lousmith

Hi Brand new guy. Lizard is pretty big news. There is a move afoot to make a map of reptiles ( and amphibians ) in London. you could contribute I think here: http://www.wildlondon.org.uk/News/snakes-alive-londons-lizards-mapped if you feel so inclined. Its good news though. Well spotted.

There are definitely a lot of swifts around at the moment. I watch them everyday.

Anyone wishing to make their own sushi can come and learn here: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?6,1111147,1111147#msg-1111147 Separate classes for adults and children.

We are doing another spin painting session tomorrow (Saturday) at 11.00am - midday. Email shop@capturedontherye.co.uk for info.

Come along and make a free spin painting today at Captured on the Rye, 12.00 - 1.00pm http://www.facebook.com/CapturedOnTheRye

are there plants? I'm sure it'll be fine now the body has gone.

My Neighbour recently had their iron front gate stolen too!

You could try the poke it with a cane first method. If it seems reasonably vigorous all will be well.

Hi Sue. The "woodlice" will be intent on clearing up anything that's no longer required, but won't harm the Taddies. I discovered last year that the white areas on healthy frogspawn will always end up facing down after being disturbed. Takes about 15 mins. If it is not doing this it is dead. Likewise the frog. It may be that it sees you coming and dives to the bottom. Check it to see if its alive and definitely hook it out if it is not. Similarly the spawn will start to break up if it is not viable and should be dragged out and discarded as it could cause serious oxygen depletion if it sinks and decomposes. Great news about the tadpoles though. Hope some of them make it. Frogs should definitely be post hibernation now though. Even lazy ones. They won't have eaten since last Autumn, so no time to loaf!

I do like to watch out for amphibious friends, been a lifelong fascination. Its fine to handle them with clean hands. they are a little prone to squirting stuff onto your hands though which though harmless, can make the squeamish shreik and drop! They'll be fine if left to their own devices. You could always build a pond to assist their kind.

They seem to have marked preferences for where they live. These days I seldom see them in my garden, two or three a year or so, whereas I see hundreds of frogs. Marsden Road wildlife centre on the other hand is almost entirely toads. They will travel quite far to find water if possible. A lot of the drive for house extensions has probably cost toads their breeding grounds and may prevent them reaching them. People are scared when they have kids to keep a pond. understandable, but a shame. Each of my kids have been into the pond once. They learn. Toads can live to 40 years old, so your neighbour may know at least her personally.

What you have there is a large lady toad with a small gentleman toad in enthusiastic attendance. Its their turn to spawn now. Do they have access to a decent pond?

It definitely takes two to tango! if there is only one frog it is likely that the female jettisond the spawn unfertilised which will not hatch and will slowly break up and disappear. This may be what happened last year. If it sinks to the bottom first you may not witness this. The detritivores at the bottom of the pond would make short work of it.

Well there must be at least two frogs there no? If not it won't hatch. It shouldn't get eaten as its only really ducks who eat it wholesale and they won't come to a sink. Leave them on top so the sun warms them and speeds the changes. Its been a funny year. Most of my first crop of spawn has sunk without trace or was frozen solid. There is a new batch however which I'm hoping will flourish.

Despite the grim weather, its business as usual at the bottom of ponds!

There are a couple of space on today's T-Shirt printing workshop at midday at 85 Pellatt Road. Design and print your own T-Shirt. Suitable for ages 4+. Younger children will require supervision with the use of scissors or scalpel. Older children may be dropped off. The session is approximately 1.5 - 2 hours depending on the age of participants. Email shop@capturedontherye.co.uk to book your space. Workshops available on other days too, email for availability.

Apologies for the poor turnout of stalls at the market at the weekend. Three confirmed stall-holders baled out without informing us, leaving us embarrassed with no back-up plan. We moved two stalls into the shop to escape the bitter cold and actually had a good day after a slow start, but not what we had planned. The previous week was pretty busy with 4 stalls outside and a reasonable turnout despite the sleet! We will be re-trying in future weeks, Easter has been memorably quiet this year. We'll keep you posted. Lou.

Thanks to everyone who came to the workshops, we enjoyed seeing all your fantastic creations over the past week. We had some cracking designs including Luke Skywalker, Green Eggs & Ham, Daleks and lots of skulls! We run these workshops every Sunday if there are enough participants. Email us to register your interest for the next workshop on Sunday 3rd of March. We can also run these on weekday afternoons if you have a group of children. Upcoming workshops include designing and assembling your own lampshade, mosaic workshops and screenprinting other items, not just T-Shirts. Finally, we also do birthday parties at your choice of venue. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.501959036516973.109350.414741285238749&type=3 shop@capturedontherye.co.uk

We are running T-Shirt screenprinting workshops for kids age 4+ this week at our shop on Pellatt Road, SE22. PM if you'd like more info.

Monday 7th

Our new coffee shop in East Dulwich is child-friendly - there's a small room at the back where kids can hang out. We don't have much space for buggies inside but you are welcome to park them outside the front of the shop where they are easy to keep an eye on. Have a look on our Facebook page for details of a parent and baby event this Thursday daytime. We'll be running more of these on different weekdays and weekends soon. http://www.facebook.com/CapturedOnTheRye

Thanks so much for the recommendations! We have a shopping event coming up on Thursday 15 Nov. I've attached a flyer about it. We have plenty to keep the little ones entertained while you are shopping or having tea/coffee and cake. There is storytelling at 10.30am and 11.30am and free cake with any hot drink purchase (while the cake lasts, so come early!). All items in the shop will be 10% off and we will have a jar of delicious chutney available free with any purchase of a lampshade. http://www.facebook.com/CapturedOnTheRye

Thanks for the feedback, shaunag. Looking forward to seeing you soon, Fuschia. B. is in the shop most of tomorrow, text L to check she's there, she'd love to hang out with your gang!

Here this is a key of most invertebrate types, should definitely narrow down your field of search. Hi res enough to read if you zoom in. Try to fish one out onto a saucer and get a pic.

There was a piece of car corner grille, presumably from the culprit's car lying in the road near the scene.