Posted in Garden visits, Gardening, Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Gardening, Nature, Spring, Trees, Victoria Park on May 3, 2021| 1 Comment »
Tulips in Victoria Park in April
As usual I took some general pictures around Cardiff’s Victoria Park when I visited in April for the monthly Lombardy poplar tree following update. I found it was tulip time and the cherry trees were also in blossom. Here are the latest images… (more…)
Posted in Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Nature, Tree News, Trees on April 18, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Here is another (occasional) round-up of tree news articles from around the world – first one since December so I apologise that it’s a long read! Click on each of the pictures if you would like to see the full stories.
Could blighted American chestnut trees return?
Here’s an interesting one from Sierra, suggested by Diana Studer in Capetown: Before a disastrous blight, the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was a keystone species in eastern forests. Could genetic engineering help bring it back?
Brits urged to spot at-risk sweet chestnuts
Meanwhile in the UK the Royal Horticultural Society is enlisting everyone to log sweet chestnut trees (Castanea sativa), which are under threat from a gall wasp – here’s a report from House Beautiful…
Posted in Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Lombardy poplar, Nature, Trees on April 13, 2021| 10 Comments »
Pretty golden leaves of the Lombardy poplar (Populus nigra ‘Italica’) in Victoria Park this week
For all my good intentions it has been a full month since I visited the magnificent Lombardy poplar (Populus nigra ‘Italica’) in Cardiff’s Victoria Park.
I had hoped to see last month’s red male catkins develop but I have been so busy that I missed my chance of an extra visit in between times.
I went to see the tree this week on a cool spring day with sunshine and light cloud. This time the catkins had all gone and instead there were beautiful golden diamond-shaped leaves breaking through. Here are my pictures… (more…)
Posted in Photography, Uncategorized, tagged photography, Scavenger Hunt on April 2, 2021| 3 Comments »
Round and round: Attractive ivy berries in a garden beside the street
As spring arrives we come to the end of the Winter Photography Scavenger Hunt hosted by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days – details here. I hope I have now found something for every category, although I am limited by not leaving the house much, what with the Covid pandemic and working from home. But here goes with my last offerings. (more…)
Posted in Garden visits, Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Nature, Spring, Trees, Victoria Park on March 28, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Everywhere in Victoria Park on my March visit there were crocus growing in the grass – although these were accidentally in the middle of a flower bed
As usual I took some general pictures around Cardiff’s Victoria Park when I visited in March for the monthly Lombardy poplar tree following update. Here are the latest images… (more…)
Posted in Nostalgia, Uncategorized, tagged Nostalgia on March 21, 2021| 8 Comments »
When I’m not working – my desk with office laptop switched off
This weekend is the anniversary of my starting to work from home. I don’t really want to talk about it and there is no need for you to read this, but I still feel I must mark this most unusual of years!
I have been one of the lucky ones, working full time from home for Cardiff Council Highways and earning a wage. With fewer distractions I have probably achieved more than I would have in the office. I am blessed with great colleagues and with bosses who don’t micro-manage me. We keep in touch through Teams – a business equivalent of the much-mentioned “Zoom”.
In a way I feel jealous of those who have been forced to do “nothing” for a year as I have found so very little time for myself and my hobbies. But that is churlish and ungrateful. I am not starving, I am not alone and I have no children to home school.
(more…)
Posted in Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Lombardy poplar, Nature, Trees on March 14, 2021| 10 Comments »
The buds of the Lombardy poplar in Victoria Park have broken
This was the week I needed to visit the Lombardy poplar (Populus nigra ‘Italica’) in Cardiff’s Victoria Park and I am happy to say I chose just the right day. Tuesday was sunny but I knew the rest of the week was going to be stormy with heavy rain and up to 50 mph gales.
I was hoping the pointed buds I had seen previously might have opened by now and I was not disappointed. This time I also decided to take pictures of the tree from beyond the railings in the park, to get a different perspective. Here are my pictures… (more…)
Posted in Uncategorized on March 7, 2021| 15 Comments »
Cherry blossom in early March
It’s that time again for the monthly tree-following link box, which will stay open for your tree-related links until 7pm GMT on March 14.
Here in Cardiff it really starts to feel like spring apart from a slight nip in the air. The quality of the light is wonderful.
Later in the week I will look forward to visiting the Lombardy poplar tree I am monitoring in Victoria Park, not too far from home, but I wonder what the rest of you tree followers are up to?
Hopefully our regulars will have something to report despite the coronavirus lockdown. Any tree-related post is acceptable from contributors old and new.
Point to the post you would like to share, using the link box below. And please don’t forget to leave a comment.
If you are new to tree following, read all about the idea here.
Posted in Cardiff, Garden visits, Gardening, Uncategorized, tagged Cardiff, Nature, Spring, thompson's park, Trees on March 4, 2021| 5 Comments »
Daffodils in Thompson’s Park
Monday was St David’s Day – the national day of Wales – and it is not complete without daffodils so I went to Thompson’s Park to see what I could find. Here are my pictures from a half-hour afternoon walk in early spring sunshine… (more…)
Posted in Photography, Uncategorized, tagged photography, Scavenger Hunt on February 28, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Something with legs: I noticed this large, faded ladybird/ladybug decoration on the wall of an old house in Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff
I have signed up again for the Winter Photography Scavenger Hunt hosted by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days – details here. I am struggling to find something for every category by the end of March, but here are my latest meagre offerings. (more…)
