After last week's colourful 'rosie post' I thought I'd take you to some of the shadier parts of our garden. Neglected corners where ferns and brambles thrive.
Let's follow this little path and see where it leads.
We could leave the garden by this little 'secret gate' in the hedge. But we won't, we'll head for the far corner of our patch.
This is my husband's domain. It's where weeds and hedge clippings that aren't suitable for composting are piled high ready for burning. As an ex-Boy Scout my husband really enjoys having bonfires (the bigger the better!) The large logs are from a larch tree he felled and I'm not sure if this arrangement is meant to be an artistic 'log-man sculpture', a chopping block or a seat. It probably serves as all three.
We are surrounded on all sides by woodland. As you can see it is quite dense at this time of year but lovely in all seasons. We enjoy watching roe deer, badger, fox and rabbit in the wood but not in the garden as they can wreak havoc. Deer and rabbit eat anything and everything; badgers dig up the lawn looking for worms and the fox raids the dustbin....complete chaos! Most of the time we manage to keep them out thanks to a high fence.
Back to our garden and this is a safe refuge for small mammals and birds. What a perfect reason for not moving this tangle of fallen branches interlaced with brambles. I guess it could be home to a great many different creatures so we are happy to leave it undisturbed.
But who's this little fellow? He's certainly not one of the creatures I was expecting to see! I wonder where he's going with his bundle of feathers? Let's follow him.
I think he's disappeared up these old stone steps and is hiding in the shadows. We'll creep up very quietly and see if we can find him.
Ssh! Don't make a sound. He's sitting over there. I wonder what he's up to?
He seems to be busy stuffing his soft downy feathers into a cotton bag. I do believe he's making a pillow.
Oh dear! He must have spotted us. His little stone seat is empty and he's left one of his feathers behind. Did you see which way he went?
Perhaps we should leave him in his shady green home and head back into the warm sunlight where the flowers bloom. We'll return again later in the summer and see if the little fellow is anywhere to be seen.
This little hobbity fellow is the same size as my
Midsummer fairies and measures just 4 -5 inches (10cm - 12cm)
