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Diary – 2020 March
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All my diary pages going back to 2009
DRAWING & PAINTING:
1 March
This is the very top part of Crystal Palace Park. We knew there would be loads of crows, so we brought some bits of bread. First there was one, but all the eyes watching from the trees saw the action, and soon there was a big crowd of them. As it is difficult to throw bread any distance, only the bravest ones got any. Just like the crows we have seen in other parks, they seem to like to drop it in a puddle so it falls apart and is easier to eat.
Behind where the crows were is the giant transmitter mast. Further down is the part that was the entrance to the Crystal Palace and you can just see the two sphinxes either side of some steps. Our eyes were on the daffodils though.
There is still a bit of the foundations of the Crystal Palace over the back, all fenced off and very derelict. It looks like the sewage/waterworks part!
We walked further down, past the Rusty Laptop, which is really a big sloping backdrop to the stage, with a storage building behind. In front of it is a circular pond and a large sloping grassy area for the audience. It is all derelict now. Spring flowers were coming out everywhere.
More daffodils in the wooded part. In the middle of the park are a lot of sports facilities. This little area is for model remote-controlled racing cars. It sounded like a lot of angry hornets buzzing round at high speed.
These are the pterodactyls, easy to miss amongst the giant dinosaurs on the private island. Last year the pond was choked with plants but it is all clear now.
We had our sandwiches overlooking the dinosaurs, then we walked all round the lake. The boating part is sectioned off from the birds part.
2 March
Our robin sitting in the hawthorn tree, singing his ownership of our garden. The fish are more active now, as the water is warmer.
6 March
We went to Kelsey Park in Beckenham. There has been yet more heavy rain, and here the path and grass are flooded. Brown Teddy and I watched the stream racing down, higher and faster than normal.
It is a narrow winding stream in this part of the park. The ducks were sleeping on the grassy bit, as the water was too turbulent for their liking.
There are some little weirs in the stream, but halfway along is a big waterfall with a large calm lake behind it. It was very noisy. We went up to the bridge and took some photos from above.
A moorhen and a robin were sitting by the side of the water below the waterfall.
This ornamental duck was sitting still quietly on the lake, with the drab female behind him.
In the flower bed were lots of pigeons, as someone had thrown some food down for them. The white and speckled pigeons are always smarter and more interesting, but really they are no different from the rest, except they don't have any camouflage. But as all the pigeons keep together, they stay safe that way.
This is one of the little weirs. He we saw a tubby fat squirrel. We don't feed squirrels as they can be a bit of a pest. This one has clearly been helping himself to some of the duck food that people bring.
These are bat boxes. They don't look very warm for them to sleep in, but I think they must snuggle together to keep warm.
We walked back to Beckenham Station. In the waiting room are lots of historical pictures of the area.
This is Beckenham Station from the bridge.
9 March
Over the weekend our computer screen died, so today we bought a new one. It is a bit bigger and a lot clearer and brighter, so I shall enjoy doing my website on this.
My afternoon garden inspection found lots of clumps of puschkinia flowers. The second picture is pulmonaria, and the English name is common lungwort. It is usually the first plant, other than bulbs, to flower, and it has hairy leaves with white spots. I like it because the flowers are all the shades from pink to blue on the same plant.
12 March
Here we are at Erith again, on the pier. Brown Teddy was watching some pigeons finding nesting material from the few weedy clumps on the edge. We think they are nesting on a ledge under the pier. Nothing is going to disturb them under there!
This is the view on the other side of the river. From a distance it looks like a natural grassy hill and beach huts, but really it is a landscaped landfill site and a row of warehouses. You can just see one of the diggers and a truck on the horizon edge of the land, continuing to bury and landscape.
After our sandwiches, we walked to the end of the pier, which is in an L shape. It used to be used as a deep water wharf for offloading from ships. There are a turntable and railway buffers at the end. Now it is used for walkers and anglers, as a public space to enjoy the river views.
You can read the history of Erith Pier here:
https://londonist.com/london/best-of-london/londons-longest-pier
On the way back to the station, we passed the old Erith Library building. This is the boat on top of the roof tower, and you can just see an open dragon mouth on the left for the prow.
Just before teatime we had a wonderful rainbow, one arc at the front of the house and the other arc over the back gardens. It was quite bright, with a faint secondary rainbow to the outside of it.
13 March
This is Church House Gardens, a park behind Bromley High Street. Our favourite part is up the long flight of steps. At the top there are more gardens and a sitting area.
The spring flowers are beginning to come out. This squirrel is eating some of the primulas, he doesn't know they are not planted for him!
Here we saw a large mouse poke his head out, until he saw us. Further down the slope we saw a very relaxed pheasant wandering about pecking at the grass.
Back up the hill to the high Street.
In the High Street is this milestone. I think the plate is probably quite old but the concrete pillar looks modern.
15 March
We had to go to Beckton for another computer screen. This is London City airport seen from the DLR train.
We got off at Pontoon Dock DLR station and walked through the Thames Barrier Park. We had our snack overlooking the river. It was quite windy and chilly.
This is the view upriver at low tide.
16 March
Today we went to Hampton Court Palace to see the daffodil meadow.
I am glad it was sunny and warm.
We sat under this magnolia street with our sandwiches. Brown Teddy and I spent some time trying to identify all the bird calls that were around us.
These are leucojum bulbs, are are a bit like very tall snowdrops. Brown Teddy found some windflowers.
These are the wonderful ornate chimney stacks of Hampton Court Palace.
After that we walked down the riverside past Molesey Lock.
18 March
Today we went to Hall Place gardens. I like to watch the weir for a while. There used to be a water mill exactly here, and further along in the garden is an old millstone in the paving.
These are hyacinth. We could not get to the daffodil part because the water channel was too wet to cross, and the bridge was out of action for a while, so I got a zoomed in picture of the forsythia bushes on the other side.
These beginnings of pine cones look like berries, but they are not.
Brown Teddy reminded us that the big beds of heather were round the back of the trees. Later on we went into the big glasshouse. Here is the fishpond.
The Bird of Paradise flowers were out. Brown Teddy's favourite today was this coleus because of the bright pinky purple.
Back home, the tadpoles are developing and wriggling.
21 March
We walked along the main road, which has lots of my favourite almost trees in blossom. We made for the far end of the stream.
This waterfall is water from the more natural part over the back where the ducks are. Brown Teddy is looking at the main big flow along the manmade channel.
We made for the duck pond part and let Brown Teddy choose which path. One was blocked by a fallen tree and I think it must have made a lot of noise when it fell. I hope it fell at night though!
Further along we stopped to look at the weirs. Lost footballs never escape the weirs because of the backward flow of the foam. I remember when this was a huge old tree with a take-down notice on it from the parks department. Now it is entirely covered in ivy.
22 March
My spring flowers are fully out now.
Some of the goldfish like to snuggle in the tadpole corner where it is warmer. I will be glad when the tadpoles get behind the pond pots!
23 March
This lovely bouquet was given to us for freewhilst at the checkout in Sainsbury's supermarket. What a nice surprise!
25 March
We spent the afternoon in the greenhouse, with all our hobbies. We have to run the cable from the red box to the outside socket, so the Ipod does not run out of power. Looks like someone has been writing drills in the shorthand pad. I prefer to sit and watch the birds.
We found some old house keys. We destroyed them with the pliers. The brass Chubb key could not be bent, so we nipped of the key knobs instead.
26 March
Last night we found a lost cold bumblebee in the porch. He spent the night in our front room in a sandwich box with some leaves and flowers, and some drops of sugar water in case he needed it. In the morning he warmed up in the sun. I took the box to the skimmia bush, which bees always love, and he walked over a flower head but soon buzzed off into the blue sunny sky. A happy success story.
This side of the fence posts is supposed to be path.
The view from the other side of the pond.
Tadpoles look ready to disperse any time now.
27 March
We are having a few ground frosts in the very early morning, but it soon disappears.
I was amazed and delighted to see two goldfinches having a bath in the garden. I am glad they were still there when we finally came back to the window with the camera! You can see them on my Youtube video (at 13m 44s) of my garden birds having baths:
Another river walk, now that we can't travel about as normal. The stream comes out of this tunnel very calmly and slowly, but the noise is quite booming as there is a waterfall at the other end of and the sound travels along.
This waterfall comes of a fishing lake that is not open to the public. It is very noisy. I like to watch all the patterns in the water as it goes over the edge and the lacy foam as it floats downstream.
30 March
Tiny Ted decided to go rock climbing up the granite lumps alongside the fishpond. But he is very sensibly not going swimming in the birdbath, the water is not clean enough for that!
You can use the space on your 404 page to help find missing people by embedding info from notfound.org See Yellow Teddy's 404 page
Where to report a lost or found teddy or toy https://whiteboomerang.com
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