Before we started all the rebuilding/renovation work, our house was completely covered with ivy. Hundreds of sparrows would sleep in it at night. As a young girl, I delighted in standing in the garden in the evening and clap my hands so that they would all flutter up and then resume their squabbling about the best sleeping places for the night.

Unfortunately, we had to remove all the ivy in order to be able to insulate the house — but we’re working on growing it back.

Not enough to give shelter to the sparrows just yet but other creatures have certainly taken up residence:

And while I had read about ants milking aphids, I’d never actually witnessed it before: