Surprising sights in the garden for January!

Diggers in the ground... maybe mice. In pots...Blackbirds the culprits here. Lovely lot of Spring flowers in your garden, let's enjoy.

as for diggers: rooks, crows, squirrels, foxes and badgers are all suspects. the last 3 are big enough to snuffle in the woodpile too.

You’ll probably be as disappointed as I was to discover its boring old Crows. It was Crows that used to haul the bark off my rotting log edging. I was hoping for a weasel!

Lots of lovely colour in your garden Shirley. I couldn't believe the Dianthus were still in flower !
It could be foxes as I have seen deep holes in some of the large pots since we have been here.I wouldn't have thought it was the birds though.

Thanks ladies for all your wise and complementary words ... I now wonder if it could have been Magpies as we have two pairs of them with a young 'un coming in to the garden most days ... :o(

Still looking lovely,Shirley,and I would say it was probably Blackbirds ,doing the pulling up..We have both,but the Magpies don't come too near the house,as the Blackbirds do..I have two identical pots with Primula's by the front door..one is in full flower,the other is completely empty,having been eaten at the roots by something,or pulled up,a few weeks ago ! not sure why,it's never happened before...:o( Aren't we lucky to still have Dianthus in flower too ? no complaints from me,but let's see what next week brings !!xx

Lovely to see the colours in your garden, Shirley. Here it’s the blackbirds who make the most mess. I put stones or grit on the surface of my pots, so the squirrels leave them alone!

Some lovely Spring colour in your garden Shirley, we find its squirrels that do the damage here, all our pots have been covered over with netting to keep them out!

I read rodents eat Tulip bulbs Shirley love your Camelia very pretty.

M'land, I wonder what the attraction is to Pheasants etc. for Tulip bulbs? Thank goodness for chicken wire!!

Sandra, we've had Magpies and Pigeons come right up to the kitchen door, not timid at all! How odd that only one pot of Primulas have been attacked, just be grateful! Talking of them (Primroses and/or Primulas) the price of them varies so much down here. Local greengrocer sells them for 69p each, a popular garden centre has them at £1.20 each, so we know who gets the best profit don't we?

Sheila, I always top the pots with a layer of grit/gravel but it didn't stop the culprit at all! I was watching a Blackbird eating the Cotoneaster berries yesterday, he was almost a contortionist at times to hang on to the branches against the fence, clever bird.

Thanks Dotty, never expected to see those Dianthus flowering in January.

Thanks 3d, I hope the Camellia flowers well this year.

I have to say my money's on the Blackbirds. They do some devilish digging here from time to time. The Camellia is a beauty. Mine is still in very tight bud, which is perhaps just as well, if the weather is going to change.

So do I for you Shirley.

Waddy, there was a heavy frost overnight but I can't see any damage done to plants, phew! Possibility of some sleet next week ... :o(

Thanks 3d ...

I'm afraid I can't say how lovely your plants look because I can't see any pictures at all on GoY today! No image is showing up - not even our avatar images & blogs just have empty spaces where I presume pictures should be!

It not just your blog it's all over the site! Never had this happen before! not even refreshing the page makes any difference! Anybody else noticed anything weird on GoY this evening?

How strange Balcony ! I hope it's a temporary blip ...

Lovely blog Shirley you have lots of interest in your garden for January :)
I wonder what's been digging in your pots ? I first thought a cat but they would probably have dug in the ground . Could it be a hedgehog ?

The leaves on your unnamed Geranium and the creeping habit make me think of G. sanguineum. That's what they remind me of.

That's weird ... hope the images return for you asap Balcony.

Hywel, not seen a Hedgehog in our garden for years, more's the pity! You may well be right about the Geranium as I definitely recall a plant label with that on ... but of course the label is long gone ... :o(

Really enjoyed your blog Shirley...I have lots of blackbirds in my garden that pull and tug and turn over all sorts, then they start on the roof tiles, pelting down clumps of moss, so when I'm back home I'll be expecting a good tidy up!
Lovely to see all your unexpected flowers, and also the Camellia, I imagine mine will be flowering too...:))

Thanks Janey, we get those clumps of moss too, courtesy of the birds. Currently 3 degrees here, must be lovely for you right now in the warmth of Tasmania ... :o)

A week or so ago I decided to try the "Private Browsing" option in Firefox & I think that's where the problem lies & with GoY not being a secure site. It's security certificates haven't been updated in years.

I was able to get into GoY through my mobile, even using FireFox, & I was able to see all pictures with no trouble but that version of FireFox wasn't using the 'Private Browsing' mode.

I set up "Private Browsing" because my grandson spends quite a bit of time on my computer when he comes on a Saturday. I wanted to make it safer for him & my computer! Now it seems if I want to see GoY properly I will have to revert back to the "Public Browsing" mode!

We had a little snow yesterday evening & -3C! Tonight we are forecast temps even lower -4C!

No snow down here, but very, very cold all day. Keep safe and warm ... :o)

Hi Shirley, after several days without seeing any pictures on GoY I'm pleased to say I can see the pictures in your blog at long last!

I tried disabling the 3 adblocker apps I have in my Firefox browser - made no difference. I went back to public mode for Firefox - made no difference! So I turned them all back on again & returned FireFox to Private browsing mode! Made no difference!!!

But today I can see everything once again on GoY! 👍😀

Your Camellia looks lovely!

Hooray ... glorious technicolour!!!

😀😀😀👍