The other day we were in the garden when we noticed this track in the newly sown grass, but we couldn’t work out what made it, perhaps a snake – we have seen them in the garden at times.
A strange track in the grass - could it be made by a snake?
While think about wildlife in the garden, dont forget about the birds, with the onset of worsening weather now that summer is passing over you may want to think about stocking up with food for the local birdlife.
Have a look at Garden Bird Supplies, they offer a lot of choice that should satisfy even the most demanding birds in the garden
Usually we have Lynda and Russell who help us in the garden. Unfortunately last week they were not able to help, so last weekend I spent a pleasant couple of hours mowing the lawn. With Russell taking care of the lawn it is not something that I usually need to do, and I had forgotten the pleasure looking back over a freshly mown lawn can be.
Getting out our trusty ten year old petrol lawn mower you realise the need to spend a bit on those garden tools that you really need to rely upon, such as the lawn mower.
You may be interested that Lawnmowers UK have a special offer on through September 2011, get £20 off when you spend over £300 on their website, just enter LAWNMOWERS20 when you check out. Why not have a look Lawnmowers UK good mowing
This is a delicate flowered viola that will cascade over the sides of your hanging baskets or containers. These scented Violas are perfect for filling your autumn hanging baskets with colour.
Trailing plants add interest and movement to window boxes, hanging baskets and containers. From less than 15p per plant, our Garden Ready Plants offer fantastic value and can be grown on or planted straight out!
Fantastic Value Garden Ready Trailing Plants from less than 15p each!
Here at Little Martins we, like many people, feed the birds that visit our garden.
Recently I have noticed, however, that the birds, particularly the tits seem to be very fussy over waht they eat.
The birds seem to spend much of their time throwing many of the seeds onto the floor, trying to get to those seeds that they prefer, I think it is Sunflower seeds that they prefer?
All is not lost, however, those seeds that fall to the ground are soon eaten by the ground feeding birds such as Blackbirds and Pidgeons.
Posted in Garden, Wildlife
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This recent cold weather makes you yearn for the warm summer with plently of colour and flowers within the garden.
Why not plan to bring a little early colour into the garden
Following the snow that we had over the weekend, and the very cold condtions seen yesterday, this morning, of the winter solstice, sees the temperature rise above freezing for the first time is days, and the snow is beginning to melt.
Not only will this be good news for the birds, they have been raiding our bird feeders over the past few days, but also the improvong weather will be good news for all those people trying to travel to meet up over Christmas.
Cooking time 1/2 – 3/4 hour
Ingredients:-
- 1oz Fat (25g)
- 1lb Red Cabbage, Shredded (500g)
- 1 large onion – sliced
- 1 large apple – sliced
- 2Tbs stock or water
- 2Tbs vinegar
- 1tsp salt
- pinch of pepper
- 1Tbs Brown Sugar
Method:-
Melt the fat in a saucepan and add all the other ingredients.
Cover with a tight fitting lid and boil.
Fresh vegetables and pasta in a creamy herb sauce – mmmm – the perfect recipe for a quick, comforting supper.
Ingredients
| 250 g Pasta, White, Dried, penne, or other pasta shapes |
| 5 spray(s) Cooking Spray, Calorie Controlled |
| 1 medium Spring Onions, trimmed and chopped |
| 100 g Mange-tout, or fine green beans, sliced |
| 1 medium Courgette, chopped |
| 1 medium Pepper, Red, deseeded and sliced |
| 75 g Peas, Petits Pois, or garden peas, (thawed if frozen) |
| 200 g Cheese, Soft, Medium Fat, with garlic and herbs |
| 50 ml Milk, Skimmed |
| 1 teaspoons Lemon, zest, finely grated |
| 4 leaf/leaves Basil, fresh |
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water for 10-12 minutes, or according to pack instructions, until just tender.
- Meanwhile, spray a large frying pan or wok with low fat cooking spray. Add the spring onions, mange tout or green beans, courgette and red pepper and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the peas, then turn off the heat.
- Drain the cooked pasta, reserving 2 tbsp of the cooking water. Return this cooking liquid to the saucepan and add the low fat soft cheese, milk and lemon zest. Heat, stirring with a whisk, until hot and smooth.
- Tip the pasta and cooked vegetables into the sauce and stir gently for 1-2 minutes to heat through. Serve garnished with basil leaves.
Notes
- Use plain low fat soft cheese and stir-fry 1 crushed garlic clove with the vegetables, adding some chopped fresh herbs (parsley, oregano, lemon thyme, etc.) to the sauce.
