Friday 12 November 2021

Colours of Cornwall in Autumn


Gosh, it was raining cats and dogs when we arrived at Cornwall's Eden Project for a short walk.

We hurried down to the Mediterranean biome for some shelter and to look at some of the plants.


We plonked ourselves on a seat, where we often sit when visiting the biome. A friendly robin came to say hello.

This reminded me of a good friend, sadly now deceased, who believed robins brought him good luck. 

One Saturday he was off to a football match to see his team play an away game. The team, by the way, also had the nickname of 'the robins'.

He drove about half the journey and pulled into a lay-by for a cup of tea. His wife was with him and he pointed out a robin sitting nearby. The bird then hopped onto his car bonnet. My friend said a few words to the effect that this was lucky - and therefore his team would win.

Before he continued his journey he crumbled up a biscuit for the robin. As he left the lay-by, he could see the robin feeding away and the bird appeared to look up as if in acknowledgement.

Yes, his team did win. But he was luckier than this because he bought a club lotto ticket as he entered the ground. At half time the result of the lotto was called over the loud speakers and my friend won £1000! So the robin did bring him luck. And maybe leaving something for the bird brought him some extra luck. Kind acts are often rewarded.



Anyway, still in the Mediterranean biome, there was also an owl - a big one! 


The colours are uplifting ... 


... even though the rain was still chucking it down.


Another photo from the same biome.


We decided to head for the Rainforest biome.


Pink flowers to welcome us ...


and lots of leaves ...


... big ones!


There was also a photo from a real rainforest.

An information board explained the following:
A little Ot Danum girl running through the forest far up the Melawi river in Kalinantan, the Indonesia part of the island of Borneo. She already knew the names and uses of many plants.


We continued wandering around the rainforest biome, in the pleasant warmth, and saw this basic building pleasantly decorated.


It was soon time to wander back to our car.


Mentioning the robin, in this post, reminded me of a meeting with a young bird we had in our garden, a while back.

We were doing some gardening when the little bird below flew onto my wife's gloved hand ... and stayed there - it wouldn't move.


I went indoors to get my camera and when I returned the blue tit still hadn't moved at all.


The RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birdsadvice is: "Fledglings are extremely unlikely to be abandoned by their parents. Just because you cannot see the adult birds does not mean that they are not there. The parents are probably just away collecting food - or are hidden from view nearby keeping a watchful eye, or even being frightened away from their youngster by your presence. Fledglings should be left where they are, in the care of their own parents."

As for our young bird we settled him in the garden, where he would be safe, and in a short while he was gone.

There's not very much colour about at the moment, but saw this lonely nasturtium stretching through a fence.


Also these red leaves and berries were overlooking a high wall - not sure what they are called but they are very attractive


Of course it is possible to overdo leaves!


Oh well, guess that's it for this week, thanks for visiting my blog, enjoy your days ~ Mike.

5 comments:

  1. Lovely colours in your photo's and not just the turning leaves, the flowers are stunning. Nice story about your friend's Robin too. The only colour in our garden now is from the pillarbox red leaves on the "Smoke Bush" & a few remaining Begonias the refuse to die down. Enjoy your weekend Mike.

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  2. Hello David, our garden is qite drab now other than lots of leaves on the grass from nearby trees. Hope you have a good weekend too.

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  3. I always enjoy your visits to the Eden Project and the resulting photos of the flowers. It is good to see the bright pinks in autumn! The story of your lucky friend and the robin is special, as is the photo of the sweet bird visiting in your own garden! As a child I longed for a bird to land on my hand, though it never happened. Last, it would be hard not to notice the red vine covered house! I love the colors of autumn, but that’s a bit much perhaps. Delightful post, Mike.

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    Replies
    1. Hello Ann, many thanks. With Eden we now have to book a time to visit, so can't just go on a whim - thanks to Covid. Earlier in the year I had a robin who would follow me around the garden and once sat on my shoulder - such friendly little birds.
      Trust all is well and you are getting out and about.
      All good wishes.

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  4. Loved the story of your friend's lucky robin. It's always special to be visited by one. One of my neighbours stands upright like a bird feeder, arms out, palms flat, filled with mealworms, and a robin lands on him!

    Well, the Mediterranean bio dome looks the perfect place to spend a rainy day... like going on holiday abroad. The Bourganvillea is stunning. Also spotted you photographed a red Bottlebrush, beautiful pink Hibiscus and giant Elephant Ears (Colocasia gigantea) in the rainforest dome. The Ot Danum girl is a sweet little thing.

    As always, fab pictures and post Mike. Lulu x

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