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A South East garden

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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Apr 2018 at 2:21pm
A disaster today - the extremely heavy rain has caused the pond to over flow, a black mass of tadpoles on the grass and loads swimming around on the patio in about an inch of water.

Unfortunately I can't see how I would be able to rescue any of the patio ones so I would guess 50% at least of my tadpoles have now gone...
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Suzy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Apr 2018 at 2:25pm
Oh Chubsta how upsetting. I know how you must feel. Any consolation that nature provides for natural disasters in the amount of tadpoles each frog produces. 50% isn't that bad in the scheme of things, sad nevertheless.
Suz
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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Apr 2018 at 5:12pm
Originally posted by GemmaJF GemmaJF wrote:

I've heard people remark that frogs are 'dirty'. Both neighbours generally mention frogs in their gardens as an 'inconvenience' and we have to go through the whole thing of them passing frogs over the fence, even though they only spend a few weeks in our  pond every year and were probably quite happy under a plant pot or wherever they found them.

We have two houses, at our other one a neighbour mentioned to my partner the other day that she had found a frog in her garden, but that fortunately her son was around and he had been able to kill it quickly - she said this in a manner which was like she expected my partner to congratulate her on her swift action!

I cannot believe that some people are so divorced from wildlife that they would kill a frog as if it was a threat to them. However, I think it is fair to say that she now knows my other half's opinion on what she did and she has been keeping her head down for a bit since. We do everything we can to encourage wildlife and offer them a space - the house is quite central in Hythe in Kent - and we have loads of birds, hedgehogs and even the occasional toad in the garden so everything is welcome.

Despite not being a fan of 'social media' (I much prefer forums such as this where you can go back over old posts etc - it has been very useful for working out my new pond plants for instance) I have started a facebook group for the wildlife in my village which has already got 50 members in just a week. Hopefully we will be able to trade tips on conservation etc and encourage some of the older residents to make their gardens more accessible to animals, it was only through speaking to a neighbour last year that I found out we had slow-worms in our little 'block' of houses, which encouraged me to create a compost heap and I now have the odd individual in my garden too, and this last week someone has said they have spotted a toad, which I have never heard of here either.


Edited by chubsta - 30 Apr 2018 at 5:18pm
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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Apr 2018 at 5:15pm
Found on the doorstep last night in Hythe...


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Suzy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Apr 2018 at 6:03pm
And these are the people who watch wildlife programmes! Honestly! 
When I lived in the Lake District as a youngster we had red squirrels, red deer, otters, badgers, pine martins and roe deer - to mention some. The bird life and herps were good too ( the latter not quite up to the south of England admittedly). People would be indoors where we lived watching African wildlife progs. We couldn't understand it. Even here my neighbours say my wild areas will be good for nature (they've heard so on the TV) but god forbid any of their own gardens go a bit wayward. As I've said before my neighbours will happily stand and watch a cat play with and kill a slow worm. 
Suz
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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 May 2018 at 8:20pm
First slow-worm of the year today, lifted a sheet of black linoleum I have over a patch of old grass clippings etc and saw him dash off. Was a very dark brown colour, nothing like the grey I normally associate with them, is their colour based upon environment or is it hereditary?
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Suzy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 May 2018 at 9:49pm
I have all colours and shades Chubsta. Some are grey and shades thereof and some are very coppery and some are bronze in varying shades.
Suz
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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2018 at 8:33pm
Found this little chap in a spider web when I moved a box in my conservatory, gave him a bit of a wipe and he wriggled off into the compost heap, hopefully will be ok - the spider was on his head, I don't know if a British spider would have strong enough jaws to pierce his skin (it was only a small spider)?

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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 May 2018 at 7:37pm
This has appeared on a tree stump - about 3 inches wide, very soft and wet, about the consistency of a school rice pudding Dead

Anyone got any ideas?


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Liz Heard View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 2018 at 1:36pm
This is a slime mould and the substrate (wood) helps narrow down the possibilities.

One candidate is False Puffball Enteridium/Reticularia lycoperdon

https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/enteridium-lycoperdon

Otherwise, it might be the wonderfully-named Dog Vomit Slime Mould Fuligo septica.
This starts off bright egg yolk yellow but within just a few hours turns white.

https://wimastergardener.org/article/dog-vomit-slime-mold-fuligo-septica/

At first i thought your find was F. septica but since that's typically more of a 'splat' (like it's common name suggests), now think it's more likely a False Puffball.   

If you keep an eye on it having read up on the descriptions of how the 2 develop and change, you'll probably have your answer.



Edited by Liz Heard - 12 May 2018 at 2:59pm
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