The Barn Owl was a stunner Goldie, more so for being totally unexpected.But that's what I love about walking in the countryside:it's a bit like visiting a secondhand bookshop, you never know what might turn up. It's nice to know it's on my Patch and I hope doing well for mice and voles. Certainly by...

Work took me to Oxford this week,where I stayed in a city centre hotel. I didn't have any opportunity to venture out into the countryside but did find the charmingly named Stinking Hellebore in full flower growing on a riverbank close to where I was working. I was also thrilled to see good numbers o...

Cold out there today: a bitter wind with frequent snow flurries. Mind you,for about five minutes around mid-day, the sun came out and it seemed that Winter's hold was weakening: out of the wind I could actually feel warmth from the sun and Spring had the upper hand, although not for long. I found so...

Yes, Paul we have had some hard frosts so that's a strong contender - I kept two of my Hebes in the conservatory and both are completely healthy. I'll follow your tip and cut back the two frost-bitten ones. Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

Crossing the footbridge over the River Medway at Maidstone this morning, fighting against a perishing blizzard, I wasn't really expecting to see a sign of Spring but one came anyway,in the shape of a Black-headed Gull which was just getting it's new season's black (or rather, brown) head.

Thanks for the comments guys, much appreciated. I'm just a "Garden and Dog Walk Naturalist" and feared my diary would be rather dull, so I'm glad to hear it's not boring everybody to tears. I certainly enjoy reading all of the diaries on this forum. I've never lost the sense of joy and exc...

I saw this wild-looking Dandelion and thought it was such a burst of colour on this February day that I'd put it in my diary P1020431.JPG The number of Dandelion flowers opening up is rapidly on the increase where I walk my dogs,many more Daisies too. I also found a Ladybird P1020442.JPG I know noth...

Guy,thanks for the identification of my weird-looking fungus : with all these asteroids and meteorites whizzing about the place at the moment I thought it might be the start of an alien invasion. Susie,the Wallflower I bought is Erysium Bowles Mauve P1020364.JPG P1020370.JPG It is already developing...

Daffodils in flower on a roundabout on the A28 at Ashford. Not exactly a Wordsworthian location but my first Daffs of the year nonetheless.

Thanks David, but with my luck I'll probably get a big fat Rat : I once made a Dove Cote for the garden which within minutes was invaded by a gang of Starlings, the Collard Doves I'd hoped for didn't get a look in! Thanks for the tip Goldie. I've got four Wallflowers in pots ready to go into the gar...

My luck didn't last long Mike,the very next day Winter returned with a vengeance depositing rain, sleet then snow on us down here in Kent. I don't know if other UKBers have seen reports in the national newspapers about the decline in the number of Hedgehogs in the UK. There's plenty about it on the ...

What a Glorious morning! The harsh, bitter winds of last week had blown themselves out, leaving not a puff behind.The air was warm and friendly. "All's right with the World" I thought, setting off down to the river, my imagination conjuring up an early butterfly or two. It did seem warm en...

February, perhaps, is not the best month to go looking for wild flowers, although I've kept myself amused these last few days by doing just that. By Sunday I'd managed to find 10 flowers and if I include the catkins, my total reaches 11. I got home early today so decided to walk the dog in part of t...

Thanks for your comments David and Susie. I must say that it never occurred to me that the Bumblebee might need help with "Lift Off" ! That's something I will remember in future. My heart went out to the poor thing, it was in such a sorry state. My little Botanic Adventure yesterday sparke...

On this cold February day, with nothing better to do with myself, I decided to see how many different flowers I could find growing wild where I walk my dogs. I think I'm just pining for Spring, twiddling my thumbs impatiently and in need of some colour.It seemed like a bit of fun too: had you knocke...

Cheers Chris, I will keep that in mind.

I saw my first Bumblebee of the year today but it was in a most sorry state, flat on it's back on a path in the rain,drenched, legs weakly waving up at me. I carefully moved it to a dry patch under a hedge and hope it recovered.

Today I'm "working at home" which usually means not doing much work at all, particularly when the sun is shining. When I saw how pleasant a morning it was I convinced myself that a long walk with the dog would set me up for the paperwork that awaited me, so off I went, down to the river wh...

Every morning I read Derwent May's "Nature Notes" in The Times. I think he's a wonderful writer with a deep understanding of the British Countryside (Im sure im not alone in this opinion). Yesterday he wrote about Chaffinches and how they should now start to sing after a long quiet spell. ...

Even before I'd hauled myself out of bed this morning I guessed there'd been an overnight thaw as the garden birds were cheeping away after being very quiet during the cold snap. Sure enough, my garden was all but clear of snow photo-37.JPG and I could see my plants again photo-36.JPG It was lovely ...

On my drive home from work today I was saddened to see a Hedgehog dead in the road. It was a large one and very recently killed. I expected them all to be hibernating, especially during this cold spell.