Wildlife in March

Visitors to Mr & Mrs B's garden this month include:

Rooks
Stock Doves
Starlings
Long Tailed Tits
Blackbirds
Dunnocks
House Sparrows
Blue Tits
Great Tits
Coal Tits
Siskin (by the dozen now!)
Greenfinch
Goldfinch (also by the dozen)
Robins
Collared Doves
Pied Wagtail
Bullfinch (Only once, towards the end of the month)
Yellow Hammer (once)
Nuthatch
Wren (we had lost one through the hard winter, so really pleased to see another)
Kestrel
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Jackdaws
Hen Pheasant

In the field behind the garden:

Partridge
Cock Pheasant
Lapwings (flying over!)

A new feature this month......
Wildlife heard from the house/garden:

Curlew
Long eared Owl.

A Good Day in The Garden

We have been wanting to sort out Compost Corner for quite a while, but in order to do this, we needed to empty one of the two tardis compost bins we have. That has meant waiting until the veggie plot is dry enough to dig over and incorporate the compost.
Finally the day arrived. First job of the morning was to dig over the plot and dig in the compost. That done, and first tardis moved out of the way, meant getting on with demolishing the old fencing (which was rotten and useless);

Then, slabs lifted, the gound beneath needed a bit of a sort (old rats nest below slabs!) and then the slabs relaying.


This done, it was then time to move the contents of No:2 tardis into No:1, now positioned on the slabs. This then leaves us ready to slab the area below No:2 - when we have some more slabs.
Why is it never that easy? Underneath No:2, was the stump of a leylandii (which I had already forgotten about!). If slabs are to be laid there, then there was nothing else for it. A lot of digging and scraping hacking and lopping and Hey Presto......

Time for a hot bath now I think.

Welcome Visitors

March has been a busy month in the garden for our visiting birds, although some of our less common visitors have been a little illusive. Our Nuthatch has been, but only a couple of times so far this month, Woody the Great Spotted gave us a fabulous display today, but that is the first time we have spotted him for a while and we have once spotted a little Wren. That really was a delight as the last known sighting of our Wren was a dead one, a victim of the harsh winter weather.
Siskin had become regulars, but the early part of March seemed as though they had gone elsewhere. However, they have steadily been returning in the last couple of weeks, and are now as frequent as they were before.

Photo courtesy of The Husband.

Moving On Up

Christmas/Birthday presents don't come much more useful than this!
Thanks to Husbands No:2 Son, we now have a new hatch AND a loft ladder...


Not only that, but we also have an area boarded out in the loft too.


Time to start sorting the shed/garage/under the beds/on top of the wardrobes.

Plan B

Our loft is a joke.
Plan A was to store all the boxes labelled 'LOFT' up there soon after moving in. This was not to be. The Hatch is in a space the width of a door, and when you get up into the loft, you can't move in any direction for water tanks and chimneys; let alone put boxes up there. Instead they went under beds and in the garage, so the garage stuff went in the outhouse, and the outhouse stuff got buried, so we can't get at anything even if we do know where it is.
We will NOT be beaten. We'll have a hole somewhere else instead. (Husband examines the whole to check this one is in a sensible place)

A couple of hours later and said hole is no longer just a hole. It's a whole new loft hatch.


Hole and hatch courtesy of Husbands No:2 son (Christmas present). Delayed to fit in between all our house guests and travels!

Birthday presents will evolve over the next couple of days. Watch this blog for more info.....

New Home anyone?

Better late than never, we decided that it would be a good idea to provide some nesting sites for our feathered friends. OK, so maybe they have all chosen their des-res for 2010, but at least they will have somewhere to roost in the winter.

A friend locally has started making nest boxes and wooden planters as a hobby. Poshest nest boxes I've ever seen!

Robin box........



Tit box!............



All we need now is Chris Packham on the sofa - and a nest or two.

Common as Muck

Having removed all the hardcore and concrete rubble from the ex patio yesterday, the plan for today was to get some FYM to fill the void.

We went for a walk instead!


High Pike was our aim, with a very handy shelter near the summit for a spot of soup.
And a memorial seat on the summit to rest your weary legs. This is in memory of a 16 year old local lad, killed in 1944 (presumably in the war). Mick Lewis.

On the way up the fell, we had passed some red grouse, and once up here, the summit was alive with the sound of sky larks which were hovering overhead, on the track down we found a number of clumps of frogspawn.
Spring really is on it's way.

All that and still time to fill the hole in the garden with muck when we got back!

We didn't like it anyway.

Plans for the garden are on hold. 'We might as well leave it for twelve months and see what comes up'. Two things are certain though; one is that we want to extend the veggie plot; the other is that the silly little twee patios will have to go....eventually.

Thought process...
If you plan to dig up the turf where the extended veggie plot will go, you may as well put the turf somewhere useful. One of those silly patio things looks like the ideal spot.

Having removed the gravel from the edge, Husband gets to work digging up the slabs.



A lot of banging about to knock the concrete off, and voila......



All it needs now is the hardcore taking out, a liberal application of FYM and a jolly good digging!

The first Signs of Spring

We have had glorious weather ever since we returned from our 'hols'. It's beginning to feel very much as though spring is just around the corner. The daffodils have suddenly started to move; buds are appearing on shrubs and trees; catkins adorn hedgerows and the birds are suddenly looking brighter and more colourful as they pair up for the nesting season and busy themselves gathering suitable home building materials.



Just to confirm that spring really is coming, Katya and Imp have had their fleeces clipped!



Hattie however is still in her full winter coat


Or at least she was until lunchtime!

You can't go anywhere.

We were invited to join our neighbours for an afternoon at the local Point to Point today.

We are both full of cold (germs picked up in Lincolnshire!), so when we heared that our neighbours friends had a horse running in the first race, called 'One Sniff', we just knew we had to go!

Picnic packed, off we all went for a 'Jolly Day at the Races'. Hattie meanwhile was shipped off to her new 'Aunt' next door for the afternoon.

We got there in good time to have the obligatory glass of wine at the back of the car, before heading for the lorry park to wish One Sniff and his humans good luck.
Husband gets his tips straight from the horses mouth.

One Sniff looking pretty laid back as he heads down to the start.

Neck and neck as they jump the last fence. One Sniff finally finished second. All that remained for us to do was eat and drink our picnic whilst we watched the remaining races.

Shortly after the first race, we were joined by a friend of our neighbours; Melvyn. Chatting away, we soon discovered that we had a bit in common. You really can't go anywhere. Melvyn lives in Lincolnshire, and is good friends with many people we know in the Blankney hunting area. I guess when Sally reads this - she'll know exactly who I'm talking about!

Carpets and Curtains

Lesson of the day.......

Always believe the shepherd, for he is wiser than the met office man.

Which would you do? Make curtains, or go for a walk?

We decided on a low level walk as there is a lot of snow on the Northern slopes of the fells. St John in the Vale is a lovely valley just east of Keswick. Famous for Castlerigg Stone Circle, which is where we started our walk (no pictures - too many tourisits!)

St Johns also boasts a Youth Hostel, just coming into view....

Behind which sits this beautiful little Church, built int 1813, and had it not been so inconvenient for family and friends, this would have been the site of a very important wedding in 2005!

The final stretch of the walk passes Tewitt Tarn, where we found some really healthy looking Fell ponies munching away happily.

Never mind. The Curtains can wait for a rainy day.

Watching the Sun Set #4

Another glorious day today. -5c overnight turned into wall to wall sunshine. So nice infact, that I spent time pottering about in the garden. The soil is far too wet to do much, but a small area known as Hilda's Corner was in need of a jolly good weeding.
The forecast for tomorrow is awful. A day for choosing carpets and curtain making looks to be in order. The shepherd in me begs to differ though.........

We'll see what the 'morrow brings!

Nice to be back home

After nearly 3 weeks away from home, we arrived back yesterday afternoon. It's been lovely to catch up with friends and family and looking after friends animals is always good fun.
Waking up this morning was a bit of Deja vu.....

I'm sure this stuff is following us around.
Luckily today turned into a beautiful sunny day, so the snow was not long lived.

Wildlife in February

As we only managed to be at home for about 9 days this month, we have probably (hopefully) had visitors that haven't made it onto the list. This is what we did see when we were here though:

Starlings
Blackbirds
Dunnock
Sparrows
Chaffinches
Blue Tits
Great Tits
Coal Tits
Siskin
Green Finch
Robin
Collared Doves
Gold Finches
Nuthatch
Long Tailed Tits
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Stock Doves
Bull Finch (male - just once)

****MOST EXCITING OF ALL****

While we were away, our lovely neighbour who was keeping the bird feeders topped up, saw a red Squirrel on our bird table! YIPEE!!

The Other Men in my life.

First thing on Saturday 21st we left the borders and headed down to Lincolnshire - via home for a quick change of luggage.
Arriving at our 'home' for the next 10 days; house sitting for friends who were off skiing in the morning. Little did they realise that we were bringing ideal skiing conditions with us. As they headed to Stanstead airport on Sunday morning, we were treated to another home from home outlook.

The main reason for us house sitting was so that I could indulge in the other men in my life. Bungle and Ferdy (seen in the snow in the picture above).
They are both absolutely gorgeous, but if I'm honest; Bungle and I have a bit of a special relationship!

Meet Bungle.....

Three months after having left the area, this was a great opportunity to catch up with family and friend. But first, Bungle and I had chance to get re-acquainted.

It was wonderful to be riding again, but I don't think Ferdy was so pleased to be left behind!

The great thing about looking after the boys this time (as opposed to when we lived just down the road from them), was being there day and night and being able to tuck them up last thing at night. There is something about a horse asleep that melts your heart.

Bungle wakes up as he hears me at the door.

Ferdy is the softy of the two of them. Whilst Bungle will jump up as soon as he realises you are there, Ferdy is more than happy for you to cuddle up with him for as long as you like. Yes. I did!

North of the Border

February has been a busy month. From 10th to 20th we have been up in Scotland to house; horse (4); dog (3) and Guinea Pig (1) sit for our friends on their farm in the Borders.

Home from home? The sun sets over the cattle sheds on our first evening.

Spaniels galore as Hattie settles down with Nip and Tug. Two of her companions for the time being.

'I love my dad' Tug snuggles up with his dad, Nip (nearest to the fire).

Four happy hounds. Nip (with the Cracker), Tug, Harry - in a rare moment of good humour - and Hattie get cosy by the Aga.


Some of Richards 800 ewes watch as we walk the dogs at the top farm. The Cheviots have a blanket of snow in the distance.

One of Richards many sheds of beef cattle at the home farm.

Spirit and Gabby - two of the four horses we are in charge of.....

What a lovely boy! Nip is very proud of his ball, and he's doing his best to make sure no-one else gets it.


Next stop; Lincolnshire................

Best Made Plans

The forecast last night was for cloudy, rainy and generally mucky weather. A perfect day to make curtains and watch the opening match of the RBS Six Nations. When we woke to a frost and clear blue skies, we did exactly what we moved here to do. We decided to change our plans and have a walk, so long as we were back in time for kick off!
Carrock Fell has long been one of our favourite weekend fells, because it is in one of the relatively undiscovered corners of the lakes. It is now one of our closest fells, just a few minutes drive and we are there, unless of course it's rush hour, Cumbrian style .............
The views of the fells open up as you reach higher ground

Hattie and Mrs B on the summit of Carrock Fell.

Snow topped Skiddaw from the summit

All that and we're not even on holiday;-)

This is why

68 Days and finally we made it. Our first 'proper' walk as a Cumbrian family! Something fairly gentle was required for Hatties sake (mainly) and something not too high and snowy as we are not into using Crampons and Ice axe.
Souther Fell fits the bill, with it's proximity to Blencathra, the views are pretty impressive. Also, not forgetting the fact, that it is just 'over the hill' from home!! Blencathra comes into view..

Wrapped up against the cold.