Hobbies and Crafts

That's it. We've finally succumbed to putting a squirrel baffle on the feeder. We managed to tolerate them for a year as we don't really mind them and where we are there's plenty of space for everything. But within half an hour of re stocking the seed feeder a couple of them had emptied it. We were lucky we got one half price and even then we thought it was expensive. The birds will still spill some so they'll still get their fair share.

As the weather forecast said it's another lovely day (but the garden got some rain yesterday at last - can't believe after this summer I'd be saying that!) so we're off out for a walk and pick some more sloes. I should really wait for a frost but it seems it may be later coming this year and I don't want to lose out. And I'm impatient!

Lizzie ,the squirrels are busy digging holes in the lawn to bury their conkers or what ever it is.Probably all our hazelnuts.We have never yet had one for ourselves!!!

Now we have a little tune playing when the birds are at the seeds as the dropped ones hit the baffle.

I often can see a squirrel from my bed in the morning .He sits on top of a tree stump which is about 30ft high lol.I can watch it scurry up the side and perch on the top of it.
I had a lovely wren sat on my kitchen window sill earlier.I really must keep my camera to hand.

I think if I had a regular squirrel visitor I would put a guard on the feeders but I would also invest in a squirrel feeder as I find them fscinating to watch.

We have a lot of sparrows back, and the bluetits were very active in the garden this morning. we don't get the goldfinches as much now since our neighbours put up goldfinch feeders. No doubt they will return in the winter.

Ann I don't remember if I asked if you enjoyed your holiday in Dorset?
Was it West Bay you said ? We didn't go there but I thought Dorset was lovely.

I agree with you Ann - I like the squirrels too but they just go through the bird food so fast and there's plenty other in the garden for them. However, having added the squirrel baffle to the pole I opened the curtains this morning to see a squirrel in the same place as ever - nabbing all the bird food. So that was a waste of time and money! Flip...

What, inside the baffle? I would complain to the makers then because it doesn't work!!!

Jane, we had a great holiday, we were at Burton Bradstock, we walked from there to West Bay (3 miles each way) partly along the cliff, partly on the beach. The weather was great, the beach was packed the first weekend and the shop almost ran out of ice cream. went to Abbotsbury gardens, Broadwinsor craft centre, Lyme Regis, Bridport as well, really enjoyed it all and a lovely apartment right on the cliff top.

We went to the Craft Centre Ann,in thick fog lol.They had some lovely things there.I bought a few things for Xmas presents.We had been to Lyme Regis earlier in the day .Jude put a pic of mine on her blog of the pidgeons on the table at Lyme.They knocked cups off the table which smashed on the ground.They were a real nuisance.

I've just seen how the squirrel got to the bird food. Not via the baffle at all. But a flying leap from a nearby shrub - very acrobatic and quite impressive actually. Thought we had the feeder far enough away, but I've had to move it further.

We had been to Broadwinsor before although not the craft centre. My OH's Gt grandfather and Gt Gt Grandfather were born in Broadwinsor.
We had no problems from pigeons or seagulls while in Lyme despite sitting at an outside table eating a crab sandwich.

I got quite excited yesterday, I saw a little goldcrest again for the first time since the winter snow. So it's good to know some survived. They're so small you wonder how they don't freeze to death in such cold weather.

We've had the swans come past again a couple of times this week. Saw them a few weeks ago and they had 6 cygnets but now there seem to be only 5. I hope it's a different family and that they haven't lost one. OH got into the river with them the other day as I saw one of them put its head under water and get an elastic band round its beak (the red ones the posties use - there's a bridge over the river by the local post office so I hope they didn't chuck it in). It dropped off easily enough thank goodness but I didn't want it to float off down the river and do real damage. Thank goodness they were all well behaved as the cygnets are quite big now, let alone the cob.

Where is Jude? Is she on holiday?

And where is Tec. I think Jude might be away.

Yesterday morning we watched a blackbird drinking from the water feature. Nothing unusual in that except we have a water feature that has a jet of water going from the figures on the top , being poured in a fountain jet into the bowl beneath and the blackbird was opening his beak under the jet so it went straight in.

Evening all:o)

l have been away to Sussex helping my cousin who's been poorly, got back yesterday pm.

Thanks for asking Jane:o)
l received your email and will get the next photo on the blog asap:o)

Vic says that the crow and rooks have disapeared, l noticed alot of sparrows this afternoon, plus the dunnocks, doves and some w/pigeons.
Strange how one day a species of bird if about then its gone for a while. We've been getting buzzards hovvering, l heard them about a week ago, four of them.
On the coach coming back yesterday l saw 2 or 3 buzzards, also something that looked bigger than a buzzard. On coach going l saw 3 buzzards on fences and a deer feeding in a field....the person behind me must have thought l was abit strange cause l got excited each time l spotted something:o))
l love the squirrels too, fascinating:o) but they do pinch loads of food, they often take the peanut feeder down, but we have wire holding it now which makes it harder for them. Brother in law has made a seperate feeding table for them at his house and they use it all the time.

Have read loads of posts back will finish reading them asap.

Take care
We're off again Fri:o))...lol
jude :o)

Hello Ann....ooo err thats unusual, not daft though was he:o))

jude x

What we do for the birds. OH has made a sparrow house (bet they don't use it) and is outside in the cold trying to mount it on the fence behind a very prickly rose.

I've been seeing the geese flying over again in formation for the past few days. But now they go about an hour earlier in the morning and go south east instead of south west. Wonder what they're up to?

That's it now, it's officially autumn - season of mists and mellow fruitfulness and all that. We've been waking up to misty mornings the past week and although our gardens have been protected there's the first frost of the year lying on the farmers land over the river. Now I can go and collect my last lot of sloes. I know you're supposed to wait till there's a frost and I shouldn't have picked any at all yet but I couldn't wait as the crop looked so good this year. I'll end up with 3 separate brews of gin to see if it makes any difference. Then I'll use my "scientific" results to inform me for future years. I should have enough expert tasters around Christmas time to get a consensus and make it an objective trial.

Now that the ducklings are grown the ducks are beginning to get cheeky again and have been all the way up to the patio to tap on the glass for food the past couple of days.

Hiya:o)

Just back from Exeter, been there since Friday to celebrate my sisters 70th. Brilliant time was had by all:o)
The cottage was surrounded by tree's and fields, loads of wild life, badgers, foxes, pheasants with their broods, various other birds and of course a couple of squirrels, plus a deer:o)

Dizzi....So envious of your Ducks!

Yep autumn is here, very dewy in the morning and chilly both morning and evening.

We collected Madoc from the kennels (well Vic did), as soon he was in the garden his best mate next door was at his front door waiting to be let out and knock on our door.....so cute:o)) They also have an 8 week old lab pup that arrived this afternoon, called Rosco:o) l think we are going to have fun with him!!!!

jude:o)