FOUR LEGGED FRIENDS

We’re not the only ones making the most of the garden.  Our four legged friends have also been enjoying a spell of fresh air and frolics especially Shelby who loves bulldozing through the long grass. 

A combination of sunshine, spring time and the odd shower has promoted dandelion growth in both our lawn and local parks.  We’ve already begun nightly forays to Winton recreation ground to scour the park for free tortoise fodder.  Shelby is truly the most pampered tortoise in town.

Wiggy is more partial to dandelion leaves than flowers and has also been benefitting from our most recent weed crop. 

Being the ‘scaredy’ pig that he is, he doesn’t relish being left in the great outdoors for long.  Every neighbourhood noise scares him – birds, bees, mowers and of course, Shelby who takes great delight in chasing him around their enclosure.  It’s never long before he makes a run for it and has to be carried back to safety indoors.

 Aside from our own menagerie, another four legged furry friend has become a regular visitor to McTwitters.  Squirrels are so cute yet such menaces.  Our little friend loves to scramble up the bird table for a free breakfast or lunch but has now started burying his leftovers in the lawn.  A series of little craters dot the surface of the grass and if he’s burying nuts or seeds, goodness knows what we might see sprouting up in a few months’ time.  

MORE ABOUT:

Horsefield Tortoises - http://www.horsefieldtortoise.co.uk and http://www.tortoisecentre.co.uk/HorsefieldTortoise.aspx

RHODODENDRONS REMEMBERED

It’s always nice to take a trip down memory lane, to ramble back in time to those distant days that always seem better in hindsight.  And at our time of life, let’s face it a trip down memory lane is a daily essential in remembering where you last stuck the trowel or tidied away that packet of pea seeds that you’re now desperate to put your hands on. 

Time certainly makes a great deal of difference in the gardening world.  You look back on photos of the ‘then’ and ‘now’ and it’s always amazing to see the marvellous changes that have taken place under your very nose. 

For instance, I remember when we planted up our rhododendron area at the back of the garden back in March 2009. 

March 2009 - planting up the rhododendrons

Hard to believe it’s been 5 years already but just look at the difference.   

April 2014 - Look how they've grown!

The star jasmines on the climber have almost tripled in size, covering most of the side trellis and starting to spread across the top.  

Dwarf rhododendrons and azaleas

The rhododendrons and azaleas being slower growers have probably doubled in size.

Camelia is almost 6 ft tall

The camellia is almost the height of the 6ft wall surrounding the garden.  There’s not a bare patch of earth in sight!

MORE ABOUT:

Growing rhododendrons - http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=529

PICTURE PERFECT

Splashed out on a couple of new Olympus cameras with my punitive banker’s bonus.  The Wolf of Wall Street may have been able to fritter away his ill-gotten gains on porsches, pills and prostitutes but my fiscally challenged year end slice of pie didn't even stretch to a camera case or couple of spare lithium batteries.  But as I’m always reminded at home, even £500 is better than a poke in the eye.  Not bitter at all.  

Of course it’s all well and good having the latest gadgetry if you know how to use it.  Trouble is, my technical know-how is on a par with blancmange and they’re not much good at using cameras either. It’s all a question of practice so off to the New Forest I went to fiddle with all the settings. 

Camera 1 – Olympus Stylus SH50.  Small, compact and pretty much idiot proof.  Has a nice wide screen, plenty of buttons to press, an impressive 24 x optical zoom and lots of fabulous magic filters/effects to help you really get arty farty. 

My favourite filter effect – dramatic.  It’s just perfect for that moody sky or sinister trees.

Before - no filter effect

Same clouds taken with 'dramatic' filter

Fragmented filter - tiles your image

 

Sparkle filter - brings out the spangles

Super macro muscari

Camera 2 – Olympus EPL5.  Can still be used by idiots but largely those with prodigious memories who can navigate round an extensive set of menus.  Less buttons to press but more menu choices than McDonalds.  Other major difference to the Stylus SH50 are the lenses.  For DSLR virgins like me, lenses are a whole new ball game.  Still, I did manage to figure out how to pop the cap off before taking my snaps. 

Moss - with nature macro setting

Sunlight through the trees

Tree bark and that's just the pancake lens

Loving my new toys and can't wait to test out a few more features in the garden.

MORE ABOUT:

Stylus SH50 - http://www.olympus.co.uk/site/en/c/cameras/digital_cameras/traveller/sh_50/index.html

EPL5 - http://www.olympus.co.uk/site/en/c/cameras/pen_cameras/pen_lite/e_pl5/index.html