Friday, October 07, 2005

Autumn in the Garden

It's been a beautiful day today - the sun has been peeping out from behind the clouds & it feels colder in the house than out of it.

There's a massive spider (well big for down here anyway) on a giant web stretching between the front gates & the car that's parked in the drive. It has the most wonderful colours.





I'm not too happy about the house spiders that seem to invade the house at this time of the year - but I don't mind the garden variety at all. Maybe it is because they don't scuttle around at high speeds & it is very unlikely that one would ever drop from the ceiling into my mouth whilst I'm sleeping. (Vivid imagination there - goodness knows how I'd cope in countries that have poisonous spiders)

Found another spider in amongst the holly berries. A lot smaller with a very bulbous abdomen - not quite as cute as the other one. Maybe I'll spend some time trying to find out exactly what they kind of spiders they are.



The holly tree is plastered with berries this year. I've been told that lots of berries is a sign of a hard winter to come. I'm not sure if this is just an old wives tale though.


There seem to have been loads of flies around this year. Probably why that spider down by the gate is so huge. Not that many bees or wasps but hordes of flies. I've never been bitten by a fly before ... they've made up for it this year. This fly must have been touched by Midas - I've never seen a fly quite like it before - two firsts this year - Gold Flies & Biting Flies.


There's a forsythia in the garden. One of those bushes that gets absolutely coated with butter yellow blossoms in the spring. It's obviously just a little confused about the weather at the moment for I spotted two solitary blooms in amongst the foliage.



There was also a wonderful leaf on the Forsythia bush. Beautifully coloured, it came complete with two eyes. It's probably looking at the very early blossom.




I've also found ripe blackberries - another oddity as just over a mile away all the blackberries have finished for the year.





Perhaps I have my own micro-climate? That's not really a serious thought but things are being really odd - this is my geranium (pelargonium) - planted in April it languished flowerless over the whole of the summer - only finally coming into flower a month ago ... just when others have been finishing.





I had company whilst I pratted about in the garden with the camera. Tilly, the Irish Setter, joined me, she seemed more interested in looking over the front gate though than having her photo taken. The cats looked on, enviously, from behind the glass.





I really must wash that window & cut that red wool. (Rico, the snow Bengal likes to try to climb out of the kitchen window - he's very determined so the window has to be tied shut ... obviously one has to tie it up with snazzy red wool ... who needs a proper lock? Rico is also the cause of the smears on the window, he's such a dear.)