Hobbies and Crafts

Jane, how sad for your nephew to lose his partner so young and to have to cope with life as a single dad.

I hope you have a lovely day with your sister and bil and the little one.

It has been a beautiful day here and this morning I heard a cuckoo. I expect everyone else heard their first cuckoo of the year a couple of months ago but it is the first one I have heard round here.

On a sad note I found a dead young blackbird outside the conservatory. It still had the speckly, thrush-like plumage so was quite young and I think it had probably flown into the glass door. Luckily OH was here to remove it as I am a bit of a wuss with birds and can't pick or even sweep them up. :-(

Just googled it Ann .It is at a place called Twyning.It looks lovely to sit out.I have just realised I have actually been there once before with my Sister (but many years ago)
Yes little William will get lots of hugs from his Gt Aunty :-D.Trouble is he won't know who on earth I am as I haven't seen him since his 1st birthday.He is apparently a real live wire !!!

Oh how sad for your nephew Jane, I bet he will welcome a cuddle from his Great Aunty. I don't know where the Fleet is, so do let me know when you find out won't you? Have a lovely time with them.

Glad you are home safely Ann and had a good week.I am off to Tewkesbury tomorrow to see my Sister and BIL.We are going to lunch at a pub called The Fleet.Don't know if you know it .All I know is that it is on a river and that there is a little boat that can bring folk across from the other side.They will have their Grandson with them as they have to look after him several days a week.It is a sad tale but his Mummy died when he was 3 months old so my Nephew is a single Dad and needs all the help he can get get from my Sister with him working full time.I think W will be starting Nursery sometime soon so that will be a bit of a help.He will be 2 on Tuesday.

Phew it has been hot today!,and still is.

Back home now and yes Jane that week flew by, we were so lucky with the weather and the sun even shone at Grange Vera, in fact it was a glorious day there.

Ann ,I was shocked when you said you were coming back today.It only seems a couple of days since you went :-0.That must have been the quickest week ever lol

Vera ,your walk around the Water Meadow sounded just wonderful :-D.When I had my dog I would often walk around our local lake and love seeing all the different water birds.I always found it so peaceful .I should do it again but it won't be the same without my old faithful boy.

Funny old day today ,very warm but very cloudy now.I have just picked some Petit Pois from the garden and the first mini Cucumbers :-D

Ann, that brought back some memories. That place is forever known in my family as Grange-Over-Mud after a rather soggy week there many, many years ago when my children were about 8 and 10. We had booked a two week holiday in the Lakes with my father and brother and the first week was spent climbing/fell-walking. We thought two weeks of this might be a bit boring for the kids so we booked a hotel at Grange for the second week. Not a great success as all the children wanted to do was to get back walking on the fells.

Yesterday I had an hour to kill so I walked through the water meadows along by the river that runs round the town. It was beautiful - plenty of ducks and swans on the water, lots of insects buzzing and birds singing and one meadow full of the gorgeous Highland cattle that are brought in to graze the water meadows every summer. I thought how lucky I was to have this on my doorstep and yet, like most people round here, I only occasionally walk there. So my new resolution is to get out and walk by the river more often

We have just been to Grange over Sands and at the duck pond there were several geese parents with their rather ungainly goslings with long spindly legs, very cute.

I am now off to pack as, sadly, we go home tomorrow, don't know where this week has gone. But we have had glorious weather. :-D

Oh Vera ,I thought you were speaking a different language lol :-D ;-)
Yes it was an ahhh moment to see that teeny weeny pheasant .
How strange that the squirrel didn't just take off.They usually scarper pretty quickly don't they.
I have been out and about most of today so haven't seen anything much bird wise here.
No Red Kites this morning ,and there was me already with the camera :-S

Wahhabi!Wish I'd seen your baby pheasant Jane. :-0. My I Pad is having a mad moment......I typed Aahh and it turned it into Wahhabi. How weird is that?

The starlings are back again and eating everything in sight. There were four sparrows on the feeder together earlier and I think it was Mum, Dad and two young who were almost as big as their parents.

We went out today and had a very slow journey back down a long straight road. The reason was a squirrel was in the middle of the road. OH approached very slowly but, instead of making for the verge and trees on either side, the squirrel decided to take a slow stroll down the road in front of us. Every so often it stopped and looked back, then casually sauntered on. We were going so slowly that I am surprised the car didn't stall.

Kandj, (just in case you look in), you and your OH are in my thoughts <3

Maryanna ,I wonder if the other Magpies accept that one with the colours the wrong way around.I have never seen one like that .
I am going to take my camera up to bed with me tonight ,as for the last few mornings between 9 and 9.30 there has been a Red Kite circling over the house very low and making its crying/calling noise.I have just been coming out of the shower at that time and not had the chance to get the camera.So I will be on watch :-D

That sounds so cute Jane, very newly hatched by the sound of it.

On the way back through Taunton yesterday I spotted a Magpie by the side of the road. It didn't look right and I couldn't work out why until I realised its colours were the wrong way round. It had a white head and back but it's front was black.

The ones in the garden have been up to their usual tricks, I put some bread out earlier. Before any of the other birds could get to it about seven or eight of them swooped down and carried it all away.

M. :-)

I saw a Mummy Pheasant today down the lane with the tiniest baby I have ever seen.They were just crossing from one side of the lane to the other.I was in the car and the Mum just stopped in the middle ,which I couldn't fathom why.Until I saw this tiny thing come out of the verge to follow her.I tried to get a photo on my phone but it was no good.The little one was probably only about 3 inches high :-D

Maryanna I know just what you mean about the barking or whatever on the tv programmes.I actually find it a bit irritating sometimes.

I almost got a good pic of the Red Kite over my garden this morning,but when I looked at it I had managed to miss out one wing :-S.Its not that easy with my head tilted back trying to follow the bird with the camera as it is overhead lol

The men are still here finishing off the windows and the place reeks of Adhesive.I need to point out a couple of little bits before they disappear.We had the windows at the back of the house done last year and they were so much easier than our front ones.The 2 big bays have been a little troublesome I think .Oh 'eck I can still hear banging.I daren't go and see what they are doing.
I need to start thinking about cooking dinner.I have my OH and son with rumbling tums.

Foxes make the most awful noise Jane,

Frightening in the middle of the night.

What I have never heard in real life though, only on TV programs, is that funny sort of coughing bark, I assume it is foxes, but it is in all sorts of things from Eastenders to Midsummer Murders.

Bearing in mind we have woods across the road and fields behind us which are full of foxes I would have thought I would have heard it.

Lucky you didn't get covered in Heron poo !!!!!!

M.

I just had a listen to some clips of animal noises ,and I think it was Foxes I heard last night.I hope they move a bit further away tonight if they are going to start their Shenanigans again :-)

Lucky you Ann having the nice weather today .It has been dark and dismal here :-S
I think the windows might be finished tomorrow (if no hiccups) other wise it will be the following morning.So much red brick dust though.They had to do a fair bit of drilling on the top Bay window.It might be the same tomorrow with the bottom one.
Yes it might do Kandj good to pop in and see us,but I think she doesn't have much time to herself at the moment .She did say though that her bird feeder is very busy :-D and she keeps having to refill it several times a day.

I think I have just seen the Nightingale.I heard it and followed the sound to the top of a very tall fir tree.But it was too far to take a pic.

Last night at 3.30 I was woken by a terrible screaming.it sounded like someone was being murdered.It was either Foxes or Deer.I did look out the window (at the front of the house) as it was quite light but couldn't see anything.Then 15 minutes later the birds started !!!! .No peace for the wicked lol
Another little bit of news.I saw a Heron flying low over the field as I was driving down the lane to feed my friends cats this afternoon and as it passed by it did a huge poo :-
D.I was just so pleased it didn't do that as it passed over the car :-S :-D

Good luck with the windows Jane. We had ours done two years ago, they didn't take long and improved the house no end.

Sorry to hear Kandj is weary, it is hard being a carer. Maybe she would feel better if she popped in for a chat. Kandj <3 <3 <3

Lovely weather up here today, been for a 3 mile walk well we had a half hour break for coffee and scone. We then had a lovely lunch sitting outside in the sun. :-)

Brilliant idea Ann :-D.We always do the rounds on the open top bus if there is one wherever we go as it gives us a good idea of the layout and what is where.We have 4 nights there so a decent amount of time.One thing we have done and won't need to do again and that is a trip up the Eiffel Tower.

We are having all our windows replaced at the front of the house over the next couple of days so have had a busy time taking down curtains and shifting furniture this afternoon.

I heard from Kandj ,and she is very weary and taking things day by day.
<3 to her and her OH

Another day with no sun here :-S.I think the Red Kites might be doing the 'romancing' business as there is a lot of activity and noise from them.One keeps flying right over the house but the camera always seems out of reach at the time.

I think the weather is due to get better this week again ,and I am so relieved that it won't be pouring when the windows are being done.OH just has to take down one more rail in one of the bedrooms now and then i think we are ready for them.

Catch the boat bus Jane you can buy a ticket and get on and off at landmarks. :-)