There's something in the woodshed...
Only it isn't a woodshed - more like a tatty old garden shed. And it's not a nasty something, more of a surprising, and incredibly beautiful, something.
Since the builder chappie isn't due with us for a week or so, hubby and I decided to turn our attention to the run-down shed at the bottom of the garden.
The picture isn't wonderful because I scanned it from the agent's brochure, but you get a general idea of the thing. Note the 'curtains' painted onto the ply-board that is blocking up where the window should be!
Let the demolition commence!
In no time at all we discovered that our beloved tree was actually TWO trees - not one as we'd previously thought! How I squealed for joy. Hubby was rather more manly in displaying his emotions at this happy event, but he was as chuffed as me really...deep down inside.
Next came the horrid job of clearing away the remains of the old shed. I have to say, I didn't enjoy this part of the proceedings at all. Spiders? There were spiders as large and bouncy as young labrador dogs, my dears. Ugh!
You'll be pleased to learn that we didn't knowingly harm a single member of this legion of giants and allowed them to scuttle away across the grass, heading for the sanctuary of our neighbour's property. It was like that scene in LoTR when Merry, Pippin and Treebeard witness Saruman's army marching off towards Helm's Deep. Not nice at all. I kept dancing around like a loon and did a lot more of the aforementioned squealing (that had little to do with joy!), accompanied by arm-flailing and uncontrollable shuddering. I do hope the neighbours weren't looking through their windows!
Anyway, back to the point of this post. Yes, there is one!
Being braver than me, hubby went into the shell of the shed and set about scraping out its innards. He hadn't been working for very long before he called to me that he'd found a butterfly perched near a huge Shelob-esque web, and that it was, apparently, alive. Impossible! It's too cold for butterflies. But, tiptoeing boldly across the grass, I went to have a peek.
He was right! There, legs tangled in a web, slowly flapping its wings (which sounded like dry leaves rubbing together), was a beautiful butterfly. Immediately, we set about untangling the poor wee thing and, eventually, I had it sitting, snarl-free, on the tip of my finger. Here's a film I took. Be warned, the light was fading and I was shaking with cold!
Did you know butterflies hibernated? I didn't! In fact, to be fair, I've never really given this subject any thought at all. What kind of dill am I? Doh!
But that wasn't the end. We found about ten more butterflies, all of the same species (Not sure which. Do you think they might be the Peacocks of the above link?), sheltering in an old metal tool-rack. What could we do? We couldn't leave the poor little things outside to freeze to death, could we! Now, the tool-rack and all of its sleeping guests are sheltering in our garage where they can while away the winter in peace. It might not be the best hotel around, but at least the hotel managers keep a close eye on the comfort and safety of their pretty guests!
How long until they wake up and start flying around the garage? We'll just have to wait and see. Butterfly-sitting is new to us, after all!
Since the builder chappie isn't due with us for a week or so, hubby and I decided to turn our attention to the run-down shed at the bottom of the garden.
The picture isn't wonderful because I scanned it from the agent's brochure, but you get a general idea of the thing. Note the 'curtains' painted onto the ply-board that is blocking up where the window should be!
Let the demolition commence!
In no time at all we discovered that our beloved tree was actually TWO trees - not one as we'd previously thought! How I squealed for joy. Hubby was rather more manly in displaying his emotions at this happy event, but he was as chuffed as me really...deep down inside.
Next came the horrid job of clearing away the remains of the old shed. I have to say, I didn't enjoy this part of the proceedings at all. Spiders? There were spiders as large and bouncy as young labrador dogs, my dears. Ugh!
You'll be pleased to learn that we didn't knowingly harm a single member of this legion of giants and allowed them to scuttle away across the grass, heading for the sanctuary of our neighbour's property. It was like that scene in LoTR when Merry, Pippin and Treebeard witness Saruman's army marching off towards Helm's Deep. Not nice at all. I kept dancing around like a loon and did a lot more of the aforementioned squealing (that had little to do with joy!), accompanied by arm-flailing and uncontrollable shuddering. I do hope the neighbours weren't looking through their windows!
Anyway, back to the point of this post. Yes, there is one!
Being braver than me, hubby went into the shell of the shed and set about scraping out its innards. He hadn't been working for very long before he called to me that he'd found a butterfly perched near a huge Shelob-esque web, and that it was, apparently, alive. Impossible! It's too cold for butterflies. But, tiptoeing boldly across the grass, I went to have a peek.
He was right! There, legs tangled in a web, slowly flapping its wings (which sounded like dry leaves rubbing together), was a beautiful butterfly. Immediately, we set about untangling the poor wee thing and, eventually, I had it sitting, snarl-free, on the tip of my finger. Here's a film I took. Be warned, the light was fading and I was shaking with cold!
Did you know butterflies hibernated? I didn't! In fact, to be fair, I've never really given this subject any thought at all. What kind of dill am I? Doh!
But that wasn't the end. We found about ten more butterflies, all of the same species (Not sure which. Do you think they might be the Peacocks of the above link?), sheltering in an old metal tool-rack. What could we do? We couldn't leave the poor little things outside to freeze to death, could we! Now, the tool-rack and all of its sleeping guests are sheltering in our garage where they can while away the winter in peace. It might not be the best hotel around, but at least the hotel managers keep a close eye on the comfort and safety of their pretty guests!
How long until they wake up and start flying around the garage? We'll just have to wait and see. Butterfly-sitting is new to us, after all!