Hobbies and Crafts

Could it be a mouse eating the suet pieces Vera? We watched one a couple of months back jump from our trellis onto the bird feeder, it was very cute, a tiny field mouse. :-D

Last night I was really glad we moved here; it's much more sheltered than our old house and we don't seem to have any wind damage.

Couple of blackbirds pecking round the grass and a robin on the ground feeder this morning but nothing else. However something is coming when we don't see it as the mesh feeder keeps being emptied, although I have seen nothing there. OH put another big handful of suet nibbles in it just a short while ago. At the moment we seem to be spending more on food for the birds than on food for us.

I hope everyone stays dry and safe today.

Morning Kandj
We are the same as you this morning Just Pots blown over.Amazingly we didn't lose any panels from the greenhouse this time.

When I put seed in the Window Feeder it tends to get left and it's just the pellets that get wolfed up,so I don't bother now with seed.It's busy there at the moment.

Yes this new cylinder is going to be several hundred pounds more than than the kind of one we have now.But for this house it makes sense to go for this one.Nothing is straightforward here.I sometimes wish we had bought a new house and not one that has had lots of extra pipes, extensions etc added over the years/.Some of the pipework in the loft is like a maze :-S.But saying that I do love my house so will just have to put up with it when things go wrong.I do think we have certainly had our fair share of trouble though over the last couple of years.

Chap just arrived to lay the flooring in the en suite :-D

The winds were so strong here in Yorkshire last night that I dared hardly open the blinds this morning. However a quick walk around has shown we have no structural damage and apart from a couple of garden pots and an empty green dustbin blown over we are ok.
When we lived in our last house on the outskirts of the village, any strong wind would always snap the TV ariel and cause the roof and ridge tiles to be blown away. Here,in a bungalow, more into the village we are sheltered thank goodness.

A bright blue sky and all calm this morning.... hopefully others more affected can have a chance to do all that is necessary for today until storm number 2 and 3 are upon us.

Jane you have an obliging Plumber but he must be happy to be in work and keep taking your money. A stainless steel water tank sounds expensive.

I have filled the ground tray and already the starlings have swooped and emptied it. In the window feeder I have decided to go back to the suet pellets and see who comes to visit us.. fingers crossed that we have tiny pretty birds this time.

Kandj ,I can't beginning to say how frustrating this is with yet another leak .It is a pain in the proverbial :-S.But I mustn't moan as our problem is a minor thing compared to the thousands and thousands of people struggling now with all the flooding .Yes it is going to be quite an expensive job as the leaky Hot Cylinder is not covered at all under any insurance :-S.(as we well know ,since this is the second time ).I think the tank we have now must have been a sub standard one as the Plumber said for the length of time we have had it is should not be corroded.Hence going for a Stainless steel one with 25 years guarantee :-D

Tomorrow looks a calmer day ,even if it is just a short respite for some people just to grab a breath before the next lot of bad weather.

I hope all the birds and wildlife are safe too tonight .

Oh goodness Jane, you must be so fed up with ongoing water leaks in your home.
The plumber will be a happy chappy with more work for him but it must be irritating and frustrating for you and your family to have yet more expense and the upheaval of banging and hammering with the workmen around, once again.

Strong winds here in Yorkshire most of the day and heavy rain too. No birds at the window feeder and very few flying around with such bad weather today.

We watch the chaos and misery of the flooded homes and count our blessings!

Ann, yes we do need a new one :-S :-S.So more upheaval and lots more expense.
Hopefully next week it will be done.We will changing the type of cylinder and having a Stainless Steel Pressurised one.That means we will get rid of one water tank in the loft and a lot of pipe work.So not quite a straightforward job.But there is no getting away from having it done .

Just going to brave the wind and try and step over all the things that have blown over on the patio to fill the window feeder :-D

Oh dear Jane, any idea what has caused it? Hope it doesn't mean a new one, more expense!!!

I see the Clifton Suspension Bridge has shut for the first time !!

My dear friend the Plumber is here.The hot water cylinder tank in the airing cupboard seems to have a bit of a leak (YES A LEAK :-S :-S :-S).OH noticed a wet patch on the ceiling in the lounge this morning .I have lost count now the number of leaks we have had :-| :-|

With the wind so strong the weather is changing rapidly Jane we have had rapid change from sun and blue skies to dark clouds and rain.

We've only see doves and sparrows today. The doves seem to be there every time I look out.

What dreadful weather :-S.I feel for those who are battling the 100 m p h gales and driving rain.We are just having a massive hailstorm.Just a second ago the Blue Tits were feeding.Hopefully they got under cover safely.I'm surprised how they manage to keep feeding in all this rain.
I don't believe this now....the sun has come out !!!!!!!!! but still pouring :-S
Kandj it must be awful for your Sister with all those Squirrels.I often watch them digging in the lawn and the flower beds .Our lawn last year was just dotted in little holes where they had dug up the Conkers and whatever else they had buried.

I see the feeder is busy again now .Lots of blue sky (very strange) I wonder if that is the last of the bad stuff today or will it be back again in a while.

I hope everyone is safe and sound and managing to keep out of the wind and rain.

I also had a little smile at you clearing the bedroom for your daughter Lesley...... been there, done that ha ha.

Jane, my sister moved into a bungalow backing on the the village cricket green about 4 years ago and she couldn't wait to set up many feeding stations for the birds that nested in the mature trees on her boundary. However all these years on she isn't best pleased because she is over run with grey squirrels who dig up everything in her garden. She told me yesterday that if she had a gin she would shoot them!!! She hasn't got a gun and so that won't happen, but she is recognizing that she is fighting a losing battle and the squirrels are winning.

Hope you are still nice and cosy Ann now that your boiler is mended. Ours is due for annual service but it is doing a good job keeping us nice and warm. We do take central heating for granted these days and are happy to have heat at the flick of a switch.

The birds are ignoring the window feeder....... no blackbird and no starlings either?
Obviously they are fussy and don't like the wild bird seed that I have in the now.

Jane I did see that the river has dropped a bit. I also saw the Tewkesbury floods on the news tonight, it looked like the gardens in the photo you sent to me. One man was putting all his furniture into storage, he was also flooded out in 2007.

Lovely to have the woodpecker o close. Hope Peter Rabbit is not setting up a colony! :-)

Lesley I remember doing exactly the same thing when James went :-S :-S.He is still living at home now ..28 and I'm sure the state of his room is the same.I just don't go in there now :-D.Have you heard how she is getting on?
I just wish he could get a job and move out.I bet he would keep his own place a lot cleaner lol.
Oh my goodness ,just seeing the weather forecast .My Niece and her OH will have another worrying night tonight :-(.When is it going to end ????

The Green Woodpecker was busy feeding on the lawn this morning in the pouring rain.There must have been plenty of grub as it was there for ages :-D.I haven't seen the Spotted one for a couple of days.
We have one very feisty Chaffinch using the window feeder.It stands it's ground and will have a go at any other bird trying to land on it !Even the Robins don't stand a chance.

I don't know about rabbits in the garden Jane...there's one unhappy bunny in our house...two days it's taken me to blitz our daughters bedroom :-| she's lucky she's in Thailand ;-)

Lesley x

Morning.
I was up very early this morning and it was just half light .Standing waiting for the kettle to boil for my first cuppa something caught my eye ,and it was the Squirrel ,on the iron hook that the peanut ball hangs on.It was hanging upside down by its back feet ,tail blowing in the wind having a good old feast :-D It didn't scarper either when it spotted me.Just watched me watching him/her lol.
Then it ran across the patio and climbed up to feed on the coconut !!.It then watched me watching again :-D :-D
Lots of activity on the window feeder to ,so it has been all go so far this morning.
It's windy and raining :-S

Yes there was something on TV from Gloucestershire but I just missed it. Oh dear I feel so sorry for them all, apparently we are expecting more water to come down into the Severn from Wales where the source is.

Ann,you must be so pleased your boiler is sorted now :-D.Nice and warm again :-D

Well it's not good news from Tewkesbury.My Niece has the water lapping at the house now.The TV crew from ITV are in her road too.I think it the local South West crew .
My Sister has just said that Tewkesbury is now just about shut off :-( :-(

The lone bluetit has been back a few times this afternoon. He flies in over the fence, stops on the witch hazel while he has a look around and then hops on to the suet cake. I am pleased at how many birds are finding us already.

We do have a mystery bird or birds though. I have again put a big handful of suet nibbles on the mesh tray on the feeder and they have all gone again, but I haven't seen a single bird on it, and my big bag of nibbles is going down fast!

I hope your niece is OK Jane. It's been dryish here today but about half an hour ago we had several rumbles of thunder and now it is pouring again. Before we moved here we looked at a house that was on the edge of the water meadows which are the flood plain for the river. Am I glad that we didn't move there.

Glad that you have the boiler fixed and are warm again Ann. Sounds like the area around you is drying which is good news too.

Jane, the rabbit may come with his family and move into your garden!! They do look cute but can be very hungry and troublesome creatures.

Ann I have emptied the feeder of suet pellets and filled with seeds as you suggested. The starlings are still our only visitors as yet, but less often thank goodness. They are not as good as landing on the gripper as the young blackbird and thud the window but by the time I have got up to shoo them off, they quickly fly away, my old bones slow me down lol.

What we have found interesting today is seeing the young blackbird using the ground feeder and then hopping across the lawn and disappearing into the thick shrubbery where Mr and Mrs Blackbird and the thrushes have lived for several years. Initially Mrs Blackbird would shoo the new young blackbird away. That also was funny for hubby and me to watch. It looks as if our older blackbirds/thrush has taken pity and allowed this new one into their den.