Won't be much consolation to your surrounding feelings, but down south Devon there are quite a few sparrows in our area, they seem quite happy with themselves. We saw quite a few bees a few weeks ago (or a couple months?) on our lavender and fox gloves.... but yeh, not all hope is lost!That heatwave was amazing! We got up to 21°yesterday (according to my weather app. Tho you could have fooled me. )
Today is presently 15° and the next 7 days won't be much more than 18° at best.
grey skies all week so far, and this afternoon was wet grey and miserable.
My veg are a disaster, peas grew no more than 6 inches, despite being climbers that should be at the top of the canes, and I've had 6 tiny pods, with about 4 peas in each. Most have now given up the ghost, and courgettes are growing weird shapes , rotting before they are more than 3 inches long, and dropping off the plant. Apple tree is apple less, not a single one. Gooseberries were so tiny that a whole bush came to two handfuls.
No bees, butterflies or sparrows, the normal background sounds and sights to my garden. It's silent, apart from the horrible raucous cawing of rooks or crows, whose population has exploded this year, evenings are like a scene from the birds horror movie!
I'm feeling sad, and un nerved The silence during the day is spooky, The rooks settling flight in the evening into trees a few yards away is also very unsettling. Never bothered me before, but it feels weird.!
We have had to stop scything for hay this week at the project. It's been too cold and wet, and no sun and warmth to cure it. Only done about a quarter of the field so far. Still over an acre to go.
Wish we had a motorised mower, as we could have done it all last week. The joys of using old ways and manpower!..(or woman power)
Hope we have a good spell before the end of the month or we will be down on hay this winter. The grass is growing well, just no decent windows to cut and cure.
I am somewhat surprised @Woody girl , in West Wales its been similar weather but this year LOADS of sparrows at the new place, nests in the usual places in workshop plus they have taken up residence in the swift boxes we installed, the first brood raised and flown already, and a second brood just hatched. The local buzzard pair is doing fine, heard the cuckoos and woodpecker as usual, the shallows arrived and the barn owl nest across the lane has 3 chick's surviving out of four. Loads of bugs and bees around and toads also.Won't be much consolation to your surrounding feelings, but down south Devon there are quite a few sparrows in our area, they seem quite happy with themselves. We saw quite a few bees a few weeks ago (or a couple months?) on our lavender and fox gloves.... but yeh, not all hope is lost!
That heatwave was amazing! We got up to 21°yesterday (according to my weather app. Tho you could have fooled me. )
Today is presently 15° and the next 7 days won't be much more than 18° at best.
grey skies all week so far, and this afternoon was wet grey and miserable.
My veg are a disaster, peas grew no more than 6 inches, despite being climbers that should be at the top of the canes, and I've had 6 tiny pods, with about 4 peas in each. Most have now given up the ghost, and courgettes are growing weird shapes , rotting before they are more than 3 inches long, and dropping off the plant. Apple tree is apple less, not a single one. Gooseberries were so tiny that a whole bush came to two handfuls.
No bees, butterflies or sparrows, the normal background sounds and sights to my garden. It's silent, apart from the horrible raucous cawing of rooks or crows, whose population has exploded this year, evenings are like a scene from the birds horror movie!
I'm feeling sad, and un nerved The silence during the day is spooky, The rooks settling flight in the evening into trees a few yards away is also very unsettling. Never bothered me before, but it feels weird.!