Scale

The Poinsettia which has graced our kitchen since our friend Jayne gave it to us for Christmas 2009, has been invaded.  For a couple of weeks now, there has been a steady 'rain' of sticky dew falling from it and tiny, sparkling droplets of honeydew have been forming on it's leaf surfaces.  This distressing situation has been brought about by an infestation of Brown Soft Scale Insects (Coccus hesperidum).  Seen here in a dorsal view under my PC microscope.

It doesn't look much like an insect does it?  About 2mm in length, they cling to the underside of the leaves near a vein and pierce the leaf with stabbing mouth-parts, sucking the sap ingesting it, taking out what it needs and finally excreting honeydew in small droplets.  The underside of these little charmers doesn't look much either.

This honeydew attracts ants and wasps with it's sugary sweetness, but thankfully, these have not been seen in the kitchen yet!
Another insect was seen to be harbouring either eggs or young on it's underside.  They produce young both sexually and asexually.  Each female is able to produce young without fertilisation from a male insect - a process known as parthenogenesis.  So, there you are!  Time to reach for the insecticide I think!

Grey

Another grey day.  Really, it's getting a bit boring.  It's also not getting any warmer, as was demonstrated by our walk this morning.  The weather was not the only thing which was grey however.  On 'Swan Lake' this morning, a single Greylag Goose was seen swimming about among the Canada Geese, Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Coots, Moorhens and Black-headed Gulls.

Greylags have the scientific name of Anser anser which means - literally - Goose goose.  The 'goosiest' goose we have in Britain and the largest of our native breeds.  It is also the ancestor of most forms of domestic goose.  
Greylags make very good 'guard dogs' when kept in captivity, well known for their belligerent attitude and willingness to attack anyone who invades their territory.  This one seemed rather subdued and quiet.

The other Grey bird we saw this morning was a Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea).

Unfortunately, the dull weather, coupled with the darkness of it's riverside habitat, made taking pictures rather tricky, so these pictures are a bit grainy and blurred, but the bright, yellow colour of the under parts of this little bird, made it well worth the effort.

Cold

Once again, the mercury has dropped even further and as we stepped out for a short walk this morning, the light breeze only emphasised the bitterness of the weather.  As it was so cold, we decided to just take a quick walk to Aldi for some retail therapy.
Despite the cold - or perhaps because of it - the Sparrows are taking part in what can only be described as a feeding frenzy.

When our little band of Long-tailed Tits arrive for a meal of fat-balls, they all line up quietly, take turns at the feeding station and make room for each other so they all get a 'look in'.  When the Sparrows arrive, things are very different.

Rather than taking turns respectfully and waiting in line, they all arrive en masse, try to crowd on to the feeder and stuff themselves in double quick time.

This strategy inevitably leads to fights, squabbles and outright war.  Pecking, flapping, chirping and scrapping, they still, somehow, manage to eat through the fat-balls seemingly in a matter of minutes - while two Dunnocks hop quietly around on the ground beneath them, picking up the bits which the Sparrows have dropped.

MOT

It's that time of year again... The dreaded MOT is due, so casting caution to the wind, Malcolm and I took the car to the garage this morning and we are now waiting for the call to impart news of how big a bill we'll face this year.
Walking back from the garage, it was bitterly cold and dull.  Not so bad as last year however, when on the same walk, snow lay in a thin layer on the ground and more threatened.

The trail was quiet at least until we got nearer home and the cyclists made a nuisance of themselves as usual.  Still, the Reed Buntings are singing from the tops of waterside Hawthorn bushes.  Drab little birds with an unremarkable voice, they don't seem to have much going for them, but they are sweet little 'LBJ's' anyway.

Victoria Park

In the Heart of Ilkeston, lies an area of parkland known as Victoria Park.  Eight acres of land was presented to the town by the Duke of Rutland to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and the park was opened in 1902 with the ceremonial planting of a couple of Oak trees.

At this time of year, the grass of the park is lit up with drifts of Crocus.  Great swathes of colour decorate the area and bring some much-needed brightness to the end of Winter.

The present Duke of Rutland - who's ancestral home is Belvoir Castle - was involved in a legal battle with the local Council over the last couple of years, when the idiots who run Erewash Borough Council wanted to take part of the park and make a car park and vehicle turning circle from it.!

The Duke was also rightly enraged at the Council for their lack of care of the park.  Particular mention was made of the bandstand which had fallen into disrepair.  After threatening to put ancient covenants into operation and to 'take back' the land from the town if the Council didn't take care of it properly, they eventually backed down and agreed to abide by the terms of the covenant.  What a shame it takes a bitter campaign involving many hundreds of people, a petition, the threat of legal action and all the expense that entails, to get our ridiculous Council to do what they should have been doing all along.

Surely, only a bunch of half-witted individuals would contemplate destroying even a part of this beautiful part of a town.  Thank goodness sense (for once) has been seen.

Dreary

Monday is the day for taking our friend Winnie shopping.  So no walk through the park this morning - and a good job too with the drizzle falling and the thermometer following suit.  What a miserable day!
No pictures, no witty anecdotes, just drizzle.  Oh well, there's plenty of room for improvement.  Lets hope the rest of the week proves a bit better.

Mild

A mild, but dull morning, but the signs of Spring are still growing day-by-day.  This morning, the Hawthorn bushes around Straw's Bridge were beginning to open their buds.

The freshness of these new leaves is a joy to see after the Winter and this wasn't the only sign that things are heading in the right direction.  A little further on during our walk, we found a Forsythia tree spilling out of someone's garden and it too was bursting to see in the Spring.

This time, the flowers, Not the leaves were the first things to see and they made a bright addition to the dull day.