Young Male Reeves Muntjac

We went to Scotsdales Garden Centrer this morning and started with coffee and cake. Then I purchased some pond plants for the new pond; only four to start with, but I need one or two for marshy areas, which I have not yet developed. Then I purchased some runner bean plants as well as some lupins to fill a couple of gaps. I also purchased a poppy called Princes Victoria; I could not leave that one behind.

Once home I placed the pond plants in their white bags, near the pond ready to put in the pond after lunch. Whilst cooking lunch today's picture, a male Reeves Muntjac, entered the garden and was quite taken aback by something unfamiliar. Its facial expression changed several times and it was clearly uncertain about was there and actually backed away from the plants whilst still keeping an eye on them. In the end it moved away and enjoyed its lunch out of site of the bags. I put the pond plants in the pond, getting rather wet and cold as it has been raining all day. The runner beans and flowering plants will be planted when it stops raining.

There is some water in our large “pond area” at the bottom of the orchard, but only on the old pond liner, which I took out of our new wildlife pond and placed there in the hope that it would provide some drinking water for the wild life which visit..

The temperature at GMT noon was sixteen degrees Celsius, but it still felt cold, wet and miserable.