Ansers on a postcard

Welcome to June. No birds. June actually started a few weeks ago and so birding has already taken a back seat at Chateau L. One shall resume in August. One last foray yesterday however, the irresistable lure of overnight rain dragged me out. For nothing. It was pathetic, inland sites are the worst. Rainham had a Roseate Tern and a supporting cast of waders including Curlew Sandpiper. Wanstead had this.

They say the big one travels alone......so what is this? On Jubilee and looking as glorious as it did rare, it soon continued, ahem, its migration west. Answers (or Brantas) on a postcard please. This just screams June, it's enough to make anyone hang up their bins for a few months.

I've been busy in the garden. Naturellement. As birds decline so my other interests take over. This year the focus has been on succulents, so I've been splitting Agaves and repotting Aloes. Normally my greenhouse is organised by family groups, but this year I've mixed it up and made the benches more geographical. So now I have Aloe, Haworthia and Strelitzia dotted amongst the Cycads to create a miniature South African landscape. At the other end, Agave and Echeveria nestle amongst Mexican Cycads. Outside, now deemed safe for most things, there has been a frenzy of repotting Palms and Bamboo, Some of the larger Agaves are enjoying the fresh air, and yesterday I potted up about 30 Monkey Puzzle seedlings from community pots and bands. Indoor Palms, mainly Chamaedorea, are now poking out of the flower beds for the summer. It doesn't last long, but for a few short months I shall enjoy my small tropical paradise.