Little Oak Lodge latest

Last week's false Spring has seen a return to frosts and northerly winds with the next wave of Spring due this coming Wednesday onwards. A few summer migrants have been breaking through the weather barriers with LRPs on the Peninsula and a scattering of summer migrants across the region but overall it's been a good opportunity to focus on other work. I've had a few Mipits flying over the garden, a few Med Gulls have been going over high calling and a Chiffchaff has been in the lane. 

It's been a busy week as we are working though jobs for the London Wildlife Trust at Huckerby's and Yeading Brook Nature Reserves in West London and starting on Hutchinson's Bank this week and completing a large felling job in Kingswood. Unfortunately a lot of the work is related to felling Ash trees which have succumb to Ash die back. We need to get everything done before 28th March which is the official start of the bird breeding season and restrictions related to scrub clearance, so we've got four teams out at the moment.

Meanwhile back at HQ Matt, Holly, Jimmy and I have been cracking on with the lodge project. Jimmy has been putting up the animal fencing, Matt and I planted 300 summer bulbs, sowed yellow rattle seeds in the front garden and did some more work on the meadows and Holly is getting on with the caravan hippy chic makeover (the decking is in now too). Last week we mulched all the new hedges, planted some more trees and planted up the potato pots and got the sweetcorn going inside. So all going pretty well.

The bulbs have gone in in the front garden path border beds. Also will be interesting if the yellow rattle takes here. The soil is basically heavy clay so not sure what will happen as it basically prefers the opposite conditions. Hoping to get a wildflower meadow in the front and using the rattle to parasitise the coarse grasses to allow over plants to compete- will see what happens. Not holding my breath. Will mix in some general wildflower seed too. 

The duck eggs are at day 15 in the incubator and last week when we candelled them we had 17 out of 18 growing as planned. Hopefully will have ducks within two weeks but they won't be out here straight away so gives us time to sort out the enclosure for them. 

Meanwhile in the mini-zoo, sadly our Forest Malay Scorpion died unexpectedly - no idea what killed it. It's now joined the house mini-museum. Jacob and I did the inventory on the mini-zoo this week which is down to 37 species of animals and plants after we had to decommision a lot when we moved. Good old days HERE

The house conservatory is doubling up as the Green House. Planning on moving these sweetcorn outside into the main raised bed and use them to support a three sisters guild. 

Good news on the mothing effort- Mike Bailey has very kindly offered to do our dissections so getting the first ones off to him soon. By the sounds of it our mystery depressaria sp are likely to be daucella as he lives near by at Bracklesham and the dissections there have revealed that species.