The weather has been scorchio since about the middle of June. All the vegetables are planted and ticking along nicely, the grass has gone brown and growing much slower. This means more time to enjoy the garden and over the last week or so, we have been sitting watching all the comings and goings in the garden.

We’ve had the pleasure of seeing a couple of Golden Oriels land in the tree and the kingfisher has also returned to fishing in the pond. The water is good foot or so lower than it was back in June but it’s still a valuable source of food and water for a lot of wildlife.

A baby hedgehog appeared in the garden one day and I was able to get close enough to take a picture of it.

Whilst doing some routine weeding in the veggie patch, I spotted a fantastic lizard in amongst the cucumber plants. It was almost flourescent green and I was lucky enough to have the camera with me at the time. I’ve seen it on a number of occasions but never seen it displaying such vivid colour before. Quite extraordinary.

The hot weather triggers huge swarms of flying ants to appear from underground. The lizards take advantage of this and there is an afternoon feeding frenzy with a plentiful supply of their favourite food. I spent an hour trying to photograph one catching their prey but they are just so quick, it was all over by the time I pressed the button. I did manage to get a good picture of one of these comic creatures though ….

In the last week, there has been a noticable influx of fledglings in the garden. Green Finches, Sparrows, Blackbirds, Wagtails and Redstarts are to name just a few. The award for the most spectacular display goes to the Martins. The fledglings landed on a branch that Steve put in place in the Willow tree after we cut it back last year. It was meant for the Kingfisher and it hangs out right over the pond. While they waited patiently, the parents, in flocks of about 10 or so, swoop down and catch various insects off the surface of the water. Every now and then, they give their prize to a fledgling who excitedly starts flapping it’s wings and twittering at the site of a parent bird coming towards them. It has been difficult to get a picture with no telephoto lense, but Steve managed to get a shot taken through the binoculars …..