Hobbies and Crafts

Hope your birds have come back again Vera. Ann is quite right regarding the sparrow hawk. We had one ages ago and it was sat on the wall staring into the kitchen window. It was a scary sight even from indoors and it kept our birds away for a while.
Or maybe Jane's bird feed is more tasty than yours?? lol.

It is dry but very cold here this morning. A real chill factor in the wind bbrrrrr.

The usual birds are hungry enough here. I might have to go outside and top up
the feeders. Our little robin has come back this morning. A joy for us both to see.

weird as Jane says Vera. However, do you think there is a chance that a sparrow hawk has been around? We had one once and it was ages before we saw the birds round the feeders again.

We have had 4/5 goldfinch feeding today, one starling (don't know where his mates are), our little robin, a blue tit and a blackbird plus a woodie and a collard dove. Yesterday, in the rain we had a very busy little wren in the border.

That is weird Vera. Maybe it is all your birds filling their faces at my house LOL.
The window feeder here is empty now ,but it has been raining so much this afternoon I haven't been outside to refill it. Hopefully all the little birds will be tucked up somewhere dry now and will be looking forward to a nice feed in the morning.

Was it something I said? My birds have all disappeared. I had sparrows at least emptying the feeders and occasional other visitors but I filled everything a couple of days ago and hardly any food has gone. OH cleaned the bird bath as well. Usually when we do that something arrives straightaway to make it mucky again but it is still pristine. What on earth is happening? :-S

Good to see you posting again Kandj <3...I can understand how sad you will be with Hubbie's consultant retiring after so many years of wonderful care.Hopefully you will be happy with the new one.Any change like this is horrible after so long but hopefully you will soon get to know and be happy with the new Consultant.

No desertion of birds here.The feeder is as busy as ever. More food bought yesterday .I haven't seen the Woodpecker though for a while.

Hallo Kandj, I hope your husband is feeling a bit more comfortable now. I am sure you will soon build up a rapport with a new doctor. I have problem teeth and was very unhappy when my much trusted dentist decided to retire early and sail round the world before he got too old. But the dentist who took over the practice turned out to be wonderful and I have recommended him to so many people that I think he should be paying me. Fingers crossed, you will find the same with the new doctor.

The birds have deserted us the last two days :-(. Perhaps the milder weather means they are able to find enough food for themselves.

Hi Kandj, cold weather making the birds hungry.

It is stressful when much trusted doctors retirisn't it. You have to start to build trust with a new person. I had the same problem the last time I needed basal cell carcinoma treatment, I discovered my much tryster hospital doctor had retired and in his place was a very young specialist nurse, who was very pleasant but did everything differently.

Hungry birds here. The starlings eat everything in sight. Filled the feeders twice and
also cleaned out the two birdbaths. Two blackbirds were enjoying being in the water.

Monday was a hospital routine outpatient appointment with hubby. Always painful
and tiring for him, especially as he is still far from well. The Consultant who we have seen for very many years retires next month which has saddened us both because
Dr B has taken good care of hubby and also helped to support me. He deserves
a long and happy retirement. We will miss him as will the staff and other patients too.

Ooh yes Gwyn, you don't want the gull telegraph to work. Very damp and dark here today so not many birds around. We did have three goldfinches and a little wren but been busy with Grandson, his wife and baby Inara calling in on their way to Devon so didn't notice any more birds around.

Our birdbath was not frozen yesterday morning, but had very little water in it so I went out and gave it a quick scrub with some clean water and refilled it.
I hadn't even chance to get indoors and wash my hands before 2 collared doves were in it, both drinking and bathing, soon joined by a starling who quickly made sure that they all got the 'showered-all- over ' treatment.

Glad to see the wren again hopping in and out of the ivy on the fence. A blue tit was checking over the twigs on the silver birch, otherwise it was just the usual visitors today. There were small mussel shells on the path, so I guess the gulls have been around too. They do come to the bird bath a lot in the summer, but I don't ground feed and encourage them in the garden...... they'd tell all their friends, then we'd have even more around here.!

I am pretty certain that the best way to melt ice is with tepid or cold water as hot refreezes more quickly

I defrosted our birdbath at 6.30 this morning and it is now solid again :-S..I always worry when I thaw it just incase any birds get there too quickly and burn their little feet lol The frost has stayed on the lawn again today and i think it is starting to get a bit foggy now.It is supposed to be really bad by the morning here.
I had a friend here today and he couldn't believe the number of birds on the window feeder and he was in stitches seeing them all lining up in the branches of the tree waiting their turn :-D..Dancing Blackbird did his show too for my friend :-D :-D
Vera I never understand how these birds can manage to hang on and balance on very thin branches especially when the branch is bending and swaying. They are brilliant acrobats :-D :-D

Kandj, lovely to see you post. I hope the improvement in your OH's health continues. Frustrating when it is slow but hopefully things will get better and better for you both. I'm keeping you in my thoughts <3

I had a good laugh this morning at two very fat pigeons trying to balance on two very spindly twigs to reach some crab apples on the tree. It's a young tree so not very sturdy yet and they looked as though they were going to fall off at any moment.

I went out to fill up the feeders about 4 o'clock and found the bird bath completely frozen. So defrosting that again will be the first job in the morning.

Oh, no Jane I didn't see that but lovely for you to rekive memories about the church.

Kandj, I am pleased that your OH is improving albeit slowly. Baby steps. I hope the improvement continues. Continue to take it easy and keep warm. At least you have a selection of birds even if everyday ones, they need food too. <3

Just wanted to say THANK YOU to you all for your kind words and thoughts.
Very much appreciated. Hubby is improving very very slowly and we are both
relaxing together and keeping warm now that the temperature has dropped.
We have to pinch ourselves and remember that we are in December already!
Whatever happened to October and November...... they have gone in a flash??

No change with our birds though. Just the usual Mr Blackbird, hedge sparrow,
pigeons, doves and occasional thrushes. No sign of the robin lately. All the birds
seem very hungry and are enjoying using the bird baths even though its cold.

It's always good to take advantage when OHs are in a good mood Vera :-D :-D..I do it often lol
It does sound as though the place was unprepared for so many people. Not good really for a National Trust place.(especially if you are a member) We are members but there are not many places around these parts to visit. We have always thought that food /meals are expensive .We are thinking of going to Anglessey Abbey (just thinking) as they will have the house set up for a 60's style Christmas. But we might just go to Cambridge instead to do a bit more Christmas shopping lol .Anglessey Abbey is quite a long drive from here and I reckon it will be heaving.

Does anyone watch The Coroner BBC1 early afternoon? Todays programme featured a funeral in a church...The Church was the one I was a choir girl, I was married,my Children were Christened and my Dad's funeral was there !!!!!
It brought back so many memories .

I think the laughing thrush was from India or China and the go away bird from East Africa. Waddesdon Manor was owned by the Rothschild family but is now National Trust. I think the Rothschilds are involved in some way with threatened bird species.

Jane, it was freezing in that wigwam! There was no choice of food, apart from lamb or chicken. It was a sort of Middle Eastern salad with lots of spices and harissa, with meat and flatbread. I declined the salad so just had the meat and bread. All the food was very expensive. Friends had a nice meal in the cafe but it took them an hour and a quarter in the queue before they actually got the meal. Nothing to do with the coach company as we were a private group and they were just hired to drive us to and from. It seemed to be that National Trust weren't geared up for the number of visitors. I don't know why as they hold this attraction every year so should know what to expect. Never mind, we had a good day anyway and there was a Christmas market with lots of stalls. I came home with some special cheeses for Christmas, and some chutneys and a proper German made Stollen (all very expensive but OH was in a good mood so I took advantage :-))

Lots of sparrows in the garden today with a couple of starlings and a rather fat pigeon.

I have not heard of those birds either, I meant to ask where they originate from?

Vera, you must have been freezing in that Wigwam even with a blanket over your knees.Did you have something hot to eat? I have never heard of a Moustached laughing Thrush or a White- Bellied- go- away bird LOL
I have had a Bullfinch on the window feeder and a little Wren pottering around.The Wren seems to enjoy foraging in the Window Box in amongst the Pansies :-D

Vera, a good day out even if it was difficult to get a meal, sounds as if that could be down to the coach organisers, was it do you think?

Gwyn how lovely to see a Bullfinch. We have never seen one since we moved her almost 25 years ago. In Bedfordshire we had Hawthorne in the garden and they used to come to that. We get very few starlings at the moment, we had two one day this week on the fat balls but that is all. Whereas we have had as many as six blackbirds in the garden in the winter.
Yesterday I was sitting looking out of the lounge window onto the patio when a little wren bobbed up in front of the window, which has a very low sill abou 6 inches off the ground with a shelf outside for pots. The wren was on the shelf. The robin in my avatar I took when it was round the water feature by the patio, the photo was taken out of the lounge window.