Malvern Spring Show 2024

 Photo 1: Malvern Spring Show 2024We had an exceedingly pleasant day out with Mary's sister and husband (up from Devon) at the 2024 RHS Malvern Spring Festival on Sunday 12th May. As always, the show was held at the Three Counties Showground, Great Malvern. The weather was warm and sunny except...

Slugging it out

 In previous years, I have been a regular user of Nemaslug to keep the kitchen garden's resident slug population under control. See, for example, this post where I discuss biological (nematodes) and non-biological methods of slug control.Photo 1: Nemaslug 2.0It is a couple of years since I last...

Northern Lights

The Northern Lights (aka the aurora borealis) were visible in much of the United Kingdom on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th May 2024. Of course, a clear dark sky and minimal light pollution were necessary for a good display. Our son sent this photograph from near Bicester ...Photo 1: Northern Lights from...

Blossomtime

Cider is one of Herefordshire's best known exports and is rightly celebrated in the county. The two main events of 2024, organised by The Big Apple Association, are Blossomtime (5th & 6th May 2024) and Harvestime (12th & 13th October 2024). The titles are fairly self-explanatory!Figure 1: Flyer...

The Elusive Hare

 Photo 1: The Elusive Hare (7th May 2024, Herefordshire)On previous expeditions to see hares, we have been less than successful; in fact totally unsuccessful. Today (7/5/24) while Mary (with my assistance) was doing a bird survey for the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) we saw three! It was...

Hereford May Fair (2024)

 By my reckoning, this year is the 903rd anniversary of the Hereford May Fair. The first fair was in 1121 AD (or CE) and, according to the charter, is to be held on the Feast of Saint Ethelbert and the two following days. Hereford Cathedral, which can be seen in the background of Photo 1, is dedicated...

Broxwood Court Spring Plant Fair in aid of The Cart Shed

 This is an annual event held at Broxwood Court in aid of a local charity, The Cart Shed. We last visited in 2022, two years ago. We know a number of people who have availed themselves of its services and have volunteered their own. We arrived around 1 pm (about halfway through the event) and there...

Too Cold or Too Wet for Butterflies?

 Photo 1: Orange-Tip (female) in the Secret Garden (2nd May 2024)We have seen the odd butterfly in the garden - holly blue, small white, red admiral, peacock - but sightings have been few and far between. This female orange-tip butterfly appeared on a rather cold dank day at the beginning of May....

Church Stretton and the Shropshire Hills - DAY 3 (Carding Mill Valley & Much Wenlock)

 The first two days of our short break in the Shropshire Hills are described here, here and here. Day 3 was a packing up and heading home day but would include visits to the National Trust's Carding Mill Valley and the nearby town of Much Wenlock.After another super breakfast, we set off for our...