Yellow Teddy

These sedum plants will cover all the rocks so that they disappear. This is another bright green sedum with a different shape and I am going to put these in pots so they make mounds of green that don't need a lot of looking after.

In the evening we gave out some birthday presents, and this is the result - lots of paper to play with. Dino's favourite piece of paper was the chart of the all chocolate middles!

6 June

At last the big poppies have come out, and my Williams Pears are doing very well. Last year we only had one pear from this new tree, but it looks like we will have more this year.

We went up to Central London. Here is an old Routemaster bus that everyone knows and there are no closing doors, just an opening at the back. Right behind it was this very new one and they are very comfortable and smart inside.

In Trafalgar Square we saw pavement artists at work. This lady has done a very beautiful picture of the Queen, to celebrate her 90th Birthday. Another artist has done lots of country flags.

We watched the Queen's row barge Gloriana come down the River Thames, with lots of smaller rowing boats behind it.

We took the train to Archway. I like to look up at the old buildings and there is always something interesting on the top, like this coloured plasterwork. I think this building is being redone and it may not be a tavern when it is finished!

We took a bus to Highgate Village for their Fair In The Square event. This is an old organ, and I was very interested to see at the back all the punched cards that make the music. They all have the tune names written on the side of the card.

This lady is on stilts and she has the best view of everything! These men are a Pearly King and Pearly Prince with jackets covered in pearly buttons.

There were loads of food stalls, and the hundreds of cakes with marvellous decorations and patterns. It would be very difficult to just choose one or two out of all these.

In the forecourt of the church was The Sheep Show. The man had five sheep in an open sided truck and was shearing some sheep and talking about it. Opposite the truck was a big portable seating area, that folds out to make a grandstand with seats rising up towards the back. The sheep were very calmly eating and having their drink, I think they are used to being on show. Afterwards we went up close and we found out suddenly how smelly sheep are!

After the Sheep Show, we watched the Punch and Judy Show. The showman is Mr Theo Cupier and his Mr Punch is a lot different from the others that I have seen. This Mr Punch has a really interesting jacket with lots of coloured tassels hanging down and his eyes look surprised all the time. I think Mr Punch never learns from his mistakes, which is why he is surprised at everything. I really liked the magnificent crocodile with his bright green sparkly skin and I am glad that Mr Punch managed to avoid those big jaws and teeth. Near the end of the show it began to rain and it got quite heavy for a while.

Next we went to Hampstead Heath which is nearby. It is quite big so we are glad the parks always have maps. It was very quiet and shady with no-one about in the part where we went in. All you could hear were the birds in the trees.

This tree trunk looks as if it has been struck by lightning, with a long scar line all the way down. This other big tree has blown over in a storm. Dead trees are often left to decay, to make homes for insects. If the tree is unsafe, it is cut down and the trunks left lying about for the insects.

Here is the view over Hampstead Heath towards Central London on the left, where you can just about see The Shard building. I think it would be better on a really clear blue sky day.

This is Kenwood House and the lake further down the hill. The bridge is not real and doesn't cross any water. When we crossed that part, it was a muddy path and trees and we could see the back of the pretending bridge all made of wooden planks. The sham bridge was built in 1755 to make a good view from the house.

http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2012/03/21/london-mysteries-kenwood-houses-sham-bridge

By the lake we saw various ducks and geese, a lone rabbit and a band of hooded crows.

Further on there is a new pond under construction. The sides are all being landscaped and on the opposite side it is still all fresh mud that is drying out.

We left the park and walked down the lane. I think these rounded stones on the path were originally put there to stop cartwheels leaving the road. We took a bus back to the nearest train station. I just love sitting on the top of the bus at the front.

Brown Teddy likes being able to see all the bus stop names, this one is Kentish Town. This cockerel is on top of the weather vane on the church.

In Kentish Town Station a florist has advertised itself with a love display of plants and a model of a giraffe in metal. We got to Charing Cross station, where the walls are decorated with drawings from centuries past. These ravens look like the hooded crows that we saw in the park.

Here is a raven from the park, just like the drawing above. This pigeon was sitting in a puddle on Charing Cross Station. He must like soaking his feet, because there are lots of other places he could sit, rather than the middle of a wet platform!

12 June

Some quite stormy weather and heavy rain. The garden got a good soaking.

14 June

Even more storms and very heavy rain. The birdbath filled right up and we had a new pond with water collecting on the garden bench cover! Sometimes the cover sags down between the wooden slats from the weight of the water.

This hoverfly is sheltering inside the rose where he is staying dry. The fish like the heavy rain because of any flies that get washed in.

16 June

I think it is time we put this new birdbox up. It is very smart but we will have to hide it a bit under the greenery, in order to keep its occupants safe. I heard a lot of noise outside and all these starlings were sitting on top of the telegraph pole. I had to be very careful taking some pictures, and after a few minutes they all flew away together. There were a lot of young new ones in the crowd.

19 June

If we leave the porch window open, we get moths coming in for the night. This one is very smart and blends in with tree bark so that he is invisible. A white door is not the best place for him to hide, but he was safe inside out of the rain.

21 June

After all the rain, some sunny weather at last. I like to see the greenhouse shadows on the lawn. Here are two Williams Pears, what a good result at last.

22 June

A visit to the garden centre. This owl decoration looks a bit surprised, I think it would scare away my birds because of his big eyes and I am sure the robins would attack it. The chocolate lollies were more interesting, and it was a good thing Dino didn't see these because he would want to eat them all!

30 June

Here is our regular Daddy Blackbird who is not afraid to wait very close to the window for some bits of food, and this is one of his young ones. The weather has been very rainy and so there are loads of worms everywhere for the youngsters to learn to find.

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