Sparrows!

I went for a very short walk today. It would have been longer but there were a group of older men gathering in the carpark and I didn't really want to take up a space. I think they gather to race or demonstrate remote controlled boats on the pond. I may go back and park somewhere out of the way to leave room for them and go and watch. I think it looked fascinating. I managed to get a pic of some tiny fungi on the walk. I'll see if I can keep an eye out and watch them grow.

I called into Tesco and bought some snacks for bear (currently something like a bottomless pit) and a mop, but I forgot the mop head. I'll go back tomorrow for it, and it's an excuse to walk in the wood again.

The fuschia is back to being roughly the size of a car. It also rustles. It sounds alive. The sparrows who used to colonise the hawthorn at the other end of the street seem to have relocated here. Or it may be a different family that has been dispossessed when the laurels got pruned. Whichever it is, the fushcia is apparently big enough and leafy enough to contain a tribe. It is also convenient when we put out bird food. I counted nine sparrows on and around the bird feeder the other day, and the arguments they have wake me up!

I suppose it means that I have to be a little careful about cutting the fuschia back. I've resigned myself to it becoming a massive, sparrow filled nuisance. I've had a quick google and it seems that sparrows can eat the berries. I hope that they get the ants as well! I'll cut the bush back from the path and the lilac and hope for the best. Currently it looks overdue for a trim, but it could be worse, I suppose.

I must make time to have a real clearout in the garden. I want to tidy up early enough so that there's enough regrowth to shelter any birds or toads passing through - though definitely not rats or slugs! I keep on with the peppermint oil, and so far it seems to be working. 

Hugs and good health to you all.