Friday 29 May 2015

Run squirrel run



This was one lucky squirrel. The cat appeared from nowhere.
Tony had put out the Bushnell trail cam to try and catch the nut box culprit, but caught this film instead.



The film is not top quality but you can see how close the cat was to the squirrel. I bet the poor things heart was beating faster than ever before.



Until the next time ...

Thursday 28 May 2015

Lots of new birds and a strange occurrence.

The garden is thriving, the babies are arriving every day there are some new ones.



First came the starlings, just the odd one,






Then they started queueing up to be fed


Next I spotted a sparrow being fed by Mum



Closely followed by a young blackbird on the fence



A new squirrel in the garden was not quite sure of the lay out and looked as if he was going to jump over the wall in the wrong place




However I think the thing that has been most intriguing over the last few days, (3 times this has happened) is who or what has been using the nut box as a toilet and HOW?








Until the next time...






Sunday 17 May 2015

A link from Lynsey, a failed cake and nest raiding magpies.

https://plus.google.com/106968605557342887534/posts/XFv4epcvKT4

The above link is from Lynsey, she is once again doing a sponsored event for the RNLI. She would appreciate any donations you can make, you can donate by text and can donate just a £ or you can go to her "Just giving page" using the link above, and donate as much as you like or can afford.
Thank you in advance to any one who sponsors her.

Well now to the garden, Ms Squirrel came to the garden today she is so big she has difficulty walking. Those babies must be due to be born any time now.

The birds above the office and kitchen are becoming noisier by the day so hopefully it won't be long before they are to of the nests. The magpies are trying to raid the nests and are getting chased by some very angry gangs of sparrows.

We have been to a couple of car boots this weekend, York on Saturday and Wetherby and Rufforth today so my legs are really aching.
I baked a cake today but it turned out as flat as a pancake! I don't know why I used all the correct measures of ingredients, followed the recipe had the oven on the right setting, but no out came a pancake.
The flapjack was ok but there is not a lot you can do wrong to a flapjack.

Oh well I have nothing else to say, no pictures today, so


until the next time...

Friday 15 May 2015

A Turdus Merula,Carduelis Carduelis, Cyanistes Caeruleus and a Sciurus carolinensis (Or A Blackbird, Goldfinch,Blue Tit and a Grey Squirrel)

Over the last few days I have been in the shed a couple of times. The birds are busy flying back and forth with beaks full of food for the chicks that have hatched.
The Starling families are growing we can hear them above us when we are in the office, when an adult bird arrives with food the racket the chicks make is unbelievable. For something so small they sound like they are wearing pit boots up there!

I did a bit of sewing while I was in the shed. I had two "Onesies" that didn't fit me properly. So I cut them both in half, (or not exactly in half, )then I sewed the larger top of one to the larger bottom of the other and made one "Onesie "that fitted. The left over pieces  I will use for something else.

Chris sent me a text asking if Tony and I wanted to start visiting every Friday so that my grandson Logan could get a bit more use to us. At the moment he is not sure about us,
He usually goes to his mum or dad when we visit, he certainly doesn't want to sit with us.
Logan is fine as long as he can see mummy or daddy , he will smile and chatter at us but if Chris tries to sit him with us, no he doesn't want to do that.

Quick pick me up Nana's coming


I have told Chris and Joanne at the moment it will have to be fortnightly, we will see how that goes, then maybe we can think again.

Wednesday I had to go to the dentist, I had lost a filling. I really don't like  going to the dentist, however the one I see at the moment is quite nice. She knows I have a bit of a phobia and always tries to calm me down. There was no drilling involved just a little filling. She asked if I wanted my gum numbing because it was rather sore, but I was brave and said 'no let's just do it'.
I am glad I did because it didn't hurt and it boosted my confidence for next time I go.

The Blue Tits are rushing around the garden and taking all sorts of goodies into the nest box.
I hope the cats or the magpies don't manage to take the chicks this year, at least next doors cat is too old and ill to catch any.


The Blue Tits are definitely well fed.





The Blackbirds are still fighting, I couldn't catch them in the air, they seem to circle on the floor then jump up into the air scratching and clawing with their feet while pecking with their beaks. It looks really vicious.

 Then one of them lay on the ground in the above pose as if he was trying to make himself look bigger, then all of a sudden he flew at the other bird with a loud squawk and they started fighting again.


Another of my favourite birds has returned, The Goldfinch.
The clown of the garden with their painted faces and comical ways. They are a timid bird, they never seem to stay long but they are always a lovely sight when they visit.

                             







Then of course there is the scruffy Blackbird, what can I say about him? He is always around he comes to the window and takes food from the ledge, he puts his head on one side as if he is listening to me when I talk to him. He is just Scruff a very friendly Blackbird.



The squirrels are still coming. Ms Squirrel is extremely fat and lumpy. She must be ready for giving birth very soon, if she hasn't already. She still manages to come into the garden and hang upside down on the ball feeder and on the crossbar. 


This is another female squirrel that had young ones not very long ago, it is easy to see that she is feeding.


Her young ones will be in the garden very soon.

We also have 2 more young ones that appeared in the garden this morning so maybe they are the ones that belong to the squirrel above or maybe we have another family that has heard how good the food is at our garden.


Until the next time...








Tuesday 5 May 2015

Parrot bars and Woodpeckers.

Where does the time go? I haven't written a blog for 12 days, so I thought as today was the 13th day I had better do something about it.


I have been into the garden a few times so I will share a few pictures with you, as you will have guessed some of them will be squirrels.

I tied a parrot bar to the crossbar in the garden just to see how long it would take for the squirrels to eat it.

































As you can see it doesn't look like it will take long. This is one of the younger squirrels so when one of the older ones try they will probably eat a lot more in one sitting.

We had a visit from a Great Spotted Woodpecker yesterday, it's lovely to see one back in the garden again. Tony had spotted one the day before but had not managed to take a photo.
I took a few photo's then rushed (as fast as I can rush ) from the shed to the flat to tell Tony to get a camera ready. Unfortunately the woodpecker did not return. Hopefully it will be back in the next few days, he comes for the peanut butter so I will have to make sure there is plenty out.

I am pleased with how these photo's turned out because they were taken through the shed window. I had just packed up my cameras and put the windows back in when I saw the woodpecker. I took my camera back out but the windows had to stay in.









Tony has had a birthday since I last wrote a blog, I think he was happy with the bottle of Spanish Brandy I bought him. We don't usually buy each other birthday and christmas presents but I thought I would surprise him because he puts up with a lot looking after me. I know I frustrate him, but I do love him and I don't know how I would survive without him.
Oh now thats getting a bit mushy quick change of subject needed.

The up coming elections, I will be so glad when they are over. We could have papered a room with the amount of rubbish we have had pushed through the letterbox over the last few weeks. I don't know how much could be saved on the ink and paper they waste on all this campaign rubbish.
Do you all know who you are going to vote for? or are you still undecided! I am going to vote for the same people I voted for last time for what good it will do. I just hope the Tory's don't get in again.

Oh,  the parrot bar has disappeared from the garden, one of the squirrels has chewed through the string and run away with the bar.

Well I am beginning to ramble now so,

Until the next time...