Our tadpoles are just coming out of the jelly. A few are free-swimming, though masses of them are clinging to the jelly, and plenty are still inside. In a few days, there will be lots all over the pond. I don’t see any adult frogs, which were present for the spawning. They have done their bit and gone.   Thames …

I look at the frogspawn, the embryos are growing in the jelly. We might get the first tadpoles next weekend, if it doesn’t get cold again. We will have thousands of tadpoles, very popular with school visits. They begin as a large black patch on the jelly. If you look close, you see it’s made of hundreds of wriggling forms, …

We were given various Fair Trade foods by the Co-op on Woodgrange Road: tea, coffee, bars of chocolate, a range of biscuits, and a bunch of bananas. Fair Trade was set up so that small growers get a fair price for their produce, so they can feed themselves and their families, buy the necessities of life, and send their children …

On Saturday, we had the culmination of Learn Draw Grow – an artistic exploration of Dr John Fothergill’s legacy. He lived from 1712 to 1780, and in 1762 he bought Upton House, now West Ham Park. There, he amassed a large plant collection, said at the time to be second only to Kew’s. Fothergill employed a number of artists to …

February is very much a “between” month, still winter but in sight of spring. February, though, can be treacherous, or unseasonably warm. On 26 February 2019 it was 21º in London, but last February it was minus 23º in Scotland. Meanwhile, Storm Eunice was wreaking havoc in the Garden, blowing down the painted hoarding and tipping over our pots of …

It has been icy cold for the last week, but dry. This weather is bad for birds, many will freeze to death, as will many insects including bees. We keep our bird feeders full, doing what we can. Nature is an uncaring parent, the trials of her offspring are of no concern. I am reminded of the ancient Roman myth, …

Winter is a fluid season; when it begins and ends is arguable. With climate change all the more so, as warm spells follow cold spells adding to the confusion. We had a heavy fall of snow on 11 and 12 December. It stuck around for a week, on days that hovered around zero, then the temperature shot up to springlike …

It’s been very cold the last few days, no rain, with temperatures close to zero and a few degrees below overnight. There’s ice on the pond and on the trays we have left out for birds. Meteorological winter began on 1st December; we were spoilt with warmer days in November. Now we are at seasonal temperatures. They are calling the …

Leaves are falling. The few left in the cherry tree are yellow and red. A fierce wind will clear the branches. The sycamore is two-thirds gone, its yellow leaves continually swept off the paths. Its helicopter seeds are scattered, like invading forces threatening to overwhelm us by sheer numbers. Our birch still has its leaves. The small leaves are less …

We have had a lot of rain recently. October had over 100 mm, twice the usual rainfall. November too is giving us daily showers. All our water barrels are brimming, which is ironic, as when you have lots of water, you don’t need it. But Thames Water informs us the hosepipe ban is still on. Because it was so dry …