Hobbies and Crafts

I just love that pic Ann :-D :-D
I don't envy you with an iced up freezer Vera.They are a nightmare.I now have a frost free one which is great.I had enough of trying to cut great chunks of ice and hot water in bowls .It was exhausting lol and water all over the place too :-S
Still no Goldfinches in my neck of the wood.But plenty of lovely Long Tailed Tits at last :-D

A lovely photo Ann, he looks like big brother Luke.

New photo of Adam

Looks lovely Vera, looking forward to it. Thanks for letting me see it.

So pleased that you saw the goldfinches. I expect they have always been around but they are creatures of habit and have probably established a feeding opportunity elsewhere. They are very quick when they fly in and out.

Not seen a lot of birds today as i have been in and out of the conservatory so they don't settle when they see me.

Just finished sorting out the upright freezer, it was very iced up and my OH got a lot of the ice out over the weekend. couldn't get it all out though as the freezer was full and the sun was in the conservatory. Still it is a lot cleaner now and I have listed what is in there. (some stuff went in the food bin too today. A few more bits ready to go next week. buried and so far out of date they didn't look good. I hope the lists will make sure we can keep the stuff in check now. Should have done that from the beginning. :-D :-(

I don't think any of the neighbours in our little close have any animals to keep the birds away. We have a cat ourselves but she is elderly and either stays indoors or just lies in the sun on the patio. The birds don't seem to be bothered by her and anyway she has been in the cattery for three weeks while we were away.

I did have a treat this morning. I just happened to be by the kitchen window when a pair of goldfinches flew in and landed on some lavender. They sat there for about 30 seconds and then flew off. They didn't go near the food but at least I know they are around. :-D

EDIT : Just changed the profile picture as I thought Ann might like to see the view from our balcony at the Madeira hotel she is going to.

Vera, maybe you have fussy birds who like fresher food or perhaps a neighbour is offering a better menu than yours?? Your granddaughter and Buster are sure to be
missing you and OH, now that you have returned home again.

The greedy starlings are enjoying some stale cake..... a rare treat for them today.
It was thick fog first thing this morning, but is almost clear now. Dry but cool though.

Not got a neighbourly cat stalking Vera?

Arrived home from Yorkshire a little while ago and I am missing granddaughter and Buster already.

I was surprised to find the bird feeders almost as full as when we left 10 days ago. The fat balls have gone but that is all. I suspect they have been eaten by starlings but it doesn't look as though many other birds have been around. I do wonder if something is keeping them away :-(

Buster looks gorgeous Vera. He obviously is very well known locally. Your OH is sure to get fit taking Buster out for walkies!

Nothing very different here, just Mr Blackbird, starlings, hedge sparrows and seagulls.
Nothing at all exciting, but all hungry as window and ground feeder need to be filled.

Oh Vera ,Buster looks wonderful :-D.Hopefully he has his fill of chewing the table now.
The one thing I loved when I had my dear old Chester was meeting so many people in the park.Bet your OH loves meeting some nice young ladies :-D :-D..I met some lovely young men :-D

No Goldfinches in this neck of the woods Ann.But I do think it is more than the ONE Woodpecker on the feeder.I am pretty sure we have had a bigger one .So I am thinking we have 2 :-D

Spotted Thomas having a good munch on half a rabbit in the hedge.I think he must have had the first half earlier in the day and he stashed the other half for seconds :-S :-S.Now I know why he hasn't eaten any food I have put down today.

My Sister went to Crufts yesterday and is going again on Sunday.She loves it and goes every year.

Aaw Vera what adventures he is having, all these females will put a spring in his step. :-D

Thought I would put a photo of Buster up as an avatar as I keep talking about him but he wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a decent picture

At the moment he is lying on my feet - all 9 stone of him! Thankfully, he hasn't indulged in any more midnight furniture snacks. Today OH apparently met two very nice young ladies who called out to Buster from across the park. I am getting a bit concerned about all these women my husband is finding to talk to :-|

Despite the wind and rain we had five goldfinches on the feeders this morning, not a lot more except a dove or two and a wood pigeon plus a male blackap.

Buster sounds like a Celeb Vera LOL...Naughty boy though chomping the beading on the coffee table :-|..Is he normally a chewer?
I often wake in the night thinking I can hear Thomas having a scratch on some wallpaper :-S
We have had a lot of rain here today.The flat roof on next door's garage looked like a public bath for the Pigeons.I counted at least 15 of them having a good splash about :-D

Cold, wet and grey here today. Not many birds about, just a few crows.

Buster is in disgrace today. I was awake in the early hours and was vaguely aware of a faint noise on the edge of my hearing; I thought I might even be imagining it. OH woke up as well so I told him and he went downstairs to investigate. Buster was having a whale of a time chewing the beading on a coffee table! Of course I then spent the rest of the night listening out in case he fancied another little night time snack.

Son phoned today so I was able to tell him before he got to see the damage. Luckily he had bought the table for next to nothing at an auction so wasn't too upset.

This morning OH took Buster for his usual long walk. While they were out he saw 2 fairly elderly ladies with a very small dog coming towards him. They stopped and he thought they were perhaps nervous of such a large dog so hastened to reassure them. The answer he got was "We know Buster, he's fine but where's his mummy? What are you doing with him?". They practically accused my poor man of stealing the dog. He felt them watching him all the way along the path. This is a town, not a small village, and I can't believe how many people know this dog. Being Buster's owner's mother is my claim to fame now :-D

Buster will miss you too Vera when you go home.He sounds a lovely dog ,and the fact that so many people know him and say nice things about him says it all :-D :-D
I look out for 'Hoppy' every day and am so happy to see him still about.I do worry that Thomas might get him :-S.Just seeing one bird that I can recognise makes me realise how long they must live.'Hoppy' must have been around now getting on for 18months or so.(that is my guess).

I'm glad Hoppy is still around. He's become an old friend.

We're still in Yorkshire with granddaughter and today OH and I were walking back from the shops past a large building surrounded by quite a dense mixed hedge. I could hear such a twittering that I stopped, stood as still as I could and peered into the hedge. I suddenly realised there were about a dozen sparrows about 18 inches from my face. They were either not aware I was there or weren't bothered by me as I stood for a while watching them flitting amongst the twigs in the middle of the hedge.

It takes a long while to go for a walk with son's dog as just about everyone for miles around seems to know him. Complete strangers come up to us saying "isn't that B" and then spend a long while telling us what a wonderful animal he is and how everyone loves him. He is gorgeous, and good, and I will miss him when I go back home :-(

Very quiet here !
The Woodpecker has been several times today on the window feeder.it seems to stay a bit longer on there now.Maybe it is getting used to seeing me through the window :-D..My dear little 'Hoppy' the one legged Sparrow is still going strong. :-D :-D

What a coincidence staying at the same Hotel !!..Vera has been able to give you lots of good info Ann :-D
That is handy having the Neighbours son taking Buster out for the evening walk.I had to laugh at the thought of you mopping up the drool with your pocket full of kitchen paper Vera :-D :-D.If we ever have another dog I would have to have a Non Drooler which is a pity as some of the best dogs are the biggest droolers lol

Well the window feeder is busy busy busy at the moment.All the birds are queuing up on the branches waiting to take turns.The Woodpecker was on it just now :-D

Pleased that you are home safely and now off to do a spot of looking after your granddaughter and the family pet dog. I'm sure it will feel very cold after Madeira.

A real mixture of weather today. It could be a lot worse for this time of year. We are happy to have had the gas central heating boiler renewed just before Christmas as it is nice and cozy inside,which is how we both like it.

Starlings, pigeons and not much else around today. Perhaps the birds are not liking the drop in temperature at all today.