Hobbies and Crafts

Ann, edit.... and Jane ( sorry ) my grandads family were from Buckfastleigh and Kingsbridge. That's on my Mums side.

My gt grandads family on my dad's side were from Plympton and EggBuckland.

Hope you are still not getting that wind. ( that sounds bad, must be the pasties !!!) very blustery here again today.

M.
:-)

I went to youth club in Plympton Maryanna,and my Aunty used to live in Eggbuckland.!!!!! I grew up in Wembury.

Maryanna my OH was born in Buckfastleigh and grew up there. I spent many weeks there and in Buckfast in the late 50s, 60s and 70s.

Certainly a small world isn't it?

It really is Ann.I have a friend here who had an Uncle who lived in Plymouth .When she mentioned his name I thought I know that name.Turned out that he was a good friend of my Parents and as a child I would often go to his house on a Sunday afternoon for tea :-D

When I filled up the Peanut ball down the bottom of the garden this morning I dropped a load on the grass.The Squirrel has found them and has been busy picking them up and burying them in the lawn :-S..I haven't told OH lol

I had some bpvery interesting grasses come up in the border under one of the bird feeders last summer.

Many years ago when my brother in law was a keen young police cadet at Hendon he came home for a weekend visit.

My in laws used to have a very big aviary and lots of different and interesting things used to come up on the floor of the cage.

He came in from the garden and announced that he really ought to arrest his parents as they were growing cannibis !!!!

I don't think they put it in bird seed mixture any more, too many people got into trouble.

The Swifts have been flying very low today, right over the garden, think it must be to windy higher up for them.

Some of my Buckfastleigh relations were Bradridge and Foale, Ann.

M.

Just tested OH with those names Maryanna knowing how small Buckfastleigh was, but also knowing how bad he is at names, needless to say he didn't recognise them. I have a book on Buckfastleigh at home I shall have to have a look when we go back. What years are we talking about? OH's parents were the from about 1934.

Jane that was a coincidence wasn't it?

Love the squirrel story, we won't breath a word. :-D

Neither I or my OH (not surprising really lol) have heard of eggbuckland. :-D

The Bradridges married into the family in 1844 Ann. !!!!!!! I am sure your OH won't remember that far back. Lol. !!!!

I have got a couple of books about Buckfastleigh as well, I wonder I we have the same one.


M. :-D

I will look forward to exchanging pieces from the books when I return home Maryanna. Neither of OHs parents were born there though.

We were away again this weekend so before I went on Friday I filled all the seed feeders etc. and put up another large suet cake. Got back yesterday evening to find everything except the peanuts gone. I know it's the greedy starlings as they appear the second we put anything out.

I was feeling a bit grumpy as I refilled everything and starlings immediately appeared but then I had an incredible 20 minutes or so watching a mother starling with four fat fluffy chicks. She kept taking a suet pellet from the ground feeder and feeding bits to her chicks, then flying up for a bit of suet cake and bringing that down. One time as she hopped into the ground feeder, which is caged, one of the babies followed her. When Mum popped out again he couldn't find his way and was fluttering about getting a bit distressed. I was just thinking I would have to go out and lift the cage up when Mum hopped back in, prodded him round till he was pointing at an opening and then sort of pushed and out he fell.

All grumps forgotten after that.

Vera isn't it lovely watching all the young birds, my favourite this year so far is seeing a young mistle thrush trying to balance on my washing line, I don't know how it didn't topple off :-D

Maryanna you can still buy hemp seed for bird feed and I wouldn't be surprised if it is in mixed seed too, maybe we will all end up growing what looks like cannabis :-D

Enjoy your holiday Ann, hope you see all sorts of different wildlife :-D

Jane has you OH noticed the squirrels nuts yet ;-)

Very special ongoing thoughts for kandj <3 hope to see you posting soon.

Lesley x

I have a pair of chaffinch's who visit and last year they only ended up with one baby after a visist from the sparrow hawk.

This year she is so cheeky she flies at me asking for mealworms. Now she will take them from my hand but dos'nt stay long. she takes one and then comes back for another but if I put them on the patio she will take about four at a time.

At the moment she is eating me out of house and home with these live worms.

The sad news is that I lost one of my Robins this week. He would come to the back door and he had a claw missing off his right foot and his little toe was bigger than the rest. then he arrived with this foot completely bent back and feathers missing around his eyes. I am not sure if it was a fight with the other Robins or the hawk again. He has'nt been now for about four days. He was the tamest of the six that visit.

By the way Eggbuckland has one of the most precise ringing teams in Devon.

Oh dear Mel it sounds like Robbie had been in a real old scrap with something :-(
My Chaffinches would never be brave enough to come to my hand.You are so lucky.

Well I have got so fed up refilling the window feeder several times a day (because of the Squirrel ,I decided to just put seed in it this afternoon.I wonder how well that will go down :-D

Ann I am sure you will have seen signs to Eggbuckland on the way down to Cornwall .When you come down off the main dual carriage way from Exeter there is a massive roundabout with a big Sainsbur*.Then as you go on the road towards the Tamar bridge from there Eggbuckland is just off and up to the left.

Lesley ,I did tell him about the squirrel and the nuts......He said he was off to find his gun lol We now have a Baby Bunny :-S.I think the gun is now in the summerhouse ready for action :-| :-|

Ah but will he use it Jane? :-D

Lots of <3 <3 <3 to kandj

Lesley x

Yes Lesley but he might deliberately miss LOL.He is not really the killing kind but has to appear Macho :-D..He did actually get a couple of rabbits last year.My biggest concern is that he might hit but not kill and I can't bare to think of any kind of creature suffering.It needs to be a clean shot.
I haven't heard from Kandj since last Wednesday.I do hope her OH is improving .It is such a tough time for her and she really appreciates that we are all thinking of her .
I do miss her here <3 <3

We all miss Kandj and her tales of the birds and their eating habits. Love to her and her OH.

Jane we went Oakhampton way but know the roundabout you mean so know where Eggbuckland us, even though he has not heard of it.

Just had a rather delicious crab sakad and chunky chips and IH had a juicy fillet steak, mushroom, tomato and chunky chips.

:-D :-D

We have had trouble with a large swarm of bees this afternoon .All on the top of our chimney right on the pot :-S :-S.We lit the wood burner hoping to smoke them off plus the heat from the metal topper.They did go ,but only as far as the lilac tree.Then they vanished altogether .Just a few minutes ago OH shouted up from the garden that they were back and to keep the fire going .....just want I don't need on this hot day lol
The council pest people said to keep n eye on things and that if we see them actually going into the chimney to call them back tomorrow and they would send 2 men out.£125.Hopefully we won't need to do that.
I have had to get rid of quite a few that had got into the house but they were all very dopey so easy enough to flick out .I just hope that they all Buzz off somewhere else :-D

Oh Jane just what you don't want in or on your house or garden.

Have you looked to see if there is anyone locally that has hives/sells honey, I'm sure they would remove the swarm for free.

Thinking of you kandj and sending loads of <3 <3 <3

Lesley x