Wednesday 6 August 2014

Drinking Styles

Tuesday for the most part was another lovely sunny summer day but it did spoil itself by clouding over and threatening to rain late into the afternoon.

In the morning I was side tracked by a young greenfinch being fed beneath our bird feeder from fallen sunflower seeds. A blackbird, starling and sparrow decided to have a drink from the bird bath so I made a little video. It’s interesting to watch the different drinking habits the birds have. The blackbird has a very delicate approach unlike the starling which dips its head into the water using its beak like a water scoop.


On the plot our broad bean plants were cut down and the old stalks added to the compost heap. As they've been grown through weed control fabric I've covered the bed with some manure from the allotment bay. It’s very fresh manure and I wouldn't want to add it directly onto a bed that’s planted but the manure disappears before it’s had time to rot down so it’s a question of getting some when you can.
I'm now planning on leaving this bed over winter. In spring I’ll remove the weed control fabric and dig over the bed and incorporate the manure. Blimey it’s only the first week in August and I’ve a bed cleared and ready for winter.

5 comments:

  1. It seems early to clear a bed & put it to rest for the Winter, but you've so many beds it's probably nice to get one cleared.

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    Replies
    1. Our ground is so dry and hard at the moment preparing one for another crop would be difficult.

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  2. Lovely video, it's nice to see your water so well used. Good to have one bed that you don't have to think about for a few months. We don't seem to get manure deliveries to our site any more which is a shame.

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    Replies
    1. The bird bath sometimes needs filling two or three times a day. We are lucky to get free supplies of manure and wood chippings delivered to the allotments.

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  3. Very funny to watch though.

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