Nut-boxes And a Tragedy...

Things have been a bit busy in the garden, Tony bought a new strimmer, he has cut the grass twice since the grass has grown so fast with the crazy weather we are having.
One day it is glorious sun so hot it is cracking the flags, the next the rain is pouring and I am back in my thermals!
The pigeons are still trying to take over so the hand clapping is still on going, the Sparrows are growing in numbers, Robin Junior has been joined by another Junior from a different Robin family so we have had a couple of scuffles between families. The Starlings are also increasing. We had a tragedy with a Starling chick! I think the chick jumped the gun a bit on leaving the nest, I think it left a bit too soon. The chick could not fly properly, so it would run around the garden, mum or dad would come and feed, but I knew it didn't look good. The chick kept hiding in a patch of grass that Tony had not cut right next to the wall, so it was out of sight a lot of the time but I could hear it calling out to it's parents. The parents kept coming trying to encourage it to fly to go with them, but it just couldn't do it. As evening drew in, one parent came and fed the chick then nudged it into the lavender bush as if it was putting it to bed. I just knew that by morning that chick would not be there.
 When I went to bed I looked out next doors cat was on the wall looking at the ground near the lavender bush, I called Tony while opening the window, the cat saw me and ran, The chick was safe for now but I could not watch all night and I knew the cat would be back.
 The following morning the first thing I did was look outside, there next to the sparrow bush was a pile of feathers, the Starling chick had escaped the cat but it had not escaped the Sparrowhawk!

 Baby Starling.

The Squirrels nut-box was beginning to look a bit tatty and needed some repairs, Tony said he would mend it. He also said he would build a new one. Lovely I thought the Squirrels will appreciate that just as much as I will.

Tony got to work mended the old box, set about making a new one, it didn't  take him long and it looked really good. He fastened the new box to the bottom of the cross bar he had put up a while ago. I filled it with monkey nuts and waited to see what the Squirrels thought of it.

The box has been there 3 days now and no Squirrels have been near it, they have looked at it from a distance, sniffed at it from a distance, walked round it but not gone near it. Tony say's "ungrateful little b*st*rds" or something like that!  Spot the Hedgehog went to have a look at it, sniffed at it walked round it, then went to the old box and took some nuts out of that one. I am going to leave the old one empty and see if they use the new one then or if they really don't want to!

 I think it's a pretty nut-box.

My eye's have been itching but touch wood not swelling up so the drops seem to be working. I have had a bit of lip swelling (my Bubba lip as we call it), facial swelling and hands but nothing unusual. 

My next adventure is a trip to hospital to collect a piece of equipment to use over night before I attend a sleep clinic, this is to see if I stop breathing when I am asleep. (This has nothing to do with Tonys hand round my throat, before anyone asks) It is to rule out a condition called "Sleep Apnea".