Tags
Bees, Cotoneaster, gardening, Great Mullein, Mullein Moth larva, purple toadflax, recording of Turtle Dove song, scabious, St Michael and St Felix Church Rumburgh, Suffolk, sunset, The Vapourer Moth larva, Turtle Dove
I have been doing a lot of gardening recently. Not the gentle-dead-heading, touch-of-light-weeding type of gardening but lots of digging – which always involves extracting large flint boulders from clay soil, lots of watering – carrying heavy watering cans round our large garden and lots of grass-cutting – I do most of this with shears. We have a large area of grass which is planted up with spring bulbs. There are a few trees planted there as well and the ground is very uneven. I think that it was originally a spoil heap from when the house was built; it also slopes quite steeply down to the ditch at the front of the house. We leave cutting the grass until the bulb leaves have died back which means it is left until June by which time it is looking quite unkempt. The ground is much too uneven for the tractor mower and because of the trees it is a very difficult area for Richard to do (he is 6′ 3″ tall). I am a foot shorter in height than he is, so I do this part of the garden. I can’t use the strimmer as it is too heavy for me so I cut the 3′ high grass with shears. We bought a scythe but somehow we can’t get it to sharpen. I like using shears as I can see what I am doing and I don’t cut the wrong things down as I might if I could use the strimmer. A strimmer makes such a mess; shears are tidy. Once I have cut the grass to a manageable length I then rake it up into a number of enormous heaps and then transport it to the other end of the garden in a wheelbarrow and put it on the grass heap. I then use the electric mower and cut the grass even shorter.
As a result of this work I am extremely achy and stiff but I have developed some good muscles in my arms and shoulders! I was glad we had a little rain on Sunday so I excused myself from working outside. I read my book, talked with my husband and daughter and generally had a relaxing day.
We had an Evening Prayer service at St Michael and St Felix Church in Rumburgh where Richard is one of the church wardens. We left home at 5.45 pm to make sure the church was tidy and ready for the service. There had been a big wedding there on Saturday so the church is full of beautiful flowers.
The path has been regravelled and the fence panel at the side of the church has been repaired.
The bride’s family live at the farm which surrounds the church and the church is in their back garden. I have never walked all round my church because that would mean walking through someone else’s property. However, it is so nice to have kind people who decorate our church and repair our fence and path because their daughter wanted to get married in the church!
Our evening service was taken by Maurice and we concentrated on the Trinity. It was a pleasant, peaceful and thoughtful service.
I’ll use the rest of the post to show you a few more things I’ve seen on my travels and in the garden recently.
I had noticed that a few of my plants and tree seedlings had been damaged and on Sunday I found a few of the caterpillars that were responsible.
The Vapourer is often found in towns and often defoliates street trees. I’ve never seen it in our garden before – perhaps they found their way here on a plant from the garden centre in town. Vapourers are tussock moths which are all rather hairy. The Vapourer female moth doesn’t have functional wings and will stay close to her cocoon after hatching out. The Vapourer larva, along with other members of the Tussock Moth family, has tufts or tussocks of often colourful hairs (the Vapourer’s are yellow). The hairs on adults and larva are usually barbed which makes them unpleasant and painful to handle.
I am not very good at identifying bees. I never seem to notice or photograph the key feature mentioned in the ID guide. The bee above could be a cuckoo bee.
I try to grow as many plants as possible that are liked by bees and other insects.
Lastly, I have another video to share with you but it isn’t the video that’s important just the soundtrack. I would like you to ignore the video! It’s rubbish! I was taking photos in the garden next to the pond, when the Turtle Dove started singing. I switched the camera to film so I could record the song and vaguely pointed the camera in the direction of the pond. The video is very shaky as I didn’t have a tripod with me. I only managed to record a very short part of the song. It is quite a quiet purring sound and the other birds in the garden were singing very loudly!
Thanks for visiting!
Gallivanta said:
You have certainly been hard at work. How lovely, then, to catch the soothing purr of the turtle doves.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Ann, I love the turtle-dove song. It is so soporific! I have been trying to catch up with all the gardening and household tasks now that I’m driving less for a couple of months. My body is aching so much at the moment I think I’m going to have to slow down and put up with the mess!
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Gallivanta said:
Maybe time for another quiet Sunday. 😉
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clarepooley33 said:
I think so!
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Julie said:
Clare, I am not in Vimeo to listen to your bird song. I shall sort that out. Your Sunday sounds very relaxing, but your grass cutting method does sound like you would be developing some muscles!
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clarepooley33 said:
I don’t think you need to join Vimeo to watch the video. Your problem, like mine was until we changed internet providers a few days ago, is probably internet speed. You should just be able to click on the video and view it without doing anything else. I use Vimeo to edit videos and save them and then I just copy and paste them into my post. This means I don’t use up any of my media file space. I will eventually use Flickr to post photos as well.
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Aggie said:
Like you, I prefer shears to the weed-eater, and like the scythe even better, but it is not sharp enough for heavy grasses. It’s fun to hear that another couple has the same dichotomy.
Did you know that mullein is primo backpacker’s toilet paper, and it’s suggested for planting near composting toilets?
The simple peonies in the flower arrangements are lovely.
Enjoyed the sights and sounds once again!
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Aggie! I can imagine mullein leaves are ideal for purpose! In researching Mullein I found one of its ancient names was/is ‘Adam’s Flannel’ so this quality has been known for some time!
We find the strimmer won’t cope with stinging nettles and other fibrous plants so Richard uses the brush-cutter or even the hedge trimmer.
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Aggie said:
We also had an outbreak of thistle which grew as tall as me this year. I took the hatchet to it.
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clarepooley33 said:
Monster thistle!
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yeoldefoole said:
This is lovely!
Just curious – how old IS your church?
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clarepooley33 said:
It is very old and was originally the church belonging to a Benedictine Priory founded in about 1065 though the stone building is much later than that. I believe most of the building was completed in the 13th century with substantial additions in the early 15th century. More changes were made in subsequent centuries and now we are fighting to keep it standing! http://www.suffolksaints.info/rumburgh_text.htmg to keep it standing!
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colorpencil2014 said:
Lovely photos…and still those decorations look very lovely but you are right, sigh! That song of the dove is also used by Kate Bush in her beautiful music of ‘A sky of honey’ , love it! Take care of those aching muscles, xo Johanna
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Johanna! I have a back-ache that won’t go away so I am being very careful now! I haven’t heard that song by Kate Bush. I will have to have a listen!
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Vevdronningen said:
Lovely post. Reading this makes me think of the real English countryside, in a flowery and very romantic kind of way:)
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much! 🙂
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quietsolopursuits said:
I really liked all the flowers and other things in this post, and the video brought them all to life for me in a big way! It’s funny how we compartmentalize things, such as sights, or sounds, but we don’t put them together. Your video did just that, hearing the birds singing in the background as I scrolled back through the post made me feel as if I was really there!
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Jerry. That’s the reason I really enjoy the videos you put on your posts. I can almost imagine myself being where you were when you took your wonderful shots.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
It must have been pleasant to be outside working and hearing sounds like that. The sounds, sights and smells are what I always try to pay attention to when I’m in the woods but sometimes one or the other will take over, like when I see a beautiful flower or hear a bird I’ve never heard.
The countryside is beautiful and so was that sunset!
It was nice of them to leave all those flowers for the churchgoers but of course now its up to the churchgoers to remove them all. Still, it seems like a fair trade.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Allen. I think it was a fair trade especially as the mother of the bride is part of the team that cleans and decorates the church throughout the year.
You are right that all the senses are used when we are outside and it is that which makes it such a satisfying experience.
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tootlepedal said:
I love the sound of the dove. It takes me back to visiting my aunt when I was young. Your gardening sounds wonderfully energetic.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you. The doves song is wonderfully evocative. My back has told me that I should be admiring the garden from a distance for the time being.
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tootlepedal said:
I know that feeling all too well. Listen to your back.
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clarepooley33 said:
I am listening!
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Aquileana said:
Excellent gallery… I really liked the pics of the yellowish grass and the churches…
As always, a joy to visit you in such a beautiful place with great surroundings, dear Clare. Happy weekend ahead! … All my best wishes. Aquileana 😀
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you dear Aquileana! I am pleased you liked it! 🙂 Have a lovely weekend Clare 😀
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Cynthia Reyes said:
What a wonderful post, Clare. Except for the defoliating bugs! Yes, that post pew does look comical, now that you mention it. I always like to see your church, decorated or not. That rood screen is beautiful.
I can imagine that all that work gives you muscles – I miss the muscles I had before the accident, when I was always moving rocks, digging new garden beds, planting stuff, etc. I loved it and was very strong. Enjoy the feeling of strength for you and me, OK? And thanks for the soundscape. Perfect.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Cynthia. I do appreciate the things I am able to do but often forget that (a) I am getting older and (b) I am not supposed to do a lot of heavy work! I have been suffering from back ache and a strange problem with the muscles in my legs. My knees bend suddenly now and again so it looks like I’m doing an odd curtsey and I usually make a hooting sound at the same time which is a little embarrassing! It is fortunate that I haven’t had time for any gardening for nearly two weeks so my aches are fading slowly. I am just watching all the weeds and grass re-growing, not able to do anything! I am really pleased you liked the post. Much love Cx
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sherijkennedyriverside said:
Such a lovely post. I felt like I took a refreshing and interesting walk with you. I can totally see the clown on the poppyhead. I hadn’t heard that term before, so thanks for the definition. I love learning new words and expressions.
While the caterpillars are a nuisance you managed to make them fascinating, and I absolutely love the video. I only wished it was a little longer. I do that sometimes too when I am trying to capture something on video. Somehow it’s hard to get a sense of how long it will be interesting to listen to on the playback.
Have a wonderful day!
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clarepooley33 said:
I agree – I never know how interested people will be either – especially as I was just wanting the sound. My camera only films properly when it’s on a tripod as it really emphasises my shaking hands. I edited out quite a bit as the bird stopped singing as soon as I started filming and I had to wait ages for it too start again!
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sherijkennedyriverside said:
You made me laugh! It seems like they know when you switch it on or something. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to video birdsong, and a bird that’s been singing its lungs out will suddenly go silent…until I just shut off the camera again. Then it starts right up in full song. Too funny.
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clarepooley33 said:
I’m sure they know! They do it to annoy!
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Ste J said:
I like the Turtle Dove song, you know it would be great to have had that as a soundtrack for reading your words, that would be awesome because your writing is always so great, to feel like nature was surrounding me as i read would be lovely. Perhaps i should start reading your blog outside from now on.
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clarepooley33 said:
How kind, Ste. ! Thank-you. I had never heard one until I came to live in Suffolk 27 years ago. There were lots around then and their song always reminds me of how happy I was when I first moved here and all the long hot summers in the early 90’s.
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Elizabeth Melton Parsons said:
What a beautiful post, Clare. I’m so happy you added the turtle dove song. 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Elizabeth. I love listening to turtle doves! They make me think of lazy afternoons in summer.
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