sunday morning ramberlings

It sounds wonderful SL. Was is hot or did you find it cool in the shade? The colours as stunning too. I dont think we look close enough at whats around us sometimes.

Its a nice idea to have areas closed to the public on the whole and periodically open to public. It must take hard work though to manage and conserve an area like that though.

I have never heard of Borage but it is a lovely plant. Im learning a lot from you and look forward to your next ramble.

SM

to be honest SM
ive not heard or seen borage before
i had to ask what it was

its about 3ft tall the whole plant is hairy and the leaves and the stem are a dark green
the flowers has the most beautifull blue bell shaped flowers

from what ive read its an import used for country gardens and because it seeds really well it escaped and can now be found along road sides and disturbed ground

it would look great in our gardens if you dont mind it popping up all over the place lol

lol I think it would look nicer than the weeds that pop up all over the place lol.

It is unusual and I hadnt heard of it either. You have some nice rambles SL.

SM

Info on Borage - the flowers look great in Pimms! It's something we grow in our garden

Lovely photos Staffslass - the Poppy is stunning. I'm off to the woods again once it's cooled down enough for the dogs.

Lai

Great pictures staffslass, looks like you had a lovely Sunday ramble today. I love the colours of the flowers, so beautiful. The Fungi is amazing but also looks a little creepy, its the sort of thing not many would photograph but i'm glad you did, its good to have lots of different flora and forna on here.
Look forward to your next rambles, by the way, whats your favourite flower staffslass?

littlewid-x-

i couldnt pick one wild flower LW
thats because i love spring flowers
daffs, snow drops, blue bells, crocus,
all the spring flowers because when the start to flower it means winter is nearly over

and as for the fungi
i do like fungi because it looks like it should belong to another planet

thankyou LIA for your comments on the poppy
there was a big patch of them and the flower heads on them were huge nothing like the poppys i see when im out and about

ive never seen borage or heard about it before and when i saw it i thought it just looked so pretty
didnt realise it was a weed as such or that it looks great in pims lol
i shall have to get myself some seeds and see if i can get them to grow in my garden lol

I'm a spring flower girl too staffslass but I must confess, I do love the winter, in actual fact, its my best time of year. I do love seeing everything coming alive in the spring but theres something about the cold, wind, rain, frost, ice, snow that I just love, not that I love the bad hair days in winter, oh no, I just don't really find the winter gloomy and i love the different smells in the air at winter time.

littlewid-x-

im not overly keen on winter LW i dont like being cold
but if i had to chose one part of winter it would have to be a cold clear frosty morning
theres nothing better than taking a early morning stroll on a crispy frostly morning

That reminds me of walking when you were little on a really frosty mroning and blowing into the air to see the steam, we used to see who cold blow the biggest steam cloud on our way to school.

Now I just love putting on my walking boots, warm coat, scarf and gloves and either walking over the downs or along the beach.

It's still Winter for me.

littlewid-x-

Tough one that Littlewid - i love spring, don't like being cold at all but love the autumn colours.

So would either have to go for spring or autumn

Lai

Lovely pics again Staffslass, and your really giving us some great information on the plants, and insects that are in your area.
Me I love the Summer, and the light nights, and we certainly dont want another winter like the last one
WS

I was forgetting that WS - i love it when it stays light later - winter is gloomy when it gets dark at 4pm

Lai

How could you forget last winter Lai
WS

we certainly dont SW
i didnt mind the snow when it first came but after a week i was started to get fed up with it

and i forgot about autumn Lai
i love it when the leaves start changing colour it makes the woods so colourfull
and dont forget all the autumn fruits we can get to the blackberry and hazel nuts yummy lol

So all in all we really like all the seasons - WS i certainly haven't forgotten last winter although you had it worse over that side of the hills

Lai

OK guy's theres things I like about all the seasons, but even the dark nights I like in winter, gives you that cozy feeling. it's lovely we all like different seasons, makes it more interesting

littlewid-x-

Gorgeous photos staffslass!! Thank you for sharing them with us.

My favourite season is undoubtedly summer. I love the light mornings and long days, the heat from the sun!! Seeing all the ducklings, cygnets and goslings. Being able to go out and not have to put on what feels like 50 layers. Think its because I'm an August baby!

My favourite season visually has to be Autumn, I love the different colours we get on the trees! Walking along a path covered in dry leaves is lovely.

I do like spring as well, because I know summer is on its way! and winter, i like the clear blue sky and frosty mornings.

Staffslass I know this has nothing to do with your ramblings but there's a programe on Animal Planet this week called
League Of Monkeys is the story of two tribes.17 families, and 60 acres in which to roam in a Staffordshire Forest which is home to 140 Barbary Macaque Monkys
Just wondered if it's anywhere near you
WS

I forgot to mention SL, your hawk moth was on Country File last week. They said they are actually common and that people just dont see them.

Your photo was the first I had seen in my 40 years, so just how common are they?

Just thought I would mention.

SM

I cant get animal planet WS so i dont get to watch the show
but if you manage to find out where in staffs it is i can tell you how close i am to it
it would be intersting to see if the public have acces to it but i dont think they will somehow

yes SM i did see country file and the bit about the hawk moth
TBH i didnt know they were that common
the hawk moth in my pic is the first and the last to date ive seen
they are usally seen in gardens at night often taking nectar from plants like honeysuckel
my neighbour has lots of honeysuckel so i might start having a look in the next cpl of evening see if i can find any lol

We are about to install a pergoda at the bottom of our garden and have been debating which plant to train over it. TT want Jasmine and I want Wisteria, but I might through Honeysuckle in to stir things further.

Are you off on any Rambles this weekend SL?

SM

All 3 are lovely SM - depends how quickly you want it covered!

Lai

I have Wisteria growing along one of my fences, it comes from my neighbours garden, its beautiful when its in flower but then the leaves drop everywhere like mad SM and then its bare and just looks like curly twigs. Honeysuckle and Jasmin smell gorgeous and also attract the bees which need a helping hand at the moment, plus the planet needs a hand from the bees, only problem there is if you were planning to put a bench near the Pogoda you will be battling with the bees........not been any help have I

littlewid-x-

[quote="staffslass"]I cant get animal planet WS so i dont get to watch the show
but if you manage to find out where in staffs it is i can tell you how close i am to it
it would be intersting to see if the public have acces to it but i dont think they will somehow

I watched League of Monkys last night Staffslass, and it's based at what used to be called Trentham Gardens which is just outside of Newcastle-under-Lyme on the A34 heading towards Stone, and Stafford. I should have known really I used to live 1/2 mile from there although that was a long time ago. We did call there a couple of years ago, and although it advertised they had Monkys I did'nt really take much notice I assumed they would be in cages, and I dont think they should be so I did'nt want to look.
However that is not the case they are in 60 acres of forest, living quite freely in two troops, one troop in the valley, and one at the top of the hill, and both groups interact as they would in the wild.
This is a little bit from their Web Page
Monkeys are TV stars!
Catch our first ever TV documentary on TUESDAY 29TH JUNE at 8PM on the ANIMAL PLANET CHANNEL. A league of monkeys follows the highs and lows of forest life for our 140 free ranging Barbary macaques. Tune in!

A unique experience
Monkey forest is set in 60 acres of beautiful Staffordshire woodland and meadows where 140 monkeys live in total freedom. You are plunged into the Barbary macaques fascinating world as you hear rustling in the trees, chattering in a strange language and see the monkeys crashing through branches. To your right there is a male carrying a baby on his back, on your left are two females grooming each other, and in the trees are young monkeys doing acrobatics between the branches.

Walking along the path you are transported into a different world of animal magic!

Freedom!
At Monkey Forest the Barbary macaques roam freely in a 60 acre forest. As you enter the park you can observe the monkeys living in their fascinating society as they would in the Atlas mountains of Algeria and Morocco.
The two groups come from our existing parks in France and Germany and the monkeys have lived all their lives in a similar setting. Our non-invasive policy, where we intervene as little as possible, allows you to see the monkey's natural behaviour just as you would in the wild.

and this is the link to the Web Site
http://www.trentham-monkey-forest.com/information.php?id_cat=1
WS