Monarch Of The Glen

One of our friends works for the Ullswater Steamers. One of his chores is to guide groups on the 'Red Deer Rut' trip that they offer. On his day off, he very kindly offered to take us for a private viewing. Rose, Nick's wife is on holiday this week, which meant we could all go.


Husband and Rose get their eye in deer spotting





You'll need to double click on these, Red Deer and Bracken are a very similar colour! Once we started to spot deer, we gradually found more, and more, and more; here a stag (on the left) is surrounded by about half a dozen hinds
Stags were roaring from all around. An unbelievably evocative sound as it echoes around the valley.
Monarch and his ladies on the skyline as we head back to the car after an awesome couple of hours.

Winter Visitors

A trip to the bottom of Carrock Fell this morning to see the Blencathra meet and catch up with friends visiting the area. It was as forecast, blustery showers with (brief) sunny spells. It was also 5'c. We were amazed at the turnout, and after half an hour of socialising the hounds moved off; and so did we. Home!
We have been seeing a bit more of some of our winter residents and visitors of late. We were pleasantly surprised to see a Brambling in the back when we came home. We didn't see much of them last winter, although plenty the winter before. Perhaps this year is going to see a large number of them again.
We have Dunnocks in the garden all year, but through the summer months, they seem to disappear amongst the shrubs. I had my camera ready to try and get a shot of one of our Wrens who has recently started to appear on a regular basis (another bird we see nothing of all summer). The wren frequently sits on the goose, but never when I have the camera ready. This time the Dunnock decided to fool me.
We also have two Robins in the back, plus at least another one in the front. Again we see very little of them in the summer.
And for this last shot you'll need to double click or get your binocs out. Living in an area so full of natural habitat does mean that a lot of the birds we get when food is in short supply just abandon us when natural resources are abundant. The Partridge family are a classic example of this. Daily visits for months on end, and then nothing for months. Suddenly they have started to reappear - although they rarely come in just yet, they just keep scurrying past having a recce

And Then It Rained

For our Friends in France, and indeed for our Friends (and Family) in the rest of the UK, you might be interested to know that we have had 65mm of rain - that's just over 2.5 inches so far in October. Farmers in the village (real farmers, not the pretend one) have never known their land so wet. And that my friends, is why they call it the Lake District!

From Bicester to Blencathra, via Blankney.

It all started over thirty years ago when the highlight of winter weekends was a full days hunting with the Bicester. Work commitments and the lack of a horse put a stop to that, but then in more recent years, we gave the Blankney our support in a low key, non mounted kind of way. Supporting the Blencathra seems like the obvious next step - and no horses are necessary; except the odd wooden one on racenight.
If you look closely, Husband is on the far right, just past the window and as we were sitting right by the finishing post, there is a bit of both of us in this one!

A good night was had by all, with supporters from as far away as California - oh and of course the obligatory Lincolnshire Lords and Ladies.
Photos courtesy of Blencathra Foxhounds

Autumn Sunset

So often the photos we take of sunsets just don't do them justice. For once, they were close to the truth this time.

Standards Are Slipping

Lois is such a superb cook and hostess, it is inevitable that you always feel that you can't produce meals to her standard however hard you try. A deal was struck just before they left for sunny France: The next time The Village Mafia get together, it'll be Pie, Chips and Beer.

Cheers Roger and Lois!!

Two Years Later - In The Front

Having done a comparison of the sales brochure pictures and the current state of the back garden, now seems a good time to compare the front. There were no pictures of the garden, just one of the front of the house. You may want to double click on these to see the true difference.

Then we changed the door and window (Picture taken Feb 2010)


Since the pebble dashing was finished, Husband has been busy painting the porch pillars to hide the last of the public convenience bricks. To say we are happy with the results of recent works would be the biggest understatement of the year!

Husband came up with another bright idea today - to paint the 'ceiling' of the porch white. It is currently a nice 70's brown wood and he feels (rightly) that white would really finish everything off and lighten the entrance (and the wetroom into the bargain). Best of it is, I'm not to be trusted with paint, unless it is emulsion on walls ;-)

Capability Brown - Eat Your Heart Out!

Much like the back garden, the front had little of interest or colour. Ok if you like Leylandii and Hostas, oh and the odd lily, but pretty bare in the winter, pretty drab all year - with the exception of a fabulous show of snowdrops, and a horrible mass of cultivated daffodils (YUK) and a fabulous but neglected, rambling rose. We have done bits and bobs ever since we took up residence, mainly sorting out the veg plot at the side and removing a few trees. We also used the front as a nursery area for anything that was in the back, worth saving, but no longer needed in there. This was it at it's best last August.

Then, early in the spring, we made a start on the bed near the drive. Rehoming many hostas and a couple of huge clumps of lilies, planting a corylopsis that had been moved from the back and a few other things which had been given to us as house warming presents.
Then, after much searching of nurseries over the last couple of months, and finally making use of the influx of autumn stock available, we set to in earnest, making the most of the best autumn weather imaginable.

The tree (or what is left of it) is temporary. The birds love to roost in it in the winter, and it currently has tropaeolum climbing up it which I am not prepared to upset. The plan is to take the tree down in early spring.

We are hoping that we will now have a garden with something of interest all year round.

That grey brick pillar will be a different colour next time you see it too!

Wildlife in September

Red Squirrels are now frequent visitors, and finding anything to beat them into the spot of 'Highlight of the Month' is pretty unlikely. The low light of our time here was the Grey Squirrel visit. Through our volunteering work with Penrith Red Squirrels we are all kitted out for grey control and sprang straight into action, but it was never seen in the village again, so we can only assume it was on passage elsewhere.

Transformation?

The lads were here bright and early to get set up and start 'dashing'.

It really is exactly as was described. Mix up a slurry with the stone chippings in, and then throw it on the walls with a small shovel/trowel. If you look closely at this picture, you can even see the wet dash leaving the trowel!
They put in a long day, and were extremely diligent about tidying up after themselves, but by dusk, this:
Had turned into this:

Facelift or Holiday?

After a weekend down in the Midlands, celebrating Mum and Dad's Proper 50th Wedding anniversary (as opposed to the 'official' one that happened in June), we were back into the deep end this morning.
People often ask us if we are going on holiday. Our sickening response is always 'every day's a holiday to us'. However, not having been on holiday for the last two years is justification for spending money on a facelift instead.
The front of our house is not it's best feature. 'Public Convenience bricks' is how husband affectionately describes it. However, the back and one side are already pebble dashed, so we have thought for a long time that this would be a great idea on the front and remaining side.

With an evenings notice, to get everything out of the way (that'll teach us to disappear for a long weekend!), Dougi and pals arrived at 8am, on what has to be one of the best September days in recent history.


25'c this afternoon - hence Dougi's son being bare chested.

By 6pm, all the first coat of plaster is on and everything that matters (like windows) is covered in plastic, ready for the slurry chucking session tomorrow.

Lets hope the forecast for the next few days is right.

Planting a Triffid

You may remember the Acer we brought with us from Lincolnshire - the tree with rather a dodgy heritage. Well since being here, it has been sitting minding it's own business, on the front path. However, twelve years in a pot for a tree that was already over 20 years old when it went into that pot; it was high time it was potted on. The only sensible solution was to put it into the ground. The only sensible place was near the front door, as sheltered as anywhere in Windy City. Sounds easy doesn't it?

We moved it a while back, to see if we thought it had a hope of surviving in that spot.
So having decided that it was going to happen, the back end is the time to do it. 109mm of rain so far in September was always going to make it hard work, but if we don't get on with it - all the other planting that is waiting to happen in the front will be delayed. So, better dig a big hole (again!)

At the bottom of the hole, guess what? We found a rather large stone. As it was below the required level, we thought we'd leave it there. Then Husband changed our minds!

Having dug said hole and removed the stone, it was time to get the tree out of it's pot. That's a metre rule. It's a big pot.

We called the cavalry in. An ex forester and a landscape architect (and winners of the local gardens competition!) - pretty fitting really. After an awful lot of broggling, pulling, shoving, digging, scraping, huffing and puffing. One very pot bound tree was finally minus it's pot.

Loosen the roots, drop it in the hole, twist it this way. No, twist it that way. Back fill with compost/soil combined and then get the Gill the Landscape Architect to add the finishing touches. Voila! All that remains now is to dig up the remaining borders in the front, and replant them all!

Four (Mad) Women on Bikes

Our friend Joan, who owns the best holiday cottages in Cumbria, is in the process of biking the C2C with three friends. They have only chosen the week when Hurricane Katia has decided to makes it's presence in this part of the world.
As they were passing within shouting distance (I can shout loud!) today, it was agreed that we would meet them for a coffee at the local Cycle Cafe.
Timed to perfection, Joan leads the way as they cycle to meet us just as we arrive at the cafe

Suitably refreshed, the four intrepid explorers get ready to start the next leg of their journey. Hope the winds calm down ladies!

Not On Our Patch

It's out 6th Wedding anniversary today. Full of happy memories, and now one unhappy memory. Sitting having an afternoon cuppa, watching 'The View', we were gobsmacked to see a Grey Squirrel hoping towards the garden. (Picture courtesy of Penrith Red Squirrels Group )

As volunteers with Penrith Red Squirrels, Grey control in this area is partly our responsibilty, so to find one on our own doorstep is really frustrating. This is the second siting in the village in the last month. Attempts to catch the culprit on the first occasion were in vain, so at least it has returned to give us another opportunity.
If any of you think this is harsh - then think again.
This information is lifted from the Penrith Red Squirrels Website:

The facts
There are only about 20,000 red squirrels left in England, mostly in Cumbria and Northumberland.

There are over 3 MILLION greys!

The decline of reds is directly attributable to grey squirrels which were introduced from America in 1876 and whose population has exploded.

The bigger grey out competes red squirrels for food but more critically a large number carry the highly infectious Squirrelpox Virus (SQPV) to which they seem immune but is fatal to reds.

SQPV is similar to myxomatosis in rabbits (although not linked) and is identified in the initial stages by poor coordination and lethargy. By the second week lesions around the mouth, nose, eyes and genitals quickly followed by a pitiful death. (see the photo ).

They're Not Blueys, They're Mine!

We love Blue Tits. I think they must be one of the most recognised birds in the UK. I can remember them feeding from the coconuts Mum hung outside the sitting room window at home, We do the same here outside the sun room and are always really pleased to see them hanging upside down on the shells. In an effort to provide them with more varied feeding opportunities, we hang monkey nuts around the branch of the tree for them (and the Great Tits and Coal Tits) to peck at.

There was a loud drumming coming from the tree. It sounded like one of the many Woodpeckers we get

But no, it was a Nut Hatch, very determined to get hold of Blueys nuts.

Pecking with all his might to prise the little brown jewels from their shell

It looks as though someone else has suddenly found them too......
Looks like the Blueys are going to have to stick to the feeders in future