Hobbies and Crafts

Ann I hope you have your Wellies and thermal rain gear with you lol.How long are you there?
Hopefully all the little birds are warm in bed now as the temperature has really tumbled here.I really must clean out the feeder tomorrow.I was going to do it today and it is filthy with all that fruit I put in there all gooey and stuck to the plastic :-S

Well it is wet in Cumbria! And very cold. Still nice to see family and just now I was watching the birds on the feeders, woodpecker, coal tits, blue tits, great tits, loads of them.

Lesley,thanks for the info on the Leatherjackets :-D

Kandj we too had a hard frost ,ice and fog this morning.The fog has burnt off now and it is a lovely day.My son has just set off for a Flying Lesson.The trouble is he has a 2 hour drive to get there.His girlfriend bought it for him for his birthday and thought the airfield wasn't too far from here......How wrong was she !!!!!!!.I think he said it is up towards Sheffield :-0.
I am so nervous for him I will have butterflies until I know he is back on the ground again.I must keep busy.

Guess who I have here.......A plumber :-S :-S.Our toilet developed a bit of a leak from pipe yesterday.Not major thank goodness ,but I am so glad we haven't had the new cushion floor laid yet :-D :-D
I think I will go and check the coconut as I spied the Squirrel on it earlier ,so it could well be empty.

Mega hard white frost here this morning although a bright sun is trying to break through so it looks quite promising in Yorkshire this morning. I have been and deiced the two bird baths and fed the birds in the back garden and also put fresh water in the ice cream tubs and bread on the tray in the front lawn. There are doves and gulls swooping about, a few starlings too and Mr and Mrs Blackbird have ventured out of the shrubs, but still no little birds for the window feeder!!!

Lesley, I close my eyes when the tiny furry shrew fills the TV screen and shudder inside lol, but I have to say the photography is amazing. Hubby enjoys the programme so I guess we will be watching next Thursday, just me with half-closed eyes!

Hope all is sorted now at your house Jane after the plumbing work and decorating. I keep flicking the cobwebs down here, at least until the weather improves.

Ann, I have found the RSPB site and registered for the weekend Big Bird Watch, thanks. Who knows, by then the little birds might join in with the feeder????

Jane leatherjackets are the larvae of the crane fly (daddy long legs) and they eat the roots of plants and grass :-|

I'm sorry to read about your floods and loss of electrical equipment :-( in regards to ditches MOG has always said the general rule of thumb is if hedges/trees are roadside of the ditch then the ditch is the farmers responsibility, if the ditch is roadside and hedge/trees are field side then the ditch is the councils responsibility :-S

Lesley x

Maybe that was the reason then Lesley.I have heard of Leather Jackets.Are they like beetles?I have seen some gulls around today but nothing like the numbers of yesterday .Thank heavens your road and fields don't 'lean' your way.
Twice the whole of our front ,back and garage has been flooded due to the heavy snow melting and running down off the top field .Just over a year ago when had all that snow I lost ,,washing machine,Big Upright Freezer and Tumble Drier in the garage.A big part of the problem was the fact that Culverts were blocked and the ditch across the road had not been kept clear by the owner (he says it is council ),and I think ` problem down the road with the pumping station.

Ah Kandj,you really don't like mice do you.I think they are quite sweet really lol.
As long as they stay outside the house that is :-D

Jane yesterday Friday we had more than the usual amount gulls on the field opposite mind you Thursday I went to bed looking out onto a road only to wake Friday to look out onto a river, thankfully the road and field slope away from the house :-D I asked MOG why so many gulls, he said it's easy feeding for them when it is so wet and he thinks they are eating leatherjackets :-S I hope he is right :-D

kandj if you do watch Hidden Kingdoms make sure you have a cushion close to hand ;-) :-D

Lesley x

Kandj I put some fruit on top of the suet pellets (fruit from a box of nuts and fruit from Xmas.Currants,sultanas,cranberries etc.They haven't been touched.But the pellets are still disappearing lol.I think I will give it a good clean out tomorrow.
There has been a huge explosion of Gulls .They seemed to be landing in next doors garden !!.I know they have a 'little' lake there but I have never seen anything like this before.They were Blackheaded Gulls which we don't usually have.Also hoards of them have been flying overhead.It's very strange.We live almost in the centre of England so a very long way from the sea.
The Pheasant is still about.He was on the woodshed again just now lol

Just skipped through Hidden Kingdom on iPlayer...... not liking the shrew as it's too much like the mouse family..... I'll see what next Thursday's episode has to offer.

On BBC2 beginning Monday 8.30pm is new programme of Winterwatch. Looking at different ways that British wildlife deals with the hardships of Winter, which should make for interesting viewing. On Mon-Thurs at varying times between 8-9pm.

All fresh tubs of water in place and the window feeder filled with wild bird seed mix. Let's see what happens next?? Watch this space (ever the eternal optimist me!!).

Jane, still no takers for the bread and currants even though some are scattered underneath the window feeder. Later this morning I will try filling this feeder with the wild bird seed mix that I put into the feeders in the back garden tree branches.

We have decided that the little birds will have until next 26th January to show up and entertain us and if that doesn't happen then the window feeder will come down
boo hoo. It has been in place since 19th December, so more than enough time to use it. We remain hopeful that the bird seed will do the trick, just means that I will have another job of brushing up any seeds that are scattered on the floor as I don't want the mice to come, thank you very much lol.

I will look at the RSPB site Ann and read up about the Big Bird Watch 25/26 Jan, thanks

Lesley, we missed the Hidden Kingdom as like Ann, we are trying to catch up on lots of recorded programmes from over the Christmas.New Year period. I will do a catch-up on iplayer if I have time, sounds interesting and well worth watching.

Lesley I saw some of it.Yes what amazing filming.I don't know how it is done but 'fantastic' :-D

Any luck today Kandj?.I think we are all waiting with baited breath lol .There will be such a cheer if and when the big day comes :-D :-D.I still can't understand why you haven't had even one little bird .Do they not realise there is a feast just waiting for them. :-S

Oh missed that we were watching a recording of Great British Winter. Photography was great in that one too, mostly in the Hebrides.

Is anyone watching Hidden Kingdoms on BBC1?

Wow the photography is amazing :-D

Lesley x

Check it out on line Kandj google RSPB big garden bird watch.

No we arent staying at daughters but at our time share Jane. All we'd see there are ducks and swans. :-D

No luck at all with the currants........ hmmmm...... will try the wild bird seed mix at the weekend and hey ho, this just MIGHT bring the little birds to the window feeder???

The blackbirds are loving the improvised bird bath, so that's making us both smile.

The Big bird watch 25/26th January sounds interesting, how do I take part please?

Everything going well with baby Millie and Mummy Lesley? Hope the little one is well.

That will be nice Ann.Can you not do the Bird Watch at your Daughters? I must try and remember.
Any luck with the currants Kandj? :-D

I have noticed that my Blackbird stays a bit longer on the feeder now and looks through the window.I think she is probably getting used to seeing my ugly mug on the other side :-D
It is absolutely tipping it down here now :-S

We are staying on our timeshare site at Newby Bridge but daughter lives up there in Far Sawrey so shall be spending time with them. :-)

You never know :-D..Our good old British weather can surprise us at any time .
What part are you going to Ann? I love it up there in those parts.We stayed in Appleby last year and Alnwick .I really wanted to see the Puffins on the Farne Islands but it was the wrong time of year.I did see lots of Seals though :-D

Good luck with those currants Kandj :-D ;-)

:-D :-D

:-D :-D :-D Don't hold your breath Ann :-D :-D :-D

Lesley x