0612/1958

I love my allotment. Today I noticed flowers on my strawberries and redcurrant bushes. I sowed a single courgette seed under a cloche. I weeded and chopped. I watched red kites soaring overhead, heard lots of scuffling and squeaking in the long grass, photographed a lizard and accidentally dug up a shiny green beetle.

Lizards are amusing little creatures. They know I'm watching - they cock their heads on one side to keep an eye on me but still let me get really close before they scuttle away. It's a pleasure to share my plot with them :)



This is my wildlife stick-heap, the lizard I saw today was sunbathing on it. For some reason I really like this photo! I know it's just a pile of sticks.

Lizard!

A Common Lizard hiding (not very well, it has to be said) under a bit of weed-control fabric on my allotment. Taken this morning :)

A gardening day

I enjoy winter gardening - finally a chance to catch up with everything! It's quite relaxing compared to the race and constant battle of summer.

I spent this morning on the allotment, generally tidying up and clearing out rubbish. I "pruned" some young trees which border my plot (I'm attempting to use them as living fence posts!) and made a big heap of twigs which I'm hoping will make a nice home for wildlife (especially lizards). I saw a friendly garden toad, which I'd have thought should be hibernating by now, but I'm happy for him to eat a few extra slugs before the really cold weather sets in!



This afternoon I decided to finally take ownership of a strip of land next to the carpark by my flat. It's not loved by anyone, and although I've occasionally pulled out the odd weed, I've always been reluctant to do much more. Today I cleared a big sackful of brambles and nettles, and I've decided it's time to make further plans...

I also removed a few of my neighbour's thistles... hope he doesn't mind!

Meet Liz...

This is my lizard!

Actually, it's a wild lizard who lives amongst my carrots and beetroot. I think it's a lady because since the picture was taken she's become very pregnant-looking! I had baby lizards on the allotment last year and they were very cute (also fascinating to watch) - I'd love to see some this year too :)

More lizard photos (including some from last year) on my flickr, click the photo for a visit...

Lizards!

There is a family of lizards on my allotment : )
Well, I assume it's a family - there are at least 4 baby ones, all about the same size (tiny!). They like to sunbathe on the wooden edges of my raised beds: