Hobbies and Crafts

I am very jealous of all your goldfinches and blue and coal tits. We just seem to be getting sparrows on the feeders and pigeons on the ground. I do like sparrows but it would be nice to see something else.

In the last couple of days I have seen two different cats sitting on our fence. I haven't seen either of them before and I am wondering if they are starting to venture in now we no longer have Mitzi to defend her territory. I hope they are not after the birds :-(

Vera we had more cat visitors to the garden agter we lost our Holly some years ago, I suspect the territory becomes 'free'

We love the goldfinches, they do squabble among themselves a bit but are very pretty

Ooh this morning we had a large flock of long tailed tits in the apple tree where the feeders are. such busy birds they seem to continually flit around in the tree.

I love long tail tits. They are pretty little birds and, like you say Ann, very busy in their twittery flocks. All I have seen today is one blackbird and a pair of fat old pigeons but the seed feeder is empty again and something has had a go at the fat balls - probably sparrows before I was up. We didn't see it but, while we were in the garden yesterday, we could hear a great tit calling, so there are a few birds other than sparrows around.

Vera ,I bet you have more birds than you think.They just come when you aren't looking LOL
No Long Tailed Tits here. But the Green Woodpecker was back on the lawn today :-D

I think they play hide-and-seek with me. They wait till I turn my back and then pop out ;-)

I just have to keep reminding myself that I shouldn't expect to see the birds that we used to get at the old place. We have a fair number of trees around and we are not too far from the river but a tiny garden surrounded by houses just isn't going to attract the birds we got in a large garden in the country surrounded by farmland.

I blame Ann and Jane lol. All this talk of long tailed tits and green woodpeckers is making me frustrated at only getting sparrows.

We had to fill up the feeders this morning the birds seem to be stocking up for Christmas. Obviously the sparrow hawk we saw didn't have an effect as there are suddenly a lot of sparrows around again.

Its too wet here at the moment for any birds.They will hopefully be tucked up somewhere nice and dry out of the rain and wind.There is no way I will going outside at the moment to put more food in the feeder !!!!!.
Are you all ready for Christmas? .I am done now.We aren't actually having our Christmas lunch until the 27th as that will be when everyone is all finally here together.I just hope that the veg and Potatoes won't 'go off' before then!!.I really don't want to have to go and get more now.
Daughter has just arrived from London and my Son is just leaving to go to Kent to his Girlfriends family.So one in and one out lol.

Potatoes will be fine Jane, veg should be ok in the fridge or a cool place. We are having our Christmas dinner tomorrow christmas eve. It is just the two of us and that suits us, then Christmas day we have the cold meats etc.

Your veg should be fine if it's somewhere cool Jane.

My brother and friend arrive tomorrow and stay till Tuesday. My daughter and my 19 year old granddaughter arrive Christmas morning. Granddaughter has to leave early on Boxing Day. Not sure exactly when daughter is going, so we'll have the Christmas meal on 25th as we will all be here then. Looking at the amount of food I have bought, OH and I will be eating leftovers till Easter.

We won't get to see son and his family but we did spend the first weekend in December with them to celebrate son's 50th birthday so took all their Christmas presents to them then.

Enjoy your Christmas everyone, and have a lovely, stress free time

All comings and goings at this time of year. It is blowing a gale and we can hear
heavy rain on the windows, so it's turned nasty today as predicted. Our family will
be here with us over Christmas and being all together will help to cheer us both up.

The robin keeps on bob bob bobbin along the boundary wall. A real joy to see.

Happy Christmas one and all and I hope you all have a Happy and Healthy 2017.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE xx

We haven't long been home from yet another A&E visit as hubby's breathing difficulties began before 5am this morning. We are both relieved that he was allowed to come home. He has a chest infection and fluid in his lungs. We hope that the
prescribed antibiotic and extra diuretic will make him feel more comfortable very soon.

Roll on 2017 ........ it can only get better (or so we both hope).

Lots of gulls have swooped down and completely emptied the ground feeder!

Kandj <3 <3 <3...Once those meds kick in Hubby will be sure to feel much better.


Christmas morning I found a dead Robin :-( :-( I just went out the back door to see if i could pick some parsley from the Herb trough thing and there the poor thing was.
At first I thought Thomas might have been the culprit.But after having a good look I just wonder if it had flown into the window and dropped down under the Herb Bed
It was just so sad to find a dead Robin on Xmas Morning :-( :-(

Kandj
So sorry to hear about your husband. Do hope the anti - biotics kick in quickly and he begins to feel better very soon.

Aaw Jane that was sad.

Kandj sorry to hear about. Your OH's chest infection, hopefully the antibiotics will sort it. Then you will be back on track again.

Oh dear Kandj, it hasn't been a good year for you has it? I am sorry to hear your OH is so unwell. Hopefully, the antibiotics will quickly get a grip on the infection and he will start to improve very soon. Sending good vibes your way <3

That's sad about your robin Jane. Strangely enough we had a robin in our garden today, the first one that has been around for ages.

I hope you have all had a good Christmas. My last guests left a couple of hours ago and I am now collapsed in a heap.

We have had a lovely time with family. Christmas Day did not start well. Daughter and granddaughter were coming to us in separate cars as granddaughter had to go to work at 8 am the following day. Just before they were due to arrive, the phone went. It was granddaughter E. And she was obviously quite stressed. She has only been driving a couple of months and her car seized up on a very busy roundabout that has exits for three A roads and a couple of more minor roads. Somehow she managed to coast round, with the power steering gone as well, get off at the next exit and get off the road into a Premier Inn car park .

Then she found her phone had no signal. A passer-by lent her a phone and she rang us. She was about 30 mins away so I despatched OH and my brother to rescue her. While waiting she talked to staff at Premier Inn and they were very good. They let her leave her car there at no charge till it could be recovered (today) and even brought a cup of tea out to her while she was waiting for OH to arrive.

I was very proud of the way she coped as she is only 19 and only been driving a couple of months but she didn't panic and got to a safe spot. She did look a bit shaky and ready for a stiff G &T when she arrived :-D. It meant that, instead of staying till the afternoon on Boxing Day, daughter had to leave at 8 am so that she could get E. to work. Not quite what we planned but we enjoyed the time they were with us.

Kandj, I hope the antibiotics are kicking in now and your OH will soon feel their benefit.

It's horrible feeling so unwell.

I hope Vera that you have recovered after your busy time with family. Your granddaughter did well in that testing situation.

It's a cold frosty morning here and no sign of small birds, but perhaps they were lurking nearby watching the antics of a large seagull in our garden.

I had hung the fatty rind of a gammon joint for the birds to enjoy. I'd chosen a flimsy branch of a small tree, so that cats couldn't get it.
A seagull was standing on the bird bath and was launching itself in the direction of the rind, grabbing anything it could peck at, before falling to the ground a few feet below. It didn't have much luck, but was very determined and repeated this action time and again, before going off to rest on a nearby roof top.

Gosh Vera that was frightening for your granddaughter. Especially losing the power steering. It sounds as if it had not completely gone, ot left her with some steering capacity. If it had gone completely she would not have been able to move I don't think and that would have been even more scary. But full marks for the staff of Premier Inn. Has the car now been recovered. Cars, such useful things when going well, such a problem when not.

Anyway pleased you had a good weekend with the family. Take a few days to rest now.

I have still got this horrid cough/cold so feel completely wiped out, the sneezes are so violent they take all my energy. Can't ever remember having a cold like this one before. :-( :-( :-(...... Looking for sympathy!!!

Sorry you are in the throes of a horrid cough and cold Ann. Beastly things, they can make you feel really rotten. I'm nursing a bad back. It's OK lying on my back in bed or sitting in one of our reclining chairs which has support in the right place but very sore if I am standing or walking.

Ann, you can still steer if the power steering is gone but it is very heavy and hard work. Talking to daughter on the phone this morning, the engine apparently started to die as E moved on to the roundabout. By the time she had got it off the road it had stopped completely. However, yesterday daughter managed to start it and drive it home, very slowly and with some difficulty. Experience tells. While we were on the phone, the local garage mechanic arrived to have a look at it, so we ended the call and I am waiting to hear the outcome.

Very cold and foggy this morning though it has just about cleared now. There are plenty of sparrows around. They are lining up on the fence and taking it in turns to go to the fat balls, two at a time. They look so well organised that I think they would have a real go at any that tried to go out of turn ;-)