That’s what Julia found today, clustered in a gap in the polytunnel door frame. I thought they were hardy tomatoes when she first showed me the picture on her phone, but they turned out to be ladybirds. I don’t have the patience to count spots but she seems to have a few different sorts.
Sometimes I miss the active life outdoors, seeing nature and getting lots of healthy exercise. Other times, I don’t. There’s a lot to be said for sitting inside. It isn’t exactly warm in the shop, but at least I can feel my fingers and toes. That wasn’t always the case when working outside in winter, as I recall.
That’s why I’m cooking tea – to atone for my wimpish ways in working indoors. Nothing special, just pasties with cauliflower cheese and nobby greens (that’s Brussel’s Sprouts if you don’t live round Nottingham).
The timer just went. I think that means it’s ready.
Here’s the picture again, partly for symmetry and partly to cover up the short post.
How are you and Julia doing? Both well, I hope?
Cold, getting old, but still well thank you. How about you?
All is good here. Triple vaccinated, taking reasonable precautions and hoping for the best.
I made some pinot noir jelly this year, and was pleased with it. I had planned to make applesauce, too, but I think I am a bit late. Too many other things. Some of the apple varieties hang on fairly well, so I may get some yet.
The weather has been wet, but not too cold, yet. 🙂
I have had a date for my fourth vaccination – though it is conditional on the guidelines still being the same in 6 months time. Typical – they give me pills to cure my arthritis and I have to have an extra vaccination to compensate. 🙂
We have just entered “Plan B – a nightmarishly imprecise fudge of a plan – you can still hold football matches but the coin club meeting is cancelled. Pah!
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Well, fancy seeing ladybirds without spots! I did have a notion they existed but this is first I’ve seen.
As for cold hands, it is difficult working when the digits start to go numb.
Ladybirds with no spots undermine everything I thought6 I knew . . . It’s just not right.
🤔😊
We never heard Nobby greens in Newark. 🙂
Which just goes to prove my suspicions about Newark being posher than Nottingham. Not a particularly difficult achievement, I admit. 🙂
🙂
Ladybugs start showing up inside the house as the winter wears on.
I don’t think our weather is quite that abd, so they stay outside.
I was pleased to see the picture twice. I thought that they were tomatoes the first time I looked.
The door has become warped, and the resulting space has become a wildlife haven! 🙂
I’m with Laurie. Nobby greens are amazing. Much better than “Brussel’s Sprouts.” Who the Hell is Brussel?
Supposedly the city of Brussels. Who would want to claim credit for them? One of my friends told her kids they were “fairy Cabbage”. 🙂
Beautiful. Great to see such helpful insects in the garden.
That’s why we need to stop being so tidy and leave them somewhere to shelter. That fits in with my general attitude to life too. 🙂
Exactly – on both counts.
🙂 I see you have 500 species of ladybird in Australia. No wonder you need so much space.
https://www.ento.csiro.au/biology/ladybirds/ladybirds.htm
Nobby greens. Love it! And with so many ladybugs, as we call them, it really emphasizes how varied the spots are.
26 species in the UK, they say!
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2021/03/ladybird-identification/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7-WAv7DG9AIV5SmzAB3cpg3aEAAYAyAAEgInK_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Wowsah!
🙂