Our Garden - Very Local Patching

Maybe it's my Scottish bloodline, but I can be a bit of a skinflint at times. I had this idea that a hide would be useful, but I'm really not sure how much I would use it so I decided to try and put one together myself. A real value dome tent from Florida - £10, you have to admit it's a bargain - and some camouflage material to go over it. A bit of judicious cutting and sewing by Kay's mum - how else would she wish to spend her time when she came to visit! - and I had windows and 'blinds' . I decided to try it out in the garden, and certainly these blue tits didn't seem too bothered. I love the shot below for the bird's expression (I know, but can't I anthropomorphise sometimes?), and so should probably have posted at a higher resolution, but I'm not on broadband yet and pictures are so slow to upload. You can always click on the picture for a bigger version.

The great tits didn't play ball, so I just got rear end shots.

Inevitably the sparrows got in on the act, but the male couldn't quite seem to work out how to reach the food.

Elsewhere the collared doves have cottoned on to the using the feeders, but the balance needs can be a bit of a weakness.

Our 3 young blackbirds are thriving on raisins, and the mealworms should come tomorrow, so I expect to get some better snaps than this through-the-kitchen-window grab.

Down at the pond the Lady's Smock paints a picture of spring ......

whilst various water based larvae make their final bid for the bright lights of the adult world. I think this may have belonged to the mayfly that flitted briefly around ......

and I am sure this one belonged to the large red damselfly that perched nearby.

In the pond itself we have a nice little colony of newts that appeared within weeks. Trying to get a half decent picture last year was becoming a bit of an obsession, until the moment of ultimate shame and embarrassment when the tripod complete with camera toppled in - thank God for insurance

This year the newts include a pale form that appears almost golden. It stands out a mile, so I guess it's lucky we don't seem to get any pond predators. The small crest can just about be seen on the second shot.