Hobbies and Crafts

The young blackbird has been back several times today which is making us smile.

There have been the usual load of starlings eating everything from the ground feeding tray and also two very fat pigeons that look almost as big as hens. The starling don't chase these around the lawn!

The birds in the back garden are fast eaters! I need to fill the seed and peanut feeders on the tree. It is mainly sparrows, doves, thrushes and blackbirds. I have spotted blue tits as well. They are tiny and very quick. I'd like them to come to the front window feeder so that I can see them more clearly though.

The morning began with blue sky and slight breeze which was good for me hanging bedding and towels on the clothes line. Now it is overcast and still. The washing is very damp and might end up in the dryer in a little while.

Plenty of time yet then before your daughter's birthday Jane. A planned visit to London and family meal together sounds a lovely way to celebrate her special day.

Kandj ,the longer he keeps visiting the feeder the tamer he will become.Our big girl stays for quite a long time now feeding and looking at us throughout the window .When she first came to the feeder she would just get a pellet and then be straight off.I wave at them (I know it sounds daft) but I just sit tight in the chair and just wave my hand (not the whole arm) ,and it seems they get used to that and don't feel threatened .
It's not my Daughters Birthday until the 10th and there will be no cake :-S as she lives in London.We are going to see her on the 9th and will just have a nice lunch out somewhere in Crouch End where she is.
No Mr Pheasant again today :-S.I suppose it is because he has lots of long gardens along here for him to just pop in and out of.Plus there is a large field that runs along the back .

The young blackbird is BACK!!! He came and fed from the ground tray and was chased around the front lawn by two aggressive/greedy starlings. However, he left the starlings and flew on to the window feeder. Great!
He has been back twice more and seemed to be looking through the window but kept pecking the suet pellets before flying off. Hubby resisted the urge to wave and say, "Welcome back!". lol

Fingers crossed that your flooring is put down without any more problems Jane. Happy birthday to your daughter. (enjoy the cake).

Yes Lesley I also have seen the Peckish birdseed advert, and agree with Ann that is lovely. I wonder if it would encourage pretty birds to visit us in Yorkshire, we do seem to have a fussy lot around here.

I don't think I have seen that Advert.I will keep my eye open for it.
Ooh Fox Poo :-S.Why does it smell so bad???? My dog would roll in it if my back was turned.The number of times I have had to drive home with him covered in the stuff stinking the car out .Me gagging and urging ,Eyes streaming..Ooh what memories lol
If I ever have another dog at least I will be know to watch out !!!!!

I think the coat I bought for my daughter is going back.It seems that GHD(hair straighteners) are on the top of the list lol

Flooring in the process of being done now :-D..It is the right one :-D :-D

Lesley, love that advert. :-D

No little package Lesley, no lawn, block paving.

The sun has got it's hat on...again:-D and we have plenty of hungry birds feeding just the usual though blackbirds, blue tits, robins and blinking pigeons.

I hope the fox didn't leave an unwelcome smelling package on your front lawn Ann:-|

kandj I hope your young blackbird has returned to your feeder and seen off the greedy starlings.

Oh dear Vera I bet your still finding seed where you didn't expect to find it:-0

Jane I'm sure your daughter will be delighted with her coat and handbag, I hope she enjoys her birthday.

Has anyone seen the TV advert for Peckish bird seed? :-D

Lesley x

Lol Jane they wont be feeding either.

We have 5 Grandchildren, another was sadly born asleep. E love them all to bits but little Luke is a bonus. :-D

I'm not surprised to took the extra week .It looks wonderful :-D
So your GT Grandson !....I'm still hoping I might have Grandchildren one day.But the rate my two are going I might very well be gaga if and when that time happens.My Sister who is 5 years younger than me has 4 .

I have realised it is pitch dark outside now and I haven't checked the feeder :-S

The baby is Luke our Great Grandson, eldest Grandson is his Dad, he is usually smiling and contented.

We stayed in our timeshare accommodation. Our actual week is in June but we were offered a bonus week at a good rate. In June we usually have all the cygnets and ducklings on the river but it was running so fast we didn't see any swans or ducks this time. We have had the timeshare since 1986, sometimes we exchange it but we usually go there most years and love it. :-)

He had plumped himself up in the wind Ann.It looked almost like he could burst lol
You stayed in a beautiful place in the Lake District.The photos on the blog are smashing.What a lovely view you had :-D :-D.Is the Baby your Grandson? He looks a right little happy chappy :-D :-D

Jane photo of that chubby pheasant on the photo blog. Yes still sunny here, should be a good sunset tonight I think. :-) :-)

Sun still shining,but it feels like it is getting chilly now.Ann I have just sent pic of Mr.Pheasant :-D.I think he must be visiting other gardens today as he hasn't been to us .

Beautiful spring like day here. Nice to have a lull, even if only temporary. We have been to Cheltenham, just got back.

I am sure the fox didn't have a cat Jane, it was not big enough, it was a rodent of some sort.

Morning! on what almost seems like a summers day :-D.It's smashing :-D :-D
But where are the birds? They seem very quiet this morning.Maybe all having a Sunday morning lie in lol.
It could be though that there is quite a lot of banging and drilling going on as fencing is being repaired.My OH is one of the noise makers and I can hear at least 2 more neighbours doing the same.
I hope everyone is having a nice sunny day :-D

Ann I hope it was just a rat that the fox got and not a cat .Yes I think the rats must have been washed out of many a drain these last few weeks.What is that saying ? something about rats and sinking ships?? I can't think what it is.

Oh dear Vera ,what a mess you made :-S.That is the reason I bought some plastic containers the other day.I was finding the bags splitting.You would think they would make them a bit stronger.Once they start to split there is no stopping them is there.

The male Pheasant has been back today .Right up outside our patio windows.My Son's Girlfriend got a good pic of it ,so when I put it on the photo on my laptop I will send it out (if it looks good enough).His colours are just beautiful now :-D

Lesley I got a coat and handbag for my daughter's birthday when I went shopping.I'm not sure about the coat ,as she might think she will look like a Zebra lol It's a black and white stripy thing.I love it but my taste and a 30 year olds taste may not be the same !!
I've just noticed the feeder needs topping up so will get that done now,plus the peanut ball looks pretty empty.The Blue Tits love that one.My OH has just informed my that he told our daughter I would ring her this afternoon so I had better do that now too.

This morning has been sunny but still very windy. I haven't seen a single bird on either the ground or the pole feeders today. About ten minutes ago the heavens opened yet again.

This morning I went to get out the wild bird seeds to top up the ground feeder but the bag must have been leaning against the cupboard door. As I opened it, the bag fell out and split and the seeds went everywhere. And I mean everywhere!! The utility room was covered, in the sink, in the washing, in the cat's bed, in the pot of white paint OH had left opened by the sink and all over the floor. It's my own fault. I've been thinking for days that I must put them in a plastic container. Well I've learnt my lesson; they'll be in a container from now on.

Birds not feeding a lot here even though it is sunny, perhaps they have all been blown up north.

Last night looking out of our front bedroom window before bed at 11pm we saw a fox in the front garden scouting around, he/she looked in very good condition. All of a sudden it pounced and went off with something visible in its mouth. Too big for a mouse we thought it was maybe a rat. Ugh, I guess rats will be driven out from underground by all the water. :-( :-(

kandj I'll send you some Essex birds they aren't fussy :-D today the birds are eating us out of house and home, maybe it's because we have bright sunshine and far less wind :-S what a change from yesterday :-)

Happy shopping Jane.

Lesleyx

Kandj,the flooring isn't staying.They will be back on Monday with (hopefully ) the right one.This is brown and white and I ordered Black and White !!! so it doesn't look right at all.
I haven't seen too much activity this morning on the feeder.But just watched a Chaffinch try and land on it but it ended up flying backwards in the wind straight into the trees.!!!!.
We have lots of flapping fence panels here this morning.It has just stopped raining so I think OH will be out there later hammering and staking.

Your birds just don't know what they are missing do they Kandj :-S I still can't understand why they aren't using the Window Feeder.It's a mystery :-|

I'm going to brave the wind I think and pop into town now.

We have decided that Yorkshire birds are very fussy eaters haha.

Yesterday I filled the window feeder with berry suet pellets and had just 2 starlings in the morning and nothing else. We have lots of starlings and I also buy the cheap bread and mixed with chopped fruit they soon swoop and have a feast.

Our regular Mr and Mrs Blackbird appear to be happy with the 5* room service and will pop in and out of the shrubbery to eat and drink undeterred by the starlings. No sign of the young blackbird.... no idea where he has disappeared to.

Jane, it's good to hear that the water level is dropping at your niece's home, such a miserable situation for everyone.

Sorry that your flooring was not as you had chosen. You aren't having a lot of luck Jane! It brought a smile to my face though as I remember hubby and I sat with a leaflet and I chose a floor covering for our kitchen very many years ago.
I marked the design with a large X and confirmed with hubby that was what I wanted, although I knew he was only half listening at the time.
He went off and returned with a roll, cut to size of the lino which was used back then and it was the wrong design...grrrr.
After a rather "warm discussion" lol, the floor was laid and I eventually got used to it, and I hope you will do too.