The Pram

I bought a child's toy  pram at one of the car boot sales at the weekend. I placed it at the bottom of the garden with some nuts, suet and sunflower seeds in it. I thought some of the birds might use it and that I may get some photographs of them sitting on the pram handle or the pram hood.
What I got was so much better, Mrs Squirrel climbed into the pram she ate until she was full, had a really good stretch and then laid down for a nap.

Todays photo of the day

Mrs Squirrel enjoying her new pram.

I will have to think of more things I can buy for the garden that can be used by the squirrels and birds, this pram was certainly popular with Mrs Squirrel.

Until tomorrow...

Clouds can tell a story

Today has been another day of doing nothing much, I watched  "the twilight saga" or at least 3 of the 4 DVD's. I saved the last one for tomorrow. Yes that is how fed up I was! The one I have saved is the only one I have never seen before, so I am actually looking forward to seeing it. (oops there is that actually word again)

I did not take many photos today and the ones I did were taken through the windows.

Todays photo of the day

Clouds

I like to look at clouds to see if I can find something in them, 

Until tomorrow...

Robins in disguise

Tony and I went to a car boot sale again this morning in fact we went to two. Thankfully they were better than yesterdays.
Both of us bought a couple of things and the weather was warmer, so much so that I went down to the shed when we returned home.
I spent all afternoon in the shed.
The birds were out in force, Sparrows flew round the garden in gangs making so much noise they drowned out the sound of most of the other birds.
The Blue Tits were busy flying back and forth to the nest box taking in bugs and nesting materials.
The Dunnocks were doing a lot of wing waving, one of them looked like he was dancing a flamenco.

The Robins singing fit to burst in the trees above the shed

However the thing that made me chuckle the most was a Robin not for his singing but for his look,

Todays photo of the day

Robin in disguise.

( He thinks he's a Cockatoo )

Until tomorrow...

Bullies in the garden

Tony and I ventured to York car boot sale this morning. It was very cold and it tried to rain a couple of times, I wish we had stayed in bed. Neither of us bought anything to take home. The only money I spent was £1:80 on a cup of much needed hot chocolate.
The car boot was quiet compared to usual but I suppose you take that chance when you go, at least we got some fresh air and exercise.

When we returned home I needed a hot bath to warm myself up, so I passed an hour having a good soak and reading a book. My book at the moment is "It's the little things" by Erica James. I have not read any of her books before and I am not sure yet if I like it or not. It is not the sort of book I usually read, it is a bit sentimental and sweet for my taste. However I will persevere with it I will read the whole book before I say what I think.

I took some photo's through the kitchen window today of the squirrels, I discovered that one of them is pregnant. (Do they ever stop?) so soon we will have more squirrels.

Today's photo of the day

Mrs Squirrel pregnant again!

She is clinging on to the side of the shed because Tony made a noise to scare away the crow and magpies and it made her jump so she ran to the shed and just clung to it.

This is where she was before, being intimidated by the bullies. She puts her tail over her head like that to protect herself, I am not sure exactly what protection it does?

This is where Mr Squirrel spends most of his time.

Until tomorrow...

A quiet day

Todays photo of the day

A Dunnock

Until tomorrow...

Now I feel at home

I really feel like I am back at home now, I am in the shed.

The sun is out, the birds are singing and the squirrels are watching me from the tree.

The Robin is on the fence looking at me , I think he is looking for the mealworms I will have to buy some next time I go out.

He has flown through the shed as if he is letting me know he is not pleased.

There he is now on the fence with a bug in his beak, do you think the hints are getting bigger?

Todays photo of the day

Robin with bug.

Until tomorrow...

Happy birthday Tony

Today is Tony's birthday, I am taking him out to lunch to the Chinese Buffet in town.

This morning all the squirrels were in the garden again it really is nice to see them when I open my curtains on a morning.
We called to see Elvira this morning to make sure she is ok and has recovered from her bump with the deer. She seems ok but still nervous about driving. She has no car at the moment anyway as it is in for repair, I am sure she will be ok soon and back to driving again.

The garden appears to have been taken over by a bird I am not particularly fond of, but I guess now we are home we can soon dissuade it from using the garden too often.

Todays photo of the day

A Magpie

Until tomorrow...

Back home

After a long journey we arrived back home tired and in need of a long soak in the bath. My first thought was where were the squirrels? were they alright?
We dropped off all our bags jumped back in the car and went to pick up some shopping calling of course at Pets at Home to buy some nuts for the squirrels.
When we returned home for the second time I went straight into the garden and filled up the nut boxes and feeders. I did not expect to see the squirrels until the next morning or even the day after so imagine my surprise when less than 2 hours later we had three squirrels in the garden. I was so happy to know that they were ok and must have been checking regularly to see if we were back.

Todays photo of the day

One of the squirrels in the garden.

It was good to see them so soon after returning home.

Until tomorrow...

Lots of lambs

Today we had another day riding round looking for something to photograph. 

This is our last day in Scotland tomorrow we head for home. I am ready for home in some ways and not in others.

I enjoy coming to Scotland because there are always lots of different things to do and see, even if I don't manage to photograph them at least I have seen them. I have loved meeting the Pride and getting to know all their little ways. Each one of them have their own personality and they are so beautiful. I could have quite easily have put them in my bag and brought them home with me but I think I would have been in trouble.

I have missed my squirrels while I have been away, I know they will have been ok but I don't want them to stop coming because I have not been there to feed them.

Oh well one more day and I will know wether they have left home!

Back to what is happening today.

We rode around the Black Isle taking pictures before going home to pack.

Todays photo of the day

A mum & her Lambs.

We saw lots of lambs so I had to choose them for todays photo.

Until tomorrow...

A day of up's and down's

We were up and out early this morning, the sun was shining again the cats fed and the cameras ready.
Nothing particular planned just out and go, take some pictures and back in time to watch for Matchgirl on the TV. She is running the London Marathon today, we are cheering her on from the comfort of the sofa cup of tea in hand.
While on our drive I took some very shaky photo's of some deer at about 7:50am

 

 

Not the best I know but I put them on for a reason which will become clear later on!

 

I took some more pictures of Oyster Catchers, Black Headed Gulls and Curlews. There were dozens of Curlews.

Tomorrow if the weather is good we are going back with a better lens.

 

I tried again at a Buzzard but I didn't have the right lens for it I only had an Olympus with a 40-150mm lens which really was not big enough.

 

I think even the Buzzard got so embarrassed for me in the end even he /she wanted to hide!

 

 

Today's photo of the day

 

 

When Tony spotted this view of the snow on the mountain tops which we both thought looked quite stunning, I decided this had to be the one.

We were back at the Rural Retreat watching TV when I received a message from Elvira.
She had been on her way to a car boot sale this morning and had an accident.
A deer had jumped into the road in front of her before she even saw it she heard a bang.
The deer managed to reach the other side of the road, Elvira's car was damaged luckily she was physically unharmed, but as you can imagine in shock. The two cars behind her slowed down to look but did not stop. Elvira went to a farm to ask for help, no body answered the door. What is wrong with people these days?
All this took place at 7:30am around the time I was happily photographing deer in a field.
Someone did come and tend to the deer, Elvira managed to drive her car home, she is still shook up and probably will be for a while, I rang her (used your house phone Matchgirl & Bassman hope you don't mind) to let her know that if she needed to talk just to ring.
I hope Matchgirl had a better day, I am sure she did.

Until tomorrow...



Buzzards, Kites, all remain just out of reach

This morning we rose early the Pride decided they wanted breakfast early, I guess that's why I awoke with a nose a centimetre off my nose anyway! two more pairs of eyes looking at me from the doorway and a silly grin on Tony's face. When Pandora removed her nose from my face so I could get up, I got up and fed the cat's.
As I was up anyway I decided I might as well stay up after all it was 6:15 am hey who needs to sleep!
Tony got up as well he went for a shower while I fed the cats.
We decided seeing as how it wasn't raining again we would have another ride round.

I saw a Red Kite and once again I tried for a photo once again I just could not get the picture it was just out of reach,

 

These were the best I could manage both slightly out of focus both cropped a lot and really not good enough, but better than nothing.
Then I spotted a Buzzard again it was too far away I could not get a decent shot

I tried but this was the best I could do the others went straight in the bin.

I did take a few more photo's today none of which were really good but here goes

A pair of Eider Ducks engaging in a mating dance

A Seagull that was having mussell for lunch

An Oyster catcher

Todays photo of the day

 

 

 

A Curlew

The Curlew caught, washed then ate his/her lunch.

 

 

By the time we returned to the Retreat the cat's were lining up for their lunch again, once fed and watered they all lay down for a nap. Maia stayed downstairs and slept on the sofa, she is definately feeling more comfortable with us.

 

 

Until tomorrow...



Tony to the rescue...

Today was a day full of adventure! The sun was shining, so a trip out was needed to take advantage, it may be the only one we get.
We just climbed in the car and set off with no real plan in mind. Tony drove around just looking for likely places he wanted to photograph geese in flight and we had seen a few on our travels so he was looking out for them.
Bassman had told us where to see seals so we also had to go and see if we could find them.
We did find the seals but they were so far out we could not get a decent shot of them, I did get some but none that I am happy enough to share with anyone.
We drove as far as "Fleet Loch" somewhere we fully intend to return to when we next come to Scotland but not on this visit.

When we returned to the Retreat, 3 hungry cats were waiting for us if they wore watches they would have been looking at them saying "what time do you call this? you know what time lunch time is where have you been?"
 They soon forgave us when they had full belly's. Enough so that Maia allowed me to stroke her for longer rub her ears tickle under her chin and rub herself against my ankles, she is a softy really. Pandora sat on the table looking at me while I tried to look at my emails it is very un-nerving having a cat sit and stare at you when their owners have a book titled "How to know if your cat is plotting to kill you!"
Willow sat on my knee again this evening and yes she is still just daft there really is no better word to describe her.
The fearless ones slept on the bed again last night taking up more room than the night before Tony says he was pinned to the bed most of the night.
Pandora rushed into the Retreat with a foot hanging out of her mouth, dropped something on the floor and began to pat it. Tony ran to the rescue cup in hand, we managed to rescue it between us a lizard returned safely to the wild minus a tail.

Aah come on would you pass up a photo opportunity?


I sat in the garden this afternoon for a while enjoying the sun.

Today's photo's of the day

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Aggressive Siskin.

 

They may be a small bird but believe me they can be aggressive and fight their place on the feeder against the other birds.

 

 

Until tomorrow...

 



A visit to Cromarty

Today we had a ride round which ended in Cromarty.
We travelled through Jemimaville.

Now any regular readers of this blog will know I have a shed at home and how much time I spend in it. I think everyone should either have a shed or share a shed they can be used for so many things.
 In Jemimaville they have a fantastic use for one,

It's a Post Office.

We passed through Jemimaville looking out for wildlife to photograph, I photographed some Red shanks, Curlews and Seagulls. There was one sighting that did upset me just outside Jemimaville we spotted the body of a young Dolphin on the beach, it had been chewed around the head or hit by something maybe a boat. That upset me for a while.

Curlew

 Flying Curlews

 Red Shanks

 

 

The Pride have all been very sociable last night Willow and Pandora slept on our bed. Maia is allowing both Tony and I to stroke her for a short time. When we return home this afternoon all the cats were waiting in the room for us. (feeding time)

 

Well Today I could not decide which picture to use so I have used four.

 

Today's photo of the day

 



 The Performing Seagull.

 

Until tomorrow...

 

It's that bloody window

 

 

 

Today's photo of the day

 

 

A Female Siskin

 

It rained all day so the photo had to be taken through the window.

I did get some cat pictures but not ones I want to share yet.

 

We were honoured today all three cats came and sat in the room with us, Willow even came and curled up on my knee. (she knows where her next meal is coming from!).

 

The Pride have settled quickly and seem happy enough to be left with us, which I am glad about one less stress for Matchgirl as she prepares for her marathon run in London.

 

 

Until tomorrow...

The Rural Retreat at last

We moved in to the Rural Retreat today. After waving off Bassman and Matchgirl we began to settle in.
The camera was set up, we reintroduced ourselves to the cats. Everything seemed to go well.
Willow came to inspect what was happening, it's true she is the crazy one of th pride.
Pandora took a while longer but once she knew where the food was coming from she came round.
Maia is still not too sure but she came down to eat and sat in the room with me for a while this evening so This seem ok.

 

 

 

Todays photo of the day

 



 

 

 

A Great Spotted Woodpecker

 

 

Until tomorrow...



Another one through the window

 

Todays photo of the day

 

 

A Song Thrush

 

It had certainly been singing.

 

 

Until tomorrow...

You rascally rabbit

 

 

We stayed in all day because the weather was not very good at all. The wind was blowing, the rain fell most of the day and it just made us not want to move.

 

I spent most of the day reading Tony spent his time watching a DVD and looking on eBay.

 

 

Today's photo of the day

 

A Rabbit.

 

 

All the photo's I managed today were through the window there were lots of rabbits so they were the obvious subject.

 

Until tomorrow...

Red Deer in the wild

Today I photographed a Red Deer in the wild another first for me, yeah! I dont count the last one because it was so far away it was like a blot on the horizon but today I got not one but two.

 



I

 

 

 

They may not be fantastic pictures but you can see the deer.

I have not chosen the deer as

 



 Todays photo of the day

 

 

A Family Snap

 

Until tomorrow...



The tail of a Dolphin

 

We had a walk along the beach this morning. We timed it so that the tide was right for the Dolphins.

 

I have never managed a good Dolphin shot, I didn't this time either I did manage a tail with some really good water splashes!

 

 

 

Todays photo of the day

 

 

The tail of a Dolphin

 

 

Until tomorrow...

A ride through small villages

 

 

 

 

Todays photo of the day

 

 

An Oyster Catcher

 

This was taken at Portmahormack, there was also a lot of smaller waders they were either Dunlins or Knots, I am not sure which.

 

 

 

 

One last photo

 

How can something so ugly taste so good?

 

Until tomorrow...



Tollie Red Kites

Russell took us to Tollie Red Kite Centre today we saw some beautiful birds there. I took some photo's of Red Kites and a couple of Buzzards. I was really looking forward to putting some pictures on to show everyone the birds that we had been lucky enough to see.

I came back to the cottage put the photos onto the laptop, and what did I have worth showing?

 

 

Todays photo of the day

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Male Chaffinch.

 

His expression says it all.

 

Until tomorrow...

A morning in Invergorden

 

Today's photo of the day

 

 

 

 

The Seagull

We had a ride into Invergorden this morning to see Russell at his craft fair we were very mean and did not buy any thing. We had a walk around outside which is where I photographed the seagull.

 

Until tomorrow...



The Crow

 

 

Today's photo of the day

 

 

 

The Crow

 

There were a few small birds in the garden so I put some bread out. They didn't get a look in! This big fat crow swooped down and took most of it in one beak full.

 

Until tomorrow...