of bird life by you.

    The gardening year is taking its time to start to flourish, we were discussing this very point this afternoon. Here, in the far north of Scotland, we could be as much as ten or twelve weeks behind the south, if, there isn’t a ‘catch up’ period. We usually reckon on a six weeks’ difference. The ground is wet still, however, the battered and late Snowdrops (eventually), abided together for a bit with the clumps of Crocuses. Various types of daffodils are flourishing just now.

    xxxx

    • I was pretty surprised seeing the peahen too, I’m even more surprised it has settled here!
      Oh gosh, your spring sounds horribly behind, I wonder if you’ll miss out on it and just jump into one long summer…..xxx

  5. When I read “acer,” my first thought was of the computer brand, and I couldn’t quite figure out why a computer would be unfurling in your garden. Well, I have that sorted now, even though I still don’t know if Acer computers were named after a maple tree.

    I used to varnish a boat at a residence on a canal. One day, I heard the most terrible screaming — it horrified me. Before I called the police to report an assault, I called the boat owner, who laughed and laughed. It was the neighborhood peacocks screaming. Oh, my.

    I wonder if the poor thing was dumped. Perhaps it had screamed once too often, and its owners decided it was time to move it along!

    • I’m laughing re the possibility of a computer unfurling in my garden!
      Oh….peacocks have the most terrifying calls for sure, this peahen honks and hoots and screams and wails, it chills the blood……unearthly it is!
      I have the feeling that this bird is lost, or has escaped, it seems pretty settled at the moment, I wonder how long it will hang around, it’s been a month now.xxx

  6. Do wild peahens wander around your part of the UK?

  7. How amazing! A bit big to fit on the bird table I think, do you know where it can have come from? All wildlife seems to gravitate to you, there must be a sign somewhere showing them the way!

    • Certainly too big for the birdfeeder!!! I’m beginning to suspect there may be some sign visible only to animals…. sighs….thanks Pauline.xxx

  8. You came home just in time for Spring! The garden looks bright & sunny & all the animals are doing their thing! Curly cat is so well named … Very cute…. Don’t think there will ever be peace or compromise between Buddy and the peahen … Very tricky! We could add to your animals by sending a possum living in our apple tree… Eating all the fruit & landing like a jet plane on the roof at night.👌😀

    • I think you may be right about Buddy and the peahen, I don’t like the way he looks at her….at all!!!
      However tempting your offer re the possum is I will have to decline, simply no more room at the inn! He sounds like trouble to me! Thanks Gerrie!xxx

  9. lowcarbdiabeticJan

    Yes … definitely signs in your garden that spring has sprung!
    I love it when the buds and blooms start to appear.

    Lovely selection of photographs.
    Happy Friday Wishes

    All the best Jan

    • Thanks Jan, it’s been a slow start but spring has just about sprung now! It’s such a deliciously fresh season!xxx

  10. Great images of a beckoning spring. Has been wet and cold down here.

  11. veggiemummy

    Looks like spring has definitely sprung round your parts. Love the slug thing, although with a downward dog and a cat stretch, it looks like they’re all practising their yoga! You’ve reminded me that we must get round to reseeding bits of our lawn. Enjoy the weekend. xx

    • Spring is still way behind but the buds are unfurling and fruit trees beginning to blossom so no complaints here. My grass seed is finally beginning to germinate, it has certainly taken it’s time, hope you got around to reseeding yours, it should grow faster now it’s warming up!xxx

  12. So where has the peahen come from? I think the apricot on our greenhouse has set quite a few fruit so my pollinating must have worked. The next thing is will the fruit swell.

    • I think the peahen has escaped from somewhere Sue, I’ve heard that peacocks are kept locally, a ten minute walk across a busy dual carriageway, we did see a family last year but they only hung around for a few days, this bird has been here a month now, she doesn’t seem overly keen to go home. I do hope you get fruit, I keep checking all the fruits on my tree but nothing is swelling, I have a feeling the fruitlets will all drop off, a girl can hope though.xxx

  13. Oh, Dina, your blossoms and buds are all so gorgeous. Breathtaking, they are! And all the sweet lives circling yours for nourishment are so enticing.

    I think Sam is doing a downward dog. Buddy is too precious, and Annie is so devoted to her instinct.

    I’ve never seen a peahen; are they common for you to have around? My goldfinches and cardinals and blue jays are very busy at the feeders, but snow is forecast for Saturday, so I hope the orioles and buntings aren’t in peril in their journey north.

    Thank you for yet another glorious post, especially the springtime encouragement! Xoxo.

    • I do hope you are beginning to see some more springlike temps, here’s to you being able to get out and garden! I can’t believe you are having snow this late, that’s crazy!!! This peahen must have escaped from somewhere or moved on, they are domestic birds in the UK.
      I wish we had some blue jays and cardinals!!! Huge hugs and love, as always.xxxx

  14. Isn’t it so lovely to start to see blossom at last! It’s the same here, I got SO excited when I spotted the first flowers opening on the pear tree the other day. Now it’s windy … Ah well, warmer weather is forecast for next week here – up to 70F if that’s true!! I did think that strange bird looked like a peahen in the first photo; surely escaped from somewhere? But how exciting for you! And I really can’t understand how it gets that high in the tree! xxx

    • You just can’t beat seeing the first signs of spring, there’s nothing quite like it. I keep wandering around the garden looking at the same plants, waiting for them to leaf out and flower is a little like watching paint dry, seems to take forever, now everything is bursting into greenery. Yes, the peahen must have escaped or just moved on, it’s been around for a month now and seems pretty content hanging around here…..she is beautiful though. Thanks Caro.xxx

  15. Lovely image of the acer unfurling.
    Spring really is trying to make her presence felt but seems to be having a hard time doing so 🙂

    I had a peacock in the garden many years ago. It had escaped from the owners garden.
    Sadly the local fox caught it. Very sad at the time.

    Lovely visitor to your garden.

    • Oh, what a sad story! This bird roosts in the beech tree each night so hopefully should be safe from the foxes. She is a beautiful bird, I’m getting far too used to her hanging around. Thanks Cheryl, hopefully we’ll all get to enjoy some warmer weather now. My tomatoes and peppers still haven’t germinated, I’m wondering if it’s too late for them now….xxx

  16. Splendid! Spring is certainly beckoning……Such a Super Season…..Spring Hugs! 💕

    • Spring is a wonderful season for sure, slowly we seem to be getting there, it’s just lovely seeing all the buds burst. Thanks Bushka.xxx

  17. A good post and lovely pictures. Where’s the peahen likely to have come from? xx

    • Thanks Flighty, I recall a family of peacocks hanging around for a few days last year, some of the neighbours say they live on the other side of a duel carriageway, ten minutes walk away, if they come from there I’m amazed they survive the traffic, crossing that road would be dangerous for them.xxx

  18. It really is amazing how animals of all kinds make a bee line for you. I wonder if they tell each other where the tasty food is or where they’ll get well looked after. Sam doing his slug thing, Archie does that too but I’ve never thought of it as a slug thing before, lol.

    • It astonished me too how many creatures end up here….I always imagine Gandalf has been around and left some strange runes on the gate! When Sam does his downward dog he does take on a slug form….lovely that dear Archie does it too! Thanks Jo.xxx

  19. You have such beautiful tree blossoms in your garden! Love the Montana’s “cave”. So unique! And those cheery, interesting and funny animals! Reminds me of my childhood garden where we used to have chickens who roosted on our mango trees at night, a poor solitary duck who wished she was one of the chickens, and a guard dog who loved to chase them and an occasional cat visitor around whenever we let him out. Finally, all the best with the newly-seeeded patch at your new drive!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.