two Robins are singing at work just now which is a sign they are already setting up winter territories. Did you know male and female Robins sing?
Autumn is just around the corner
They're were quite a few tuning up in the countryside where I was working today.
And there is a really autumn feel to the colours of the sky and the trees are beginning to turn
It's all happening ultra quickly here with the high temperatures and lack of rain
I love autumn for the beautiful colours of sky and leaves and the wild feeling when the wind blows and the leaves fall......
I noticed here that lots of trees are suffering and have dried up leaves. It's raining heavy here again today for the second time since late June.
The bloom is now gone from my half barrel but the snails are out of control. They are no longer eating old leaves but everything. They are climbing my Lobelia cardinalis to eat fresh leaves and eating my water Lily leaves as soon as they get to the surface. My water soldier is in tatters
Oh guys, don't ,please don't, summers not over yet!!...I hate it between the end of summer and winter proper,it's a sad time of year.
A lot of my trees have been losing leaves, but I've put that down to lack of water.
We still haven't had any rain :(
Yes, sue, everything's just drying up instead of going into autumn proper
Have you tried any of the measures suggested before mark? Sounds to me as if you'll have to get some of that aquatic snail killer from a pond/aquarium shop, or have you tried that?
This message was edited Friday, Aug 22nd 3:36 AM
not yet but need to do so. I can always get new 'fleas'
Absolutely
Amazing how quickly things move in, just be careful what you introduce with the pondwater next time lol
I always think of my birthday as the last day of summer. And my mother's, which was the 23rd, as the first day of autumn. It looks like autumn is round the corner here. The skies are cloudier and it's become cooler. The trees are losing their leaves now. The brambles are in fruit and the heather in bloom.
I also feel sad, like you, at the passing of summer. Hopefully we will get a few more days. But I suspect my day at the seaside - Sunday - was my last paddle for the year.
Yep autumn's really here now. The sky has that clean blue look and the leaves are beginning to turn, those that haven't shrivelled from the drought that is. A very good blackberry year, with lots of luscious ones despite the lack of water - how do they manage that?
There's occasionally a nip in the air (speaking of which I got bitten hard three times today by a very atypical dormouse. Only the third since I started monitoring about 6 years ago!! Blood everywhere lol)
...and the nights are noticeably drawing in
BTW How are the snails mark?
lettuce doesnt work :-(
I asked a friend who works in a Planetarium why the autumn nights draw in so fast. I'm sure everyone has noticed. He says
In summer (at our latitudes) the nights never become
completely dark - so the evening twilight APPEARS to be
stretched out (even after the sun is well below the
horizon).
Yet as winter approaches, complete darkness does set
in, and it does so progressively sooner each day.
Subsequently the twilight appears to shorten as the sky
becomes dark 'quicker'.
I hope that makes sense.
Mmmmm seems to be reasonable.
Shame about the lettuce. Thought you were going to try the aquatic snail killer??
I havent done it yet because Margarets pond is quite low and her reservoire is empty so I cant do the kill and refill for a while
I don't think you have to empty yours with it? though I've not read the instructions
Kill them before you lose your waterlilies and other plants
You can always have a top up of other creatures later. It's amazing what will find it naturally. Also you must know another pond for a little water. Use rainwater to top up and just a cupful of pondwater or less will reintroduce much of what you lose (hopefully with no snails!)