After such a mild January this was the scene we woke up to this morning~a rude awakening! Mother nature having a game with us I think!  I love the snow though and the butterfly lodge looks so pretty! Don't think the snow is going to last however but will have to wait and see.

My dog loves the snow so we had great fun on our walk this morning and came back and we filled the bird tables and feeders with nuts and seeds and then settled down to a lovely cup of coffee. So no gardening for me today, but hopefully get on with my garden plan.

We took part in the RSPB bird watch last weekend and apparently over 600,000 people took part, wonder if the mild weather had any effect. The data will be published sometime in March.

Some of the birds we have in our garden are, collared doves, wood pigeon, wren, robin, dunnock, sparrow, starling, magpie, blackbird, blue tit, long tailed tit, great tit and we have a pair of beautiful Jay's who visit the bird table and come from the nearby woods. Importantly I have made sure there is a fresh supply of drinking water and also essential is a supply of water for bathing which is just as important in winter. The birds we tend to have in our garden seem to drink and bathe from the wildlife pond, which can be difficult to stop freezing in these conditions. A light ball, placed in the water will keep a small amount of the water ice free, even in the most severe conditions. On no account should salt, anti-freeze or any other chemicals be added to the water.

Recipe for making energy foods for your birds….taken from http://www.gardenersworld.com

75g Maize meal or polenta

Chopped nuts and seeds (bird seed mix)

2 beaten eggs

Baking tin

Stir the maize or polenta with the seed mix together with a little boiled water, add 2 beaten eggs and stir until combined. Place mixture in baking tin and bake fro 50mins at Gas mark 4 or 175C. Once cooked, cool on wire rack. Cut a small slice of cake and palce it on your bird table, replacing it once its been eating

Bon Appetite! to the our wildlife birds…. 

Another snowy  scene from the garden…….

We are adding a range of bird houses to our shop soon including some other wildlife habitats including bat houses with full instructions of how to install and place, and some great new garden gifts and garden essentials for the spring. Nest Boxes

A snowy view of the nearby farmland…..