Hobbies and Crafts

Ooh have a lovely day Maryanna, sounds like a day right up my street so I envy you. I am still gardening/washing. OH has gone to golf. Still it is the first time he has been this week and he normally plays 3 times a week so I can't begrudge him that.

I have just put photos of the garden on my photo blog. :-)

The Gulls were causing a right old rumpus this morning, I suppose they must be nesting and they get very territorial at that time.

The little Pied Wagtail has been pottering about in the courtyard, and there are a couple of doves cooing on next doors aerial.

This time of the year I spend a lot of time gazing skyward hoping to catch the first pair of Swifts. They always arrive here a week or two before they do in Surrey. I love the sound they make, it always reminds me of Summers spent in France and Spain and once they arrive I always know Summer is on its way.

Looks like it is going to be a lovely day, we are off shortly to visit Coombe St. Nicholas, where my husbands family are from, it is further down into southern Somerset, look round the church and take some photos.

We did it just after we got married, nearly 40 years ago but only went because my mother in law asked to on the way back from Cornwall. It was long before I got into the family tree and we couldn't really be bothered. We haven't been back since.

We are then booked in for a cream tea at a big country house hotel near to there and then we are meeting our son and daughter in law for dinner in their village local. I won't be able to move tomorrow I shall be so stuffed.

Have a lovely day. M. :-)

Well, not a bird in sight this morning despite it being a sunny bright morning. I wonder if the floods are the reason, maybe a lot of birds died in the bad weather.

No problem Maryanna you don't confuse me as long as I know which house you are in. Must be nice to get a change of scenery but I get the feeling I'd always want something I'd left at the other house :-D :-D

Yes Ann we are back home here in Somerset now until Easter weekend then we will all gather, hopefully, back at the bigger house.

The bigger house , where we brought the children up and where our daughter now lives while they save for a house of their own, and where we stay a couple of days a week when I am working, phew, is the one on the Surrey Hampshire border. Although, having said that we do seem to be staying there more and more recently, especially since the bad weather caused so much damage there and so much work needed to be done to it. Also, we did a swap and our daughter stayed down here whilst the noisy, smelly work was being done. I think the sea air did the baby's chest some good as well as she is back to her normal bouncy self.

Somehow or another, as it is still officially " our " house we get to do all the lovely jobs like the decorating and gardening. I wouldn't trust anyone else in my garden anyway.
That house has nice big garden backing onto fields and farmland.

The cottage in Somerset has a much smaller garden so most of my gardening exploits are at the other one. It's nice to be back as we haven't been home for a few weeks what with the re plastering and repairs and decorating. It also looks like next weekend will involve replacing the fences but at least the boys should all be there to lend a hand, not sure about all those big feet though !!!

Luckily down here, we have only a few fence panels and lots of walls so apart from a bit of localised flooding from streams and rivers rising we didn't get any damage to the property apart from losing a few roof tiles and a few pot holes in the lane.

We have mostly gulls here as well as the odd Wagtail, Blackbirds and some sparrows, oh and lots of Swifts in Summer. It's funny here because we have the sea on one side and Exmoor on the other side. More wild and windy but although we are down a lane we are closer to the town than we are in Surrey, which is a lot more rural.

Sorry Ann, I know I confuse you !!!

M. :-)

Wow Maryanna you do have an interesting garden.I haven't seen our local Heron for a while.I think it must have moved off to new pastures.They certainly are very strange looking creatures.
The Woodpecker has been back on the Window feeder this afternoon :-D.I have just put the last of the pellets in this evening so need to go to my little garden shop tomorrow to stock up again.

MaryAnna, what a lot of bird activity. I am not sure which garden? Are you in Somerset?

for some reason we seem to have lost most of our birds. There seem to be very few around in any of the gardens. A couple of Goldfinches were visiting the garden at the end of ours yeaterdat, we have a very few sparrows where last year we had loads, one or two Great tits and a couple of blue tits and three Collard doves and a wood pigeon. That seems to be our lot. The sparrows used to sit in the pyracanthus but not seen them recently. I believe they do nest together which is why you can buy sparrow boxes with room for several pairs. OH made one, it did have nesting material in it when we took it off the old fence so he has put it back up but I have not seen sparrows go into it. :-) I always think Herons are ungainly birds when they fly but dainty footed when they walk.

Ann, I was looking for your Do the birds know something ? thread and came across this newer one.

We have had some odd activity recently with sparrows. They have been gradually increasing in number over the last few years in the garden and have taken to sitting in. The Thug's Bkackthorn, which mostly hangs over into our garden. There are now up to about thirty of them at times.

They sit and chatter and squabble and get in a tizz when someone goes out into the garden. However, the last couple of weeks they have started to make a nest in the Blackthorn. It is absolutely huge and they seem to be making it as a joint effort. There can be as many as five or six of them to ing and fro ing at any one time, one came back the other day with a plume of Pampas grass in its beak.

I don't know about a nest, it is more of a metropolis for sparrows.

There seems to be a pair of blackbirds nesting in the ivy that climbs up the apple tree this year! that is usually the domain or the wrens who were out there shouting the odds the other day, probably at the blackbirds !!!

We have four buzzards circling overhead most days, there were two a couple of years ago then three then four last year, it will be interesting to see if we gain another this Summer.

The Heron glides past the bedroom window most mornings as I am drinking my tea, spooky looking chap, sometimes he sits on a chimney or roof nearby.

We also have the collared doves, they are usually in the apple tree but also share a nest with some wood pigeons, I am not too sure who is the laziest and who uses who's nest, so far they haven't both been trying to use it at the same time but one of the pairs always makes a horrible mess when they are refurbishing, dropping sticks all over the slate clippings under the tree.

The magpies and crows / rooks always seem to be having some territorial battle going on.

I had a new bird table for Christmas which went out last week and they all seem to be getting used to it.

M.

Crows can be very agressive Jane can't they.

Kandj I am so sorry to hear about your OH, I hope he will make a good recovery and that you will be back with us again soon. <3 Thinking of you.

Glad you are feeling a bit better Jane.

Sorry too hear about kandji's OH. I have put a post on the Christian thread as she posts on there nearly every day.

I'm also standing by the window looking out but I haven't got nearly such an exciting view. All I can see is a couple of fat old pigeons waddling about

I am just watching a situation in the field across the road.A red Kite has landed ,also 2 crows have come down .The Kite is being swooped at by one of the crows while the other crow is standing near the Kite.I am pretty sure it looks like they are squabbling over some 'kill'.They are just a little too far away for me to see clearly and I don't have the binoculars handy.But it seems that the crows are getting more of the food than the Kite.it appears to be standing back now and just looking on as they have a feast.

Morning :-D.
That was a much better night.Not perfect by any means but I managed to at least get good stretches of sleep in-between the coughing episodes.
I will be up and dressed this morning ,and seeing to my little friends.They will be wondering where on earth I have got to lol.(I don't think) As long as there is food in the feeder :-D

Kandj will be unable to post for the unforeseeable future .Her OH has been taken ill.
(((( Hugs))))) Kandj.I hope you are able to join us again soon.

I think I slept sitting up for 6 nights miserable isn't it? Hope your right nd it is going.

9 days Ann !!!! .I could have 5 to go then :-S.it is just this blasted cough that is getting me down.I think I had just a couple of hours sleep last night.......But this evening I feel I might just have turned the corner :-D...We will see.

So once again I have not been watching bird activity .But they are certainly singing their dear little heads off :-D

Jane oops, bad squirrel! Sorry you are still suffering, mine took about 9 days to clear up.

No different An.I am still hacking away and nose now bunged up to the eyeballs.I'm fed up with it now. :-S.My Son is back from London and said the Viking Exhibition was really good but there were far to many people .I know that it was the same with the Pompeii one.It is a shame really especially when you pay and have an allotted time .It tends to spoil it when you have to push and shove to get to see exhibits.I am still hoping though to get to see the Vikings.
I have no idea what has been going on in the bird department .I have just topped up the feeder and nothing else.But OH is a bit miffed as apparently one of the Squirrels dropped a peanut in between the slatted patio table top and has scratched all the surface trying to retrieve it.He only re stained the table a week or 2 ago ,and now there are great long scratch marks :-S..Guess whose fault that is???? Yes me ,for feeding the birds lol

Jane hope you feel better today.

A good gardening day today.

I couldn't hit an animal over the head either. I'd be far too tentative. Done properly it is probably the most humane way as death is instant but you have got to be strong physically and mentally to deliver the right sort of blow.

For many years we had a large pool with Koi. At one stage one of them developed an incurable swim bladder problem and OH took it out of the pond, wrapped it in paper and gave it a hard thwack on the paving stones. The whole operation took about 30 seconds and the poor thing was put out of its misery so it was the right thing to do, but it was horrible to see and even OH was very quiet for the rest of the day.

Jane, I hope you are feeling a lot better today. Great news about your son's new job. Good luck to him.

Hope that your nasty cold is improving Jane and that you will be feeling less grotty?
No doubt you son will be a happy lad this morning now he is employed once again.

I have Starlings lining up and falling out this morning as I have put strawberries in the window feeder....... a real treat...... meant for us BUT, I left them in the boot of the car and forgot that they were there (senior moment!) and so they are past their best and the greedy Starlings are loving them!

Oh goodness Vera, hitting any animal over the head to kill them is barbaric and I just couldn't do that ever..... mind you I wouldn't be able to get near enough to put them in a sack in the first place, wuss that I am. I run the other way when furry ones are near.

Jane, that is wonderful news. Your son must be over the moon and you all will be relieved but very excited too. Cheque book at the ready for the new gear then lol.
I hope that you are feeling a little less grotty, such good news will give you a boost.