A day out at Roundhay

Yesterday Elvira took me to Roundhay Park in Leeds. I have not been there for a while, in fact I think the last time I went it was with Elvira.
Elvira picked me up from home just before 10.00am, Tony waved us off, (he was probably glad of the rest) at least he would have some time to himself.

The weather for a change was really good, the sun was out a bit of a breeze good weather for strolling round the lake.

First we visited "Jeans willow tree" where Elvira placed some red roses. (Jean is Elvira's daughter who died from cancer a few years ago).

"Jeans Tree" had grown quite a lot since I last saw it.

The lake had some beautiful swans with cygnets swimming along, in front of them. 

A family day outing.

The large male swan came out from behind some reeds and put on a show for anyone who cared to watch.

Swan Lake Ballet.

He was an enormous bird, it is easy to see why the male swans can be so intimidating. However they are so graceful at the same time.

There were lots of coot's with babies on the lake. I have to admit I think these chicks are one of the ugliest of all the chicks I have seen. However they do change a lot as they grow, coots are quite cute .

Coots and their chicks.

 

As we walked we were getting quite hot the sun had become hotter, we sat on a bench and Elvira bought me an ice-cream. It was delicious. The ice-cream on the cornet had been dipped into caramel which had set hard on top. The taste reminded me of the Caramac bars we used to eat when we were younger. I would love to find another ice-cream van that sell's them. (I hope the one at York car boot sale does!)
We set of walking back in the direction of the car, watching all the people jogging, skipping and riding bikes. One person had caught our eyes. This person was quite over weight, he had ridden past us 2 or 3 times, this meant he had ridden his bike right round the lake that many times. The lake is about 1.5 miles round so he had traveled  about 4 - 4.5 miles it doesn't sound a lot but for the size of him believe me it was a lot.

As we approached the cafe the sound of people became louder, the seagulls hanging about in the air waiting for bread that young children were throwing, the laughter and chatter of all the children excited by their day out.

The seagulls hanging in the air waiting for food.

The black-headed gulls stood along the edge of the water waiting for anything that might be thrown to them, or simply resting in the sun. In amongst them was a young bird that was making itself known by shouting at the top of it's voice.

A young gull on the right made sure it was noticed.

The most unusual bird I managed to take a picture of was a cormorant. This bird had been swimming in the water with just a head showing, then all of a sudden it climbed out of the water, climbed on to the post and spread out it's wings to dry.

Cormorant

I enjoyed our day out, the company was excellent, the weather was good, the ice-cream amazing, I got the chance to take some different photo's. Of course the day would not have been complete with out the last picture.

A wild squirrel

yeehaa!

Until the next time...

All who enter the garden must know the rules.

The garden is certainly full of wildlife at the moment and the cats are not being too much of a problem, with the exception of one small tabby who will just not learn the rules of the garden. The main rule being, 

 DO NOT HURT THE SQUIRRELS!

We have young Great Tits

We have young Blue Tits

A very scruffy Blackbird

We have very energetic squirrels

We also have solved the mystery of the nutbox.

The hedgehog on the right is the one that goes inside the nutbox. Tony was taken by surprise last night. As he was watching one hedgehog in the garden, the nutbox lid flew open and the other hedgehog sprang out like a "Jack in a box".

It is good to know that we have at least two hedgehogs in the garden, Tony is putting the Trail Cam out in the hope that we might find something else. We know there has been foxes in the past and we have heard Tawny Owls. It would be lovely to catch either of them on film.

Until the next time...

An enjoyable trip, but now it's squirrel watch!

Tony and I have had a visit to Scotland since my last entry. We stayed at a lovely little apartment called "The Hayloft". It was quite small however it had everything we needed and we would go again. The people that owned The Hayloft were very friendly but the friendliest of all was their black lab "Megan". Megan would come up to see us when ever she got the chance, we didn't mind she was no problem except for all the hairs she left behind.

The second week we stayed at The Rural Retreat looking after the pride for Bassman and Matchgirl.
The cats are all lovely and cute like cats usually are, however one of them has a secret side she is...

THE ORIGINAL CAT BURGLAR.

She stops and looks round there is no-one in sight, or so she thinks. Maia has not seen me in the window of The Rural Retreat.

A quick glance in the cat flap to make sure all is clear

                                                             A soft push with her nose, to open it.

 Gently she edges her way in,

           moving ever so slowly not making a sound.

She is half way in it must be alright no-one at home

Just the tip of her tail and she disappears into the house.

After a few minutes she pops out like a cork

The rascal doesn't know she has been caught!

(I hope Bassman and Matchgirl will enjoy that bit of fun, I just could not resist the photos).





I did take some other photos while there, mostly woodpeckers and seals. (The seal photos will be on soon)
We had a few trips to Loch Fleet we enjoyed it there and if we go to Scotland again we will probably look for somewhere to stay round there.

Female feeding young.





 She spent hours flying backwards and forwards collecting food for the youngster.

The youngster looking for mum after she went to look for more food.

Mum passing a peanut to the youngster

Rescued from the jaws of death

This one was released back into the wild hopefully to live another day.

I am still looking through the pictures I took at Scotland, and I have taken some since I came home.

I am pleased to say that the first day we were back the squirrels were in the garden.

 Including this cute little boy. He is the son of the little Mum who was pregnant when we went away. She has been in the garden a few times and is very protective of him and another young one who came with her. We have still got a battle with the cats who sit in wait for the squirrels, they will be trying to catch the babies now. Tony and are will be on squirrel watch, we will be watching out for those bad old buddy tats!


Until the next time...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...