I thought that I would open up this topic for those with interest in the countryside, Garden and outdoors in general.
Mant topics are possible, but suggestions could include :
Country Do's and Don'ts, Birds, plants and wildlife both garden and in the British outdoors, activities, shows , rural history... LOTS out there!
I know this is under 'Chat & News' but I expect it to be chat and news about Pendraken, toy soldiers and the hobby in general.
I have a garden, in fact I am digging in it this afternoon but I don't expect to chat about it on a toy soldier forum.
Jim
Fraid it will be of little interest to me, in the late 60's I developed very bad hayfever so lost interest in gardening.
Why not - I know sweet FA about the countryside so it might be a good thing.
Mind you when I get depressed - I always end up watching this youtube channel to cheer up.
https://www.youtube.com/c/SaveAFox/about (https://www.youtube.com/c/SaveAFox/about)
Quote from: jimduncanuk on 13 June 2021, 01:08:35 PM
I know this is under 'Chat & News' but I expect it to be chat and news about Pendraken, toy soldiers and the hobby in general.
I have a garden, in fact I am digging in it this afternoon but I don't expect to chat about it on a toy soldier forum.
Jim
Jiim. Chat and News is under Non-Wargaming Discussion.... as is Fun Stuff. People post much varied stuff in these sections. Doesn't mean that games/military stuff cannot be put there, but the Forum has so many boards for such. If posts just put into Blather...etc, they would be swallowed up, so thought a separate Topic might be of interest to some members.
If it does not work out, it can be killed.
Scorching day in Newcastle! Take care with the digging!
Hedgehogs...Look After Them!
In the current warm, dry spell, Hedgehogs may become dehydrated if clean water sources not available. Put out a shallow bowl of clean water... BUT NOT MILK, which can give them 'the runs!' Bowl not so deep that a youngling cannot climb out.
Most nights, recently, have seen more than one having a good 'slurp'! Usually, a fair bit of their fluids come from Slugs, etc. but haven't seen many around... unless the Hogs ate them!
If you want to feed your hedgepigs, recommendation seems to be MEATY Cat food... (NOT Fish). Ours happily chomp ant the broken up Dog Meat that is also there for the Foxes. They can BOTH be seen, unconcernedly, munching from bowls within a foot or so!
Sometimes a bit of research pays off! I HAD thought that Mealworms could be a 'treat'... but from an article, in large quantities, can cause problems... just as well I looked!
Several sites deal with Hog care. Here is just one:
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/07/what-hedgehogs-eat/
Be careful with strimmers, mowers and bonfires. An FB 'Wildlife Rescue ' posted several pics of Hedgehogsafter strimmer incidents.. some survived.
As far as 'shelter' and Hibernation goes... couple of years ago, I put out 2 old washing up bowls with doors cut in and some 'Rabbit Hay' from a supermarket...no idea if used, but last Autumn, I 'went the whole Hog' and bought 3 'good quality Hogloos'... for a price! Stuffed them under bushes in sheltered spots. Haven't checked for evidince of use... but there do seem to be several hegepigs of varying sizes, trundling around, setting off the lights and guzzling,/slurping! Also bought a couple as EARLY Xmas presents in the Autumn!
They will probably have Fleas/ Ticks... so so not handle Hog or Bedding without care... and they can be 'messy little ****! However, I am very glad to see them around.
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 13 June 2021, 02:08:22 PM
Scorching day in Newcastle! Take care with the digging!
Thanks for that Heedless but there are too many distractions on this premier wargames forum.
As it happens the reason I am digging today is to reach the rats nest which has appeared in my back garden next to my wargames hut. I can't stop them visiting the garden but I can stop them gaining access to the said hut. Last year I had to wire grid off the base of the hut to keep the little
bastards rodents away from my figures. Now they are tunneling in from another corner.
I have bagged and bucketed about 200 KG of soil which might be about one fifth of what needs to go. Now I know what trench warfare was like.
I saw a Red Kite here today on the Eastern outskirts of Bristol which is a first :). I seen them near to Jct 18 of the M4, but it's taken some time for them to spread just a little further West. Hopefully we'll get to see them more often, which would be nice.
Quote from: jimduncanuk on 13 June 2021, 02:35:51 PM
Thanks for that Heedless but there are too many distractions on this premier wargames forum.
As it happens the reason I am digging today is to reach the rats nest which has appeared in my back garden next to my wargames hut. I can't stop them visiting the garden but I can stop them gaining access to the said hut. Last year I had to wire grid off the base of the hut to keep the little bastards rodents away from my figures. Now they are tunneling in from another corner.
I have bagged and bucketed about 200 KG of soil which might be about one fifth of what needs to go. Now I know what trench warfare was like.
Rats and me do NOT get along! A cage 'live trap' can be Horrifyingly effective.. 5 juveniles/'babies' in one go... but then ... what... ? :(
Strangely, don't mind Mice... so far, Mice don't seem to get into the house... but, sadly, Cat 'LOVES' them! :'(
Where have all the Ladybirds gone?
As a lad I planted Board Bean on a patch of my dad's allotment - and used to get fine crops from a February sowing - but now they are usually decimated by the bloody black-fly.
I remember seeing the small black ladybird lava all over the beans as a kid - chomping away on the blackfly pest - but now there are hardly any.
In fact the only ladybirds I now see are the ones that I find - doomed to die - wandering around the house in winter having been 'woken' from hibernation by the central heating coming on.
I've had to resort to either planting my Board Beans in October (& protecting them from the flying rats - pigeons) or spraying them with potatoes water, as that is about as close to a none toxic insecticide as I can get. Apparently it clogs up the aphids spiracles (breathing holes) and they suffocate (an old country trick) but not sure if it has same effect on ladybird lava (hope not) !!!
Quote from: Big Insect on 14 June 2021, 08:15:42 AM
Where have all the Ladybirds gone?
Insects in general. I remember driving down to the south coast ~30 years ago on warm summer days, and when you got there your front number plate and windscreen would be covered in the splattered bodies of dead "things". Now, hardly any.
Red Kites were released in the area some years ago, we now have lots. Apparently they have not spread out as expected du to people feeding them
Not seen a hedgehog round here for years.
We do see from our bedroom window in addition to a big variety of birds:-
Deer both fallow and Muntjack
Foxes
Badger in garden - probably why no Hedgehogs
Horses - i know they are not wild, but nice to see in fields
Various birds of prey
Quote from: Orcs on 14 June 2021, 09:43:00 AM
Red Kites were released in the children's some years ago, we now have lots. Apparently they have not spread out as expected du to people feeding them
Probably all the children they are eating!
Quote from: jimduncanuk on 13 June 2021, 02:35:51 PM
Thanks for that Heedless but there are too many distractions on this premier wargames forum.
As it happens the reason I am digging today is to reach the rats nest which has appeared in my back garden next to my wargames hut. I can't stop them visiting the garden but I can stop them gaining access to the said hut. Last year I had to wire grid off the base of the hut to keep the little bastards rodents away from my figures. Now they are tunneling in from another corner.
I have bagged and bucketed about 200 KG of soil which might be about one fifth of what needs to go. Now I know what trench warfare was like.
As a suggestion (maybe a bit late) - see if there is anybody locally with ferrets or trained polecats. Not only will they go under the shed and through all the rat tunnels hunting & killing their prey - but as they travel they leave a very strong scent that rats & other vermin can smell (but wont waft up into your wargames hut) and so put the little
buggers rodents from returning in a hurry.
It might just save you all that back breaking work and it is usually not that expensive.
We have a chap associated with our allotments who seems to do the job for fun, some beer money and the occasional spare surplus marrow (or whatever is in season).
*apparently he is still allowed to operate during the pandemic (as he was classified as 'pest control').
Just a thought
Well, not in the UK and live in an appartment. However it is right at the edge of the stad, so I can walk the dog in the countryside most days. Lots of woodland, canals etc. Hearing cuckoos for the first time in many years, woodpeckers all over the place, the frog chorus, roosting oyster catchers and swifts. Couple of photos.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51247219970_75e3809df1.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51245453347_e28bf6dd96.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51245456972_39207cc394.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51246168361_a3e7621ee0.jpg)
Quote from: Big Insect on 14 June 2021, 10:06:26 AM
As a suggestion (maybe a bit late) - see if there is anybody locally with ferrets or trained polecats. Not only will they go under the shed and through all the rat tunnels hunting & killing their prey - but as they travel they leave a very strong scent that rats & other vermin can smell (but wont waft up into your wargames hut) and so put the little buggers rodents from returning in a hurry.
It might just save you all that back breaking work and it is usually not that expensive.
The back breaking work has to continue as I am extending the patio to where there was a big bank of earth and it needs to be level.
The rats can't get under the hut anymore as I extended a metal grid all round the base which lets air circulate underneath.
Quote from: sunjester on 14 June 2021, 09:56:36 AM
Probably all the children they are eating!
Flippin autocorrect
Quote from: Leman on 14 June 2021, 10:16:30 AM
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51246168361_a3e7621ee0.jpg)
Nice bit of frog Camo there ...
Well spotted Leman and Big Insect ! I didn't! lol. ;)
VERY rare for me to see a Ladybird in recent years. :( True about Bugs on car, too. Have 'seen' a couple of 'Weird' insects where I used to work. Flies like Bluebottles... but bright PINK... like metallic nail varnish! Some brown/red thing...not a horsefly... but with a very sharp bite. Some sort of flying Ant?
'Children' LOL!!! ;D
Ferret Man a good suggestion for Rats... can't think why I've never thought of that! maybe 'the area' in which I live. :)
Our whole garden is still pretty trashed while we're doing work on it but we're getting a steady supply of birds still. There's a squirrel who comes to visit occasionally and we found a field mouse was living in one of our piles of turf/debris/dirt. Once we've got everything done we'd like to encourage hedgehogs if we can, but there's quite a healthy fox population in the area that we'll need to keep an eye on.
Foxes.
Must be 30yrs ago, Ma was Overjoyed to see a mam and cubs trooping down the drive to gobble the small plate of Hedgehog stuff... so she started feeding for BOTH! Over the years, there have been generations... and sometimes you could recognise... 'Fat Face', 'Pretty Fox', 'Silver Fox', etc.... from cub to adult... to 'gone'. 'Silver Fox' turned up for a few nights with a severely mangled rear foot... sticking up in the air... (Fight, trap, other cause?)... then didn't. Thought 'dead' from infection or other cause. Three months later, reappeared, just able to put foot to ground. Improved until could 'sort of' run . Visits became very occasional... but a young 'un with same colouring appeared..? :) :) :) Watching a Vixen, on 'overwatch' whlle cubs play fought on the lawn... safe... was a real pleasure! :)
I am rather 'ambivalent' about Foxes! I Love to see them and continue to feed... but I don't 'Trust' them... they are Foxes! ;D Too many cats just go 'missing'... though SO many possible causes. too often Human! :( >:( That said... most cats will 'see off' a Fox if healthy and awake. Current Cat used to 'stalk', 'chase' and generally 'scare' the half grown cubs . Now, he just sits and watches them feed... from a couple of feet away... and they, as adults, are Wary! ;D Maybe a food source reduces risk to cats, poultry, etc.? Don't know, but, Foxes are a useful 'disposal' service for cat-kill Pigeon carcases! lol.
The Hunting Ban is a subject BEST LEFT ALONE... TOO contentious!
(For the record, I am 'ambivalent'... never hunted, but know lasses who do. My attitude 'gradually' changing, but a 'fight' would push me back into defence. SO PLEASE DON'T GO THERE!).
I can very well understand that many who have Poultry, or lambs, etc. will HATE foxes. Well, fair enough. But, please do not set snares or such... and NO POISON BAIT! A German Shepherd Dog breeder from whom we got a pup, years ago, lost both his dogs from eating poisoned bait left as 'vermin control'. :'(
Foxes Welcome Here ! (But, I'm Watching You, Too !). ;)
If the weather was suitable, in the UK, I'd get some corn snakes and release those to get the rats.
Foxes are NOT popular at Techno Towers at the mo' (and with the folk across the road).......Presumably a vixen with young. The chickens are in lock down, as three of them have been taken recently.
The only time the 'chicks' are out, at the mo', is for an hour or so late afternoon, when Von's seeing to the gee-gees and the dogs are having a bimble around.
But as HH says.....Fox hunting as a debate is WAY too contentious...so lets' leave that well alone.
Only ever seen one hedgehog at Techno Towers......Used to get LOADS in Nottinghamshire...along with the sad little flattened scabs on the road from squished ones......And for the first time for years I saw one of those 'scabs' on the way into Cardigan a few days ago.
Cheers - Phil.
Love gardening!
Lucky to live in idyllic countryside with knocking on for an acre of gardens, loads of mature trees, herbaceous borders, lots of colour (I think we have about 40 rhododendrons!).
(https://i.imgur.com/LTorcsq.jpg?1)
locals are friendly too :)
(https://i.imgur.com/2A001ax.jpg?1)
I shoot the rats
That's a nice garden Matt 8)!
I love foxes but hate badgers, which is not going to be popular with some people. C'est la vie.
Quote from: Matt J on 15 June 2021, 09:15:19 AM
Lucky to live in idyllic countryside with knocking on for an acre of gardens, loads of mature trees, herbaceous borders, lots of colour (I think we have about 40 rhododendrons!).
My idea of hell! My understanding of gardening stops at the knowledge that "the green bits go at the top." Weeds seem to me to largely be pretty flowers that irritate gardeners by growing happily without needing human intervention. :)
Quote from: Matt J on 15 June 2021, 09:15:19 AM
Love gardening!
Lucky to live in idyllic countryside with knocking on for an acre of gardens, loads of mature trees, herbaceous borders, lots of colour (I think we have about 40 rhododendrons!).
That's a lovely garden and nice to see the birds are friendly! Were they like that already or have you had to coax them down over time?
Foxes are contentious in towns too. With an unsurprising lack of lambs, chicks etc about our local set have taken to chewing the wiring under our cars which shows up as a variety of faults. The fox alarms subsequently installed despite their marketing turn out to be audibly unpleasant to human children and some young adults as well. [A feature I have noted for future mis-use :d :d :d] Thus turning older car owning neighbours against "aren't they cute lets feed them" fox loving neighbours.
Good job we all hate the seagulls. (the birds not the team - the latter is even more contentious).
Beautiful garden Matt.
They don't mind being handled after they've knocked themselves senseless on the glass doors :)
Quote from: Matt J on 15 June 2021, 03:27:27 PM
They don't mind being handled after they've knocked themselves senseless on the glass doors :)
;D
Quote from: Steve J on 15 June 2021, 10:05:54 AM
That's a nice garden Matt 8)!
I love foxes but hate badgers, which is not going to be popular with some people. C'est la vie.
Once thought I caught a 'glimpse' of the back end of a badger disappearing around the house corner... but probably some sort of Dog! ;D
My locality too built up for them. Personally, I wouldn't mind, but other residents would NOT be happy. I HAVE seen pics of what they CAN do to lawns, beds, etc. ! :o
Mid 80s, I spent just a few weeks patrolling a Nature Reserve. We had a sett, but kept it pretty quiet for fear of local Scum digging it for baiting. Would have liked to go on one of the very occasional 'Badger Watch' nights... with trusted groups, but 'moved on'.
Otherwise, only seen at a dstance, when driving... and the occasional 'sad bundle of fur' as roadkill. Hope they made an equal 'mess' of somebody's car! :(
I understand that Badgers may not be popular... but as a little kid, the 'fight between Tommy Brock and Mr. Todd the Fox', was "Wanna hear again, Ma!" ;D ;D ;D
Matt: Lovely! :)
When my parents lived in Surrey they had a badger that would amble along on the other side of the glass of their patio doors without any apparent concern about those inside.
My closest badger encounter is therefore probably measured in inches!
Local foxes are incredibly tame. Had one trot along at my side one night like I was taking a dog for a walk. He was to my left and when we were almost home the fox wanted to go right and I wanted to go straight on. We wound up doing a very weird little dance around each other :)
Quote from: Ithoriel on 15 June 2021, 04:56:12 PM
When my parents lived in Surrey they had a badger that would amble along on the other side of the glass of their patio doors without any apparent concern about those inside.
My closest badger encounter is therefore probably measured in inches!
Local foxes are incredibly tame. Had one trot along at my side one night like I was taking a dog for a walk. He was to my left and when we were almost home the fox wanted to go right and I wanted to go straight on. We wound up doing a very weird little dance around each other :)
Just this morning, a neighbour phoned me about local Hedgehogs. In chat, she mentioned that a friend had been on local bridle path, (behind my house), at night and seen 2 sets of 'eyes' approaching... one was a Fox, the other a Cat... side by side! She was curios whether it was my cat... 'could well have been' ! ;D
My gran's cat was sister to the cat her neighbour had. A bigger, more thuggish, pair of tabbies are hard to imagine. Various dead or dying offering were regularly left on the respective doorsteps. Including, on one occasion, my gran finding the head and forelegs of a fox, her neighbour the back legs and brush and a trail of entrails across the two gardens. Damage to the fox suggested this was not a case of finding roadkill and bringing it home!
We had a doe take refuge in our back garden this evening. Some little yahoos were racing motorbikes around the neighborhood. Once it got to dusk and quieted down she snacked on our mulberry bush and moved on. Lovely creature.
When I lived on the outskirts of Dalkeith there was a strip of woodland between the housing estate and Dalkeith proper. I would use it as a shortcut on days the ground underfoot wasn't too wet.
Local rumour was that Red Deer roamed the local woodlands but considering I was through the woodland regularly and had never seen any sign (no droppings, hoofprints, tufts of fur or similar) I assumed it was urban legend. Until one afternoon I was ambling along and a fawn burst from the undergrowth a few feet ahead of me and vanished into the undergrowth on the other side. I made the mistake of stopping in my tracks in wonder .... at which there was a crashing of undergrowth beside me, a sort of strangled bugle and a hind crashed into me knocking me off my feet before disappearing after the fawn. Damn, those things are bigger than I'd realised. To be fair, I'm pretty sure she was desperately trying to avoid this idiot who'd stopped right in front of her.
Close encounters of the deer kind! :D
Our new place gives us a lot more opportunity for getting into nature. As well as having an actual usable garden (with which my wife is discovering she has an interest in gardening) and having some fields behind us with regular visits from various birds, insects, furry animals and large moo moos, we're also just a short walk from the coast, which gives us the opportunity for some lovely walks. It's been interesting to see the changes that come with the changes in season over the past few months, as well as how things look at different times of day and as the tide moves in and out. Lots of different plants growing up, and it's fun poking around the rock pools to see what's lurking inside.
A few recent snaps:
(https://i.imgur.com/KK7gKeE.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/BK7H9mi.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/tMqLseq.jpg)
Looks delightful mmcv. I'm very jealous.
If I ever do move, ideally it would be somewhere within walking distance of the coast, or it would back on to a (working) canal somewhere, so I moor my (mythical) narrowboat at the bottom of the garden.
(Come on winning lottery ticket . . .)
Given current predictions, if you want a coastal property in a few years time buy a property somewhere inland and tens of metres above sea level and wait :-)
Quote from: Raider4 on 16 June 2021, 12:20:42 PM
Looks delightful mmcv. I'm very jealous.
If I ever do move, ideally it would be somewhere within walking distance of the coast, or it would back on to a (working) canal somewhere, so I moor my (mythical) narrowboat at the bottom of the garden.
(Come on winning lottery ticket . . .)
Of course you would be flooed out frequently
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 16 June 2021, 12:59:41 PM
Of course you would be flooed out frequently
Canals don't* flood.
* Well, very rarely.
Nearly ran over a polecat yesterday.....It was making its way across the road towards the big barn.....I think it had a mouse or vole in its gob..Difficult to tell as it was moving quite speedily.
I trust its not got its eyes on the chickens !
Don't think it would be big enough to drag the chickens away...but whether it would just go and and have a killing spree, might be another matter. :-\
On the other hand, it may explain why I haven't seen many rabbits in the fields recently.
Be GREAT if it went after some of the rats around the barn !!!
Cheers - Phil. :)
Quote from: Ithoriel on 16 June 2021, 12:58:47 PM
Given current predictions, if you want a coastal property in a few years time buy a property somewhere inland and tens of metres above sea level and wait :-)
Yes some green outfit just put out a scare prediction that has most of Portsmouth , half of Brighton and all towns in between (including yours truly who is about 100m from the sea) could be under water by 2050. The only effect of this "report" will be for insurance companies to ramp up the premiums. Thanks a lot.
Of course if it is true, inland (and not riverine) members should expect approx 1/2million refugees being forcibly billeted on them by the emergency government.
And then presumably the Thames will swallow most of London.
Quote from: DecemDave on 17 June 2021, 07:06:07 AM
And then presumably the Thames will swallow most of London.
So something good will come out of it ;)
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 17 June 2021, 07:28:06 AM
So something good will come out of it ;)
As the Dee and the Mersey rise and join, I think you get to be Lord Kermit of Willaston Island.
The Dee is so silted that the only channel is on the Welsh side, and I'm lover 200ft above the Mersey.
Techno Towers is about 800/850 feet above sea level.
We were suffering from oodles of low flying cloud for a few days last week.....Had to drop about ( :-\) four or five hundred feet on the trip into Cardigan before getting 'underneath' it.
There's a TV/phone mast on top of the ridge opposite us......Maybe a mile (?) away, as the crow flies.....150-200feet tall (said he guessing wildly).
That can look strange sometimes when a thin layer of cloud (or fog) hides the bottom of it, and the top warning light is the only bit you can see.
Cheers - Phil. :)
8 maybe 10 Great Tits clustered around 'fat' Coconut and Peanut feeder, 6' from kitchen window. Big fledgelings... some starting to feed themselves, others still shouting for Mam and Dad! Nice sight to wake up to! :)
Interesting country this for tackling water. Last night absolute screamer of a thunderstorm, continuous lightning flashes, torrential rain and cars driving down our road and creating a wash as they went. This morning the road is as dry as a bone. I am 0m above sea level.
Are you sure about the 0m above sea level, Andy ?
Being driven back from Eindhoven to Amsterdam, to catch a plane (By my then boss, Bob Watts (Heartbreaker).....Absolutely, really lovely guy..)....
A certain person, in the car, came out with, isn't 'Holland' flat ?......... X_X
Spot the brain cell.
Cheers - Phil :)
No Phil you must have 2
Well, about a km away, and slightly downhill, there is an absolutely massive dyke, fom the top of which you can see Germany, about 5km away
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51259430109_96cca17548.jpg)
The dyke.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51258685141_9a5c23c2df.jpg)
Germany across the Eems/Wadden.
That's a lot of man hours!
For anyone who would like to 'visit' Stonehenge... with nobody about, I have posted a link to an interactive 360 tour on the Resources board.
Not Solstice, but interesting. Apparently there was supposed to be a 'Live Feed', today on MIdsummer Morning, but pulled due to 'pitch invasion'.
Suppose I can duplicate link here too, so:
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/history-and-stories/stonehenge360/
Not seen Butterflies... or Moths... so far... though could be early. Only One 'Wood'. A bit worrying.
A Few Bees. Escorted 3 from Bathroom this week... must squeeze in through fan. A site recommended a 'Bee bar'... a 'throwaway' plastic container of water with some stones for landing/drinking. Will probably 'slime' up quickly, though.
Hedgehogs and small birds seem to be thriving! :)
Seen a fair few of these recently:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Cinnabar_moth_%28Tyria_jacobaeae%29.jpg/800px-Cinnabar_moth_%28Tyria_jacobaeae%29.jpg)
But it's a moth, rather than a butterfly.
Striking.
Very few butterflies so far this year, which is unusual. Lots of bees though which is good.
Not so many butterflies here, either....at least around the house.....I expect they're all hiding out on the 'bog' (SSSI) over the road.
Bees/Honey bees ?.....Nah....No-one keeps any hives anywhere near us....Though once a year we usually get a swarm of 'wild' bees.
Used to see LOADS of those cinnabar moths in Notts...don't think I've seen any here.....I've got a feeling they like groundsel 'weeds' :-\..and that's a plant that's missing from around here.
Cheers - Phil. :)
In Netherlands so far seen Peacock, Red Admiral, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and Speckled Wood butterflies.
Netherlands, well South of Northunberland UK... so maybe, just early yet, for butterflies.
Bees.. mainly 'Bumble', 'Miner' Bees. 'Honey Bees'.. no local hives, that I know of... unless my old 'Middle School' still has one. One or two around, Though.
Took advantage of the fine weather to mow the lawn.
Discovered almost a dozen mushrooms growing.
Also an ant's nest appears to be under the patio - fine with me, unless they're the flying kind. Can't stand those!
Quote from: Raider4 on 23 June 2021, 06:32:01 PM
Also an ant's nest appears to be under the patio - fine with me, unless they're the flying kind. Can't stand those!
They will tunnel towards anywhere warmer and drier i.e. the house. Once in the house they will hunt out additional food sources.
Destroy the nest and fill any tunnels with cement.
The interesting thing about this thread for country lovers to admire the beauty of nature's creation is how about 1 in 3 posts seem to relate to finding dead things or killing them!!! :-
Clearly Leon needs to add ants rats badgers and foxes to the range.
Quote from: DecemDave on 23 June 2021, 07:21:29 PM
Clearly Leon needs to add ants rats badgers and foxes to the range.
Actually the badgers and foxes are there already Dave: https://pendraken.co.uk/scenic-items-terrain/animals/
Great. So with cows, sheep and a few brf42 to represent country living wargamers , a gridded table where you dice to discover any hidden rats and ants nests and we got a game on.
Hoorays & Roadkill? :D ;)
Quote from: DecemDave on 23 June 2021, 09:34:42 PM
Great. So with cows, sheep and a few brf42 to represent country living wargamers , a gridded table where you dice to discover any hidden rats and ants nests and we got a game on.
Hoorays & Roadkill? :D ;)
Maybe BRF49 if you want some serious firepower? .....BRF 51 brings to mind a certain Monty Python sketch ;)
Well....There will be a rat 'swarm', at some stage...But I haven't made any ants. :D
Cheers - Phil. :)
Quote from: Techno II on 24 June 2021, 06:12:13 AM
Well....There will be a rat 'swarm', at some stage...But I haven't made any ants. :D
Cheers - Phil. :)
Well we had a rat in our garden a month or so ago, I gave him lead poisoning, and not seen one since. I think they live in a neighbours wood pile and compost heap over the back, so none of the others have been the adventurous kind.
Quote from: jimduncanuk on 23 June 2021, 06:46:36 PM
They will tunnel towards anywhere warmer and drier i.e. the house. Once in the house they will hunt out additional food sources.
Wll, they're currently >40ft. away from the house.
But I have seen "Phase IV" . . .
Quote from: Techno II on 24 June 2021, 06:12:13 AM
Well....There will be a rat 'swarm', at some stage...But I haven't made any ants. :D
Cheers - Phil. :)
I mean at 10mm you could just present an empty base with some black flecks on it and call it ants...
Quote from: DecemDave on 23 June 2021, 09:34:42 PM
Great. So with cows, sheep and a few brf42 to represent country living wargamers , a gridded table where you dice to discover any hidden rats and ants nests and we got a game on.
Hoorays & Roadkill? :D ;)
Think we probably need some badgers and moles in there. And a fox in the chicken coop special event... could be a fun game.
Quote from: mmcv on 24 June 2021, 08:48:34 AM
Think we probably need some badgers and moles in there. And a fox in the chicken coop special event... could be a fun game.
My eldest lives in the country - badger in the chicken coop was his problem. Poor things :(
Just looked up BRF49
Hilarious
'Somewhere' I saw a photo of two 'Toff' School 'Boys' in 'Blazers & Boaters'... with one 'aiming' an enormous 'Punt Gun' balanced on the other's shoulder!
When the VBCW stuff came out, I was going to find and post, but never got round to it. Would have been a great 'Fun' addition! ;D
Back to 'Nature'... RAIN, Thanks be Praised! :o Everthing getting TOO dry. Now, back to the usual 'sog'! ;D
Been getting visits from what appear to be grey wagtails to the garden this week. Quite striking with their grey backs and yellow posteriors.
Quote from: mmcv on 25 June 2021, 12:23:41 PM
Been getting visits from what appear to be grey wagtails to the garden this week. Quite striking with their grey backs and yellow posteriors.
Have not seen for a LONG time. V occasionally used to bob about on stream rocks... but probabyt too 'closed in' now.
Usually see a pair each year....But no more than that.
One one rare occasion, we did get a 'flock' of pied wagtails in one of the fields.....Somewhere between a dozen and a couple of dozen.
Only seen a single one this year.....But that's what we'd usually expect.
Cheers - Phil. :)
Been up to Silverdale for a couple of days, highlights were the 3 spoonbills at the Eric Morcambe hide; ospreys, redpols and woodpeckers at Foulshaw Moss, marsh harriers at Leighton Moss, assorted deer at close quarters at Gait Barrows. :)
Once saw a grey flash across my back garden closely followed by a brown flash. Must have been a hen harrier chasing a woodie.
(http://1.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Punt-gun-1.jpg)
What a punt!
How many people drowned after using one of those ? :o
Cheers - Phil.
Is it intend to get an entire flock of duck with one shot ?
I think so, Ian.
I just wonder what the recoil was.....I assume you used it lying down, with some sort of 'bi-pod', at the front of the punt.
As I got a very sore collar bone using a 12 bore (incorrectly)....I wouldn't fancy firing one of those. :o
Cheers - Phil. :)
Never fired a shot gun, but an SLR on gas zero or a number 4 303 is bad enough. The L4 LMG walks away from you..... And yes it's fixed in a punt, hence name. Think it's a 4 Bore.
Using a punt gun in the Fens ca 1945
Well...If the gun was used on a punt, in such shallow water.......I think that's cheating. ;)
Cheers - Phil :)
Not unlike a scaled down marine's landing party.
You know the horse and musket ones with a light gun in the bow.
You think that's cheating!
(https://imagearchive.com/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fcbmm.org%2Fimg%2Fvisit%2Fexhibits%2Fwaterfowling_05.jpg&hash=a2d715389759c57e707ee21427c67ed6)
Quote from: fsn on 26 June 2021, 10:06:20 AM
You think that's cheating!
(https://imagearchive.com/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fcbmm.org%2Fimg%2Fvisit%2Fexhibits%2Fwaterfowling_05.jpg&hash=a2d715389759c57e707ee21427c67ed6)
Floating Volley gun ?
That WAS the pic fsn! Funny about memory... thought 'Striped Blazers! Just 'shows' about 'witness Statements'! :) 'Cheating'...Strewth!
Love the clip, Pierre! Imagine a WW2 German... 'infiltrating' Fens... hearing..."Handy Hock, you Jerry ******!" ;D
But... the Joys of 'Country Life'! :o ;)
Please Don't Feed The Horses / Ponies / Donkeys...
As people are getting out and about more... with School Hols... it can be a 'pleasure'... esp. for the kids... to 'Feed' the Horse / Pony / Donkey... or other animal, in its's field... and, of course... They want It!
BUT, it does NOT always have a 'happy ending'. :o
From FB, several times... sometimes reposted by veterinary staff... there have been 'Pleas' from owners, NOT to feed animals... sometimes after the Death or serious issues... caused by 'Well Intentioned' , 'Treats' given by walkers / Families... :(
Some stuff is just 'plain wrong'! I had a 'holiday' horse who REALLY, REALLY 'wanted' my MEAT pasty... NO! They cannot digest meat! :o ;D
Other stuff might seem ok... but have heard of Apples Carrots, etc. getting 'stuck' in airways.
Or someone 'donating' their kitchen scraps... including 'peelings' to hungry animals...
Animal digestion... esp. with Equines... can be 'strange'... I don't know the details... but serious consequences CAN happen. Not every time, BUT...
Even when a Treat is 'safe'... 'just for one little bit'... the next 20 family groups might think the same... and some loved creature may be 'on a special diet' for a reason.
So.... unless there is an owner present to ask... BEST NOT TO. Yes, it is Sad... but the 'possible' consequences MIGHT be Sadder. :'(
Now, feeding the Ducks, etc. MAY be different. A while back, the advice from Wildlife groups was NOT to feed the local park pond/lake Ducks... Bread. Bread has a rather low 'nutritional' value compared to what they SHOULD be foraging for. Then, they found that the birds were so used to being fed, that they were starving... so do... but their natural diet would be better... if it is there in their environment. Use judgement.
Seagulls... you might not get the choice! lol. ;D
We're never keen of folk feeding any of our gees in the fields....You never know exactly what they're offering the beasties.
I had a fight with a swan, on one occasion......(More accurately a 'tug of war') over a bag of 'swan nosh' you could buy at the garden centre, where there was bird sanctuary, near us in Notts.
Wretched thing didn't like the fact I was feeding all its chums......It wanted the whole bag to itself.
I won in the end !...But it was touch and go !! ;D ;D
Also fed a sporting superstar (Red Rum) Polos when he visited Southwell Race course.
I did ask his 'lad' first, though....."Yeah...that keeps him quiet."
Cheers - Phil. :)
Been attacked by a swan on TV we were doing some archiology in the river Dee and I must have got between it and the nest.
Archaeology is not something you can just swan about with.
Nobby - COAT !!!
...and give it a damn good chewing first !!
Cheers - Phil. ;)
Football last night.
One of Italy's substitutes was Bill Oddie.
(At least that's how i heard it).
Back in the early Spring, 'The Little Old Guy' HALF cleared 40yrs detritus, (about 15"!), from our small concrete pond.. one of the things he 'started'... and NO... he is not a wargamer! ;D
To be fair, He has personal life 'issues'... and will probably 'turn up' again... A lot of his 'kit' is cluttterng up the garage that he helped tidy out! ;D
Anyway, there was a Frog... so.... will have to someday, try to finish the job! :'(
We did have Newts at one time.
We are having our patio replaced, as the previous one was so uneven it was a death trap. As we have a wide side access we have a digger and a dumper truck in the back garden doing the groundwork
It has been fun watching our friendly robin and blackbird, as soon as the machines stop they are diving in out of them collecting the worms and insects that have been exposed. I am sure they think we are only doing all this digging for their benefit .
Quote from: Techno II on 27 June 2021, 06:33:11 AM
We're never keen of folk feeding any of our gees in the fields....You never know exactly what they're offering the beasties.
I had a fight with a swan, on one occasion......(More accurately a 'tug of war') over a bag of 'swan nosh' you could buy at the garden centre, where there was bird sanctuary, near us in Notts.
Wretched thing didn't like the fact I was feeding all its chums......It wanted the whole bag to itself.
I won in the end !...But it was touch and go !! ;D ;D
Also fed a sporting superstar (Red Rum) Polos when he visited Southwell Race course.
I did ask his 'lad' first, though....."Yeah...that keeps him quiet."
Cheers - Phil. :)
At the famous Deer Park in Nara the deer expect to be fed from the official packs of biscuits sold at the gate. While not quite elks, they're big, strong, and numerous enough to be a bit alarming, especially if you don't know how to say "That's all I've got" in Japanese.
Quote from: Orcs on 30 June 2021, 08:08:00 AM
We are having our patio replaced . . .
When people talk about patios being laid or relaid, I always wonder what's being buried for some reason. ;)
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 27 June 2021, 09:56:06 AM
Football last night.
One of Italy's substitutes was Bill Oddie.
(At least that's how i heard it).
They also have a striker named Immobile. Good job he isn't.
I had to put three fledgling robins back in the nest this morning while the parents panicked. Quite the wake-up call. There's a cat that passes through our garden at times so it's not safe for the wee birds before they can fly.
Quote from: Raider4 on 30 June 2021, 12:11:07 PM
When people talk about patios being laid or relaid, I always wonder what's being buried for some reason. ;)
My parents ashes for one thing.
Quote from: Raider4 on 30 June 2021, 12:11:07 PM
When people talk about patios being laid or relaid, I always wonder what's being buried for some reason. ;)
This brought to mind a long-ago, late night, end-of-party, conversation about a local woman who one of the group described as "laid more often than a serial killer's patio."
Quote from: Raider4 on 30 June 2021, 12:25:17 PM
They also have a striker named Immobile. Good job he isn't.
Indeed, worst case of nominative determinsim since another Italian footballer Gentille - purveyor of 2 footed "leg breaker" tackles.
Quote from: Ithoriel on 30 June 2021, 01:28:32 PM
This brought to mind a long-ago, late night, end-of-party, conversation about a local woman who one of the group described as "laid more often than a serial killer's patio."
Do you remember her email, by any chance?
Quote from: FierceKitty on 30 June 2021, 01:32:18 PM
Do you remember her email, by any chance?
Fortunately not that close an acquaintance.
Sticks and stones
May break my bones
But whips and chains
Keep the neighbours awake and lead to visits by the council and the local constabulary.
Hmm, not sure the rhyme and scansion quite work :)
That may qualify as wild life but I think we are straying rather far from the topic.
So, there's currently a fox fast asleep next to my garden fence. Bold as brass.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/401/nbdgZi.jpg)
Quote from: Raider4 on 30 June 2021, 12:11:07 PM
When people talk about patios being laid or relaid, I always wonder what's being buried for some reason. ;)
In my case, 'Inca' our previous German Shepherd Dog. About the only place free of tree roots! RIP, Lad. If a future occupant digs our garden and finds rotted or corroded, Suitcases, Mailbags or 'Cash Boxes'... NO LOOT... just long dead Dogs or Cats. Or, in one case...(MA'S DOING!)... A YELLOW PLASTIC Bread Bin! 5 dogs and 10 cats in the garden. No intention of 'moving'! :( :o ;D
Quote from: Ithoriel on 30 June 2021, 01:44:02 PM
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/401/nbdgZi.jpg)
Lovely. Thanks for that.
Quote from: FierceKitty on 30 June 2021, 01:32:18 PM
Do you remember her email, by any chance?
You beat me to it !
I do enjoy a thread full of good taste.
I went for a nice stroll yesterday over our local hills and through the hay meadows, that looked great and had a nice mix of wildflowers, which was good to see. More butterflies of late too. Then when in the local woods I came across our local school having their 'forest school' outing which the kids absolutely loved, running about like things possessed! So good to see kids out and about enjoying nature.
Quote from: Leman on 01 July 2021, 07:54:03 AM
I do enjoy a thread full of good taste.
But foxes DON'T taste nice.
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 01 July 2021, 02:11:25 PM
But foxes DON'T taste nice.
They don't taste as nasty as Squirrels - they are really nasty!
The locals round here disagree....
Martin Goodman was certainly a fan of a "lovely bit of squirrel".
A marvellous television character, played by a fine, fine actor.
RIP Paul Ritter.
Geoff
Went to a local food fair, and they were selling Squirrel on one of the butchers stands.
Quote from: Orcs on 01 July 2021, 06:19:01 PM
Went to a local food fair, and they were selling Squirrel on one of the butchers stands.
What next? Bats? :o
But, in my Grandma's day, 'Hares from The Fellin', were likely to be Cat! >:(
Quote from: Leman on 01 July 2021, 07:54:03 AM
I do enjoy a thread full of good taste.
It is, Little girls are said to be made from sugar and spice . :d
Quote from: Orcs on 01 July 2021, 06:19:01 PM
Went to a local food fair, and they were selling Squirrel on one of the butchers stands.
Nasty vicious tree rats ... (except the Red ones that are oh so cute & tufty) :D
I will have you know i was born in the Felling.
Nowt wrong with the Hares
;)
As a lad - during & after WW2 - my dad used to go out into the Kent countryside and shoot grey squirrels with his air-gun.
There was a bounty that was claimable from the local police station (I seem to remember it was a farthing or 1/4 of an old penny) for the squirrels tails. As they were deemed to be doing large-scale damage to forestry.
He then sold the rest of the carcasses - having gutted & skinned them - to the local butcher, allegedly to be turned into animal (cat & dog) food. Not sure what the butcher paid him for them.
He told me that he then cured the pelts - which drove my grandmother mad as the stink was horrific* - this seemed to involve stretching the hides on a frame, scraping them then leaving them (on the frame) in the stream at the bottom of the garden (he had an idea that this was to allow the small fish to pick the hides clean!). He then used cement dust to finish the cure - I think that the lime in the cement had some sort of anti-biotic effect. I cannot remember what he did with the hides after that - not sure who would have wanted to buy them. He claimed he got quite good at the curing process over time. His main challenge - aside from my grandmother - was his old English bull terrier. She took a fancy to the hides as they cured and had to be restrained from chewing them.
When my grandfather returned from the Far East (he was a Military Policeman in Burma after the war) he soon put a stop to the whole practice.
He thought it was all thoroughly unhygienic + the butcher stopped being interested in the carcasses and I think the tail bounty also ended ... but it showed serious ingenuity from a young chap.
*he also ruined her best milk saucepan by boiling the dead remains of a toad in it (so he could collect and mount the bones). Needless to say he went on to become a Marine Biologist - working for the Natural History Museum, the Royal Zoological Society and even NASA (but that is another story).
NB: I've just done a quick bit of research and the Forestry Commission paid a whole shilling for the tail from 1953 - see note below:
Between 1945 and 1955, County Agriculture Committees set up Grey Squirrel Clubs, which were provided with free shotgun cartridges by MAFF at taxpayers' expense. This mass culling failed to prevent grey squirrels increasing both in numbers and range, and in 1953 the Forestry Commission launched a 'bounty scheme', which encouraged the public to capture and kill grey squirrels, cut off their tails and take them to a police station to receive a shilling for each tail.
A 1953 shilling would be worth around £2 today.
After three years of this subsidised slaughter the 'reward' for a Grey's tail was doubled and remained at two shillings until the scheme was abandoned in 1957. More than one million squirrels had been killed under the four year 'bounty scheme', costing taxpayers at least £3million and yet, at the end, the grey squirrels were more numerous than ever and covered an extended range, despite all the shooting and trapping.
Evolution rearing its head again.
Interesting stuff about the squirrel bounty.
Thanks for sharing.
I'm reminded of The Great Hanoi Rat Massacre which happened in 1902. Hanoi was a French colony at the time and also plagued by rats.
A bounty was offered for every rat's tail and initially the scheme was a success. However, people being people, since the bounty was granted for every rat's tail, soon the place was overrun by rats with their tails cut off, left alive to breed the next generation. Adding to the problem were the increasing number of rat farms in the poorer parts of town.
The Law of Unintended Consequences in action!
Accounts of the effects of the bounty paid on human heads in Ming China make sickening reading. Even worse than the "war project" in the Americas.
Trees. Felling / lopping, thereof. Does anyone actually check whether their garden trees might be under some sort of 'Conservation Order' before felling?
Online Council site seem to want detailed 'applications' for specific actions. Will 'some Guy' come out to make an assessment... if asked?
Trees planted near house 50 yrs ago are TOO big. Scots Pine Healthy but 'leans' too near house. Spruces... past their best... still alive, just. Leylandii...need topping! 'OLD' Ashes need a 'trim'.
We seem to be in a 'Conservation' area... but, just can't believe that all the felling /lopping that goes on locally will have had 'applications' made!
Any thoughts?
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 04 July 2021, 04:48:02 AM
Trees. Felling / lopping, thereof. Does anyone actually check whether their garden trees might be under some sort of 'Conservation Order' before felling?
Online Council site seem to want detailed 'applications' for specific actions. Will 'some Guy' come out to make an assessment... if asked?
Trees planted near house 50 yrs ago are TOO big. Scots Pine Healthy but 'leans' too near house. Spruces... past their best... still alive, just. Leylandii...need topping! 'OLD' Ashes need a 'trim'.
We seem to be in a 'Conservation' area... but, just can't believe that all the felling /lopping that goes on locally will have had 'applications' made!
Any thoughts?
iIn this case its better to ask forgiveness than permission.
suggest a better route to "hack and be damned" would be to get an accredited Tree surgeon in to quote and advise if there is a Preservation Order on a specific tree. (or tell you how to check)
Other than that some trees need attention every few years to conserve them. (e.g. pollarding willows).
As to total removal, if you can prove a definite root risk to a residence or an expert says that type of tree should never be that close, your defence is already there for any challenge.
When I needed it, I was lucky in having a fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society in the extended family because I was managing a block of flats and was/am a complete "townie". We had to have one tree removed and others well trimmed and our local council insists on pre-approval even to replace double glazed windows with exact copies.
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 04 July 2021, 04:48:02 AM
Trees. Felling / lopping, thereof. Does anyone actually check whether their garden trees might be under some sort of 'Conservation Order' before felling?
We seem to be in a 'Conservation' area... but, just can't believe that all the felling /lopping that goes on locally will have had 'applications' made!
Any thoughts?
At our last place, in Notts, we
were in a conservation area.......yes....we did always check with the 'tree man' if work needed doing....Didn't always let us do
exactly what we wanted....But on other occasions he barely had a second glance.
The Laylandii (is that the right spelling ?) we wanted to remove he looked at from 50 yards....."Yep..take those down,"....
I
think we just had to wait until there weren't likely to be any birds nesting, that time.
There were a couple of Black Poplar hybrids, at the top of the drive, that were of concern, because of their condition.....
Very tall trees..and one was splitting where it had been pollarded badly.
Matey looked at those and said, "Don't even wait for the written permission..those are dangerous...arrange to have them taken down as soon as possible."
Where we are now, is within the Pembrokeshire National Park, and again we always check.
There are two huge Ash trees by the big barn, which we'd like to take down....But those are apparently 'an amenity'...
They've both got Ash die back (as have 90%+ of the ash trees around here)...But we'll have to leave them for the time being.
I think if we kicked up a fuss we could have them severely topped.
We'll get around to it at some stage......But we'd really like to have them removed completely.
Only times we haven't had to get 'proper permission', have been for work on the trees that the Highways department wanted sorted out.
Highways view of this is that they trump the tree conservation bod.
Then there's the local electricity supplier who tops any trees on our land, that might interfere with the overhead cables......
They sort all that out...and it's always free. :-bd
I'm sure not everyone goes through the right channels regarding getting permission......But
I wouldn't want to landed with any potential fines. :D
Cheers - Phil :)
I'm sure most of you have seen this, but just in case:
Tree cut in half in neighbour row over driveway pigeon poo (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-57598101).
Very odd - possibly criminal as well.
The trees behind us (at least the beech trees and maybe some others) are under a preservation order. There are plenty of ash with die back and a few trees leaning over the garden. Reluctant to get anything done to them though, the preservation order keeps anyone from building on the land behind. Apparently they tried maybe 15 years back and that's when the tree preservation order was placed.
At my parents there's a small stream lined with tall trees that separates them from the housing development behind. However the land there got bought over and knocked down and turned into apartments, and the developers just chopped down the trees and paid the fine as it obviously wasn't detrimental enough. So now my parents have had to plant leylandii to try and get some privacy back from the apartments overlooking them. Thankfully they had some mature trees on their side so only have a few gaps to fill. Frustrating though as it seemed unnecessary but must have allowed the developers to squeeze in a few more square feet of apartments.
In other news, had a hare (or rabbit, I think hare though) accompanying me for a short stretch on my run this morning. Hopped along ahead of me for a few seconds before diving into the hedgerows.
Leylandii do not have TPO's on them as they are considered a nuisance, due to their rapid growth etc. IIRC as a hedge they have to be 6' high only, again due to their growth patterns, as you have a right to light on your property and these can easily exclude that.
As for the tree cut in half, any tree, shrub etc over hanging your property, you have the right to cut branches off etc and the neighbour has to dispose of them. Generally speaking most people come to a sensible solution, but not in the case quoted!
Apparently the maximum fine for destroying a tree with TPO on it is £20K , not much ideterant if your building a block of appartme tht will sell for several million.
That's certainly very true, Mark. :)
I don't know about the rest of you....But Von and I buy one of the local rags (papers)...Just to keep up with 'local' news. (which is usually of no interest at all)
Once, every few months, there's a story of someone who has been a very 'naughty boy/girl' and done some tree work that hadn't been sanctioned, by the powers that be....and been given a 'damn good slap' money wise.
To 'Joe ordinary'....It would be an horrendous fine.....To a developer...... Absolute peanuts, for the potential profit, at the end of the day.
("Oh, Don't worry.....write that off against petty cash.")
Cheers - Phil ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: Orcs on 04 July 2021, 11:23:08 AM
Apparently the maximum fine for destroying a tree with TPO on it is £20K , not much ideterant if your building a block of appartme tht will sell for several million.
Which is why it was increased from £1,000. A supermarket looking at cutting down a copse of 200 trees for a new development is presented with a much bigger financial impediment. Having a single TOP tree in your back-garden becomes a serious issue.
The Bambi muggers in Nara.
Picked up wife from a wedding reception in the middle of wildest Gloucestershire on Wednesday night.
Coming back, round a corner on country round, baby deer standing in the middle of the road.
I slam on the brakes, wife screams, we stop and and there's a definitite "thump".
We look at each other and both think "Oh god, we've killed Bambi".
And then we see it running off, apparently no worse for wear.
Biggest sigh of relief I've ever let out.
Passenger in a car on Mull.
Simultaneously up over a hill and round a bend.
Highland Cattle bull in middle of road.
Thump! Bull sprawled on road, dead as a very dead thing.
Tyre punctured by very, very bent mudguard.
Spot farmhouse. Walk to farmhouse. Explain situation. Farmer pretty sure it's his bull. Mentions cost of bull. Gulp!
Walk back to accident site.
"Dead" bull munching grass on the verge all unconcerned.
Back to farmhouse. Vet and garage mechanic summoned.
Bull declared bruised but otherwise fine. Car towed off to panel beater.
Car repairs pricey but considerably less than the cost of a bull! :)
Watched a vid clip recently, (prob on FB), with Scots farmer 'driving' herd of 'Heeland Coos' past stopped cars. Saw another from 'over the pond', with a BIG herd of Bison You DO NOT MESS with either, lol! ;)
'Cattle' can be VERY hard to kill. A mate used to work in 'Cattle yards'. Sadly, there were instances when a 'terrified' beast would escape. One time, an 'armed', (not sure what 'with', cop turned up. He took three shots but failed to take the poor creature down. Mate got angry, just took the cop's gun and 'did the job'. Very Sad. :'(
Animals, whether Very Big, or Rat size can survive a LOT of knocks or wounds. When air-gunning rats, i would always 'put another couple in' so the 'dead 'un wouldn't get up and go. :o :'(
Same with troops. The MANY accounts of wounds sustained, yet someone could still carry on, are incredible, but...
It's amazing, in films, how may times someone shoots an enemy and then the shooter wanders off, leaving their seemingly dead opponent behind. The matter seems to be "settled". No, no, no. That's just a plot device.
Unless it is a zombie film - or you are very short on ammunition - then the reality is that you should finish them off. They may possibly survive that (seemingly fatal) shot in the side, but you can be pretty sure that a bullet between the eyes/into the brain is highly likely to ensure they ain't gonna reappear 5 minutes later in the film.
Back to rats. Sure, an air gun is good (and, indeed, often is fatal) but as a kid I always found it useful to have a spade too. A good, hard chop with the business end of a spade is likely to chop the beggar into two. If a rat can survive being chopped in half then it really is time to run - and run as fast as you can.
Geoff
Ps/ in retrospect, I seem to have drifted between "reality" and films/fiction. Just to two pen'worth anyway.
I've read that this is why a gunfight is in reality far more dangerous than movies pretend. There'll often be enough left in the man you've fatally wounded for him to return the favour before he succumbs.
Quote from: Ithoriel on 09 July 2021, 12:24:46 PM
. . . but considerably less than the cost of a bull! :)
Genuine question - would you be liable?
If the farmer doesn't want his bull endangered by traffic, surely he has a duty to keep it off the road?
Quote from: Raider4 on 09 July 2021, 02:28:23 PM
Genuine question - would you be liable?
If the farmer doesn't want his bull endangered by traffic, surely he has a duty to keep it off the road?
Was glad not to have to find out, for the bull's sake as well as ours. The question might have been would the cost of a bull be less than the cost of a court case.
Quote from: FierceKitty on 09 July 2021, 02:02:24 PM
I've read that this is why a gunfight is in reality far more dangerous than movies pretend. There'll often be enough left in the man you've fatally wounded for him to return the favour before he succumbs.
I remember an account of a shooting in the US between a cop and a drugged up perp, fought across a car bonnet. Even at that range the perp was too stoned to hit the cop. The cop fired several shots to no effect and, presumably convinced his gun was defective, looked down the barrel and pulled the trigger, killing himself instantly. Iirc, the perp survived several shots to the torso.
Quote from: Raider4 on 09 July 2021, 02:28:23 PM
Genuine question - would you be liable?
If the farmer doesn't want his bull endangered by traffic, surely he has a duty to keep it off the road?
It seems fairly clear , that the farmer is liable for any damage caused by his animals. So in the case of hitting the Bull The farmer or his own insurance should have paid.
https://www.harpermacleod.co.uk/hm-insights/2015/november/cows-in-the-road-what-to-do-if-you-have-an-accident-involving-livestock/
The Animals (Scotland) Act 1987 was 10 to 15 years in the future at the time of the accident. We were students at the time.
The great cicada rising of 2021. A video from our driveway looking toward the western woods where for a brief time there were millions of them.
Be sure to turn your volume up.
:o
Although she likes the sound of Cicadas (reminds her of so many good vacations), Mrs Westie says she is so glad she doesn't live in Ohio (sorry). ;D
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/08/cicada-crash-ohio (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/08/cicada-crash-ohio)
[.. even though it's only every 17 years or so.]
p.s. I wonder what the cause of death of the cicada was. :-\
Brood X is an eerie one. Large, blood red eyes (as the close up in your article shows). They emerged in trillions in the Mid-Atlantic and stopped at the first peak of the Alleghenies (where we live) they then reappear to the west of the Ohio River.
They are very docile creatures (unless they mistake you for a tree), so the one in the article probably died of fright! 😀
Most of the rest die of amorous exhaustion or bird strikes (many, many happy birds during the rising). Squirrels seem to relish them as well.
Quote from: Orcs on 09 July 2021, 03:07:15 PM
It seems fairly clear , that the farmer is liable for any damage caused by his animals. So in the case of hitting the Bull The farmer or his own insurance should have paid.
https://www.harpermacleod.co.uk/hm-insights/2015/november/cows-in-the-road-what-to-do-if-you-have-an-accident-involving-livestock/
Ugh. Yet another 'Law' for me to be 'anti' to. :(
'Upland' areas, whether in Scotland or UK, should not NEED be fenced. Stock, whether Cattle, Sheep or Ponies... or Deer, Pheasants, etc... have had THEIR 'Right To Roam', removed... and the stock owner 'automatically' liable.
Contrast with so many RTAs involving Pedestrians / Cyclists / Children doing something stupid... but the Driver gets the blame... unless able to 'prove' otherwise.
When I was young, I had great respect for 'Law'... (Often Contrary to others in My Generation!)... NOW... no. :(
Just chillin'
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/9131/77Enbk.jpg)
Completely spaced out !
Spaced out ?
YUKK ! :-&
That needs a lead pellet through the head.....Tree rats, and flying rats.....You can keep 'em.
Vile, wretched, things.
Cheers - Mr Reasonable. :P
You like squirrals then Phil.
My area still has a small population of Reds. Haven't seen one for a while... just a couple of fatalities. Only once seen a Grey locally.... hopefully just passing through.
About 30 yrs ago, there was a spell when a Red used to use the Nut feeder. Saw two chasing round a tree. I made a couple of Squirrel Huts... but the only residents were wasps, then Starlings.
A while later, a Red seemed to be building a drey... but may just have been temporary sleeping place.
Not sure whether I would shoot a Grey. Probably report it to a neighbour who is in a 'Red Squirrel Group' and let them decide on any 'action'.
Quote from: FierceKitty on 09 July 2021, 02:02:24 PM
I've read that this is why a gunfight is in reality far more dangerous than movies pretend. There'll often be enough left in the man you've fatally wounded for him to return the favour before he succumbs.
A couple of things here relevant to our wargaming, or at least those who play post 1900.
The "I couldn't possibly miss at that range" brigade need to consider things like moving targets, flesh wounds, pepped up warrior types and the fact that horses are rather bigger than people.
The trend for decreasing firearm calibre had been underway long before Nato adopted 5.56mm (to the horror of many old soldiers).
Some of the factors that kept life in the old .3?? inch and 7.??mm were.
* You can stop a typical man with a high velocity 6mm, but you won't stop a horse.
* You also won't stop an armoured car.
Similar stuff happened with Pistols against Mahdists, Zulus and especially Filipino warriors.
British officers still supplied their own sidearms during the Victorian era, so this saw the continuing popularity of:
* Large calibre Howdah pistols.
* Large calibre revolvers.
* "Manstopper" rounds for the .4"-.5" range revolver.
I heard something on the radio earlier this morning that made me shudder.
They were talking about Lyme disease...That nasty disease that can be passed on by ticks.
Ticks are creatures that I loathe even more than tree rats and flying rats....
Been fortunate NOT to see any for a couple of years......
Anyway..on the radio they were chatting about the types of 'wild' animals that ticks like to feed on, and one of the 'presenters' mentioned he and some of his colleagues had found a headless and legless deer body in a park.....and had spent a lot of time counting the number of ticks on the body.
"We got to 15,000.....then gave up, and went down to the pub."
Cheers - Shocked of Wales. :o :o :o :o
Quote from: Techno II on 11 July 2021, 06:51:33 AM
I heard something on the radio earlier this morning that made me shudder.
They were talking about Lyme disease...That nasty disease that can be passed on by ticks.
Ticks are creatures that I loathe even more than tree rats and flying rats....
Been fortunate NOT to see any for a couple of years......
Anyway..on the radio they were chatting about the types of 'wild' animals that ticks like to feed on, and one of the 'presenters' mentioned he and some of his colleagues had found a headless and legless deer body in a park.....and had spent a lot of time counting the number of ticks on the body.
"We got to 15,000.....then gave up, and went down to the pub."
Cheers - Shocked of Wales. :o :o :o :o
More Fun than watching Football !
Rather think they may have meant 1500... But... If I found a Headless and Legless Deer body... I'd be watching the trees, NOT counting Ticks! :o ;D
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 12 July 2021, 05:16:11 AM
More Fun than watching Football !
Rather think they may have meant 1500.
Could be, H.....Though I have seen what must have been hundreds (of varying sizes) on something as small as a hedgehog......YUKK ! :-&
Years ago, one of our cats picked up forty something from (we think) lying in some hay in the rabbit hutch.
She had to go to the vets and be K.O'd for them to be removed....She'd have never kept still enough to pick the little nasties off one by one. X_X
Cheers - Phil. :)
Quote from: Techno II on 10 July 2021, 02:02:17 PM
Spaced out ?
YUKK ! :-&
That needs a lead pellet through the head.....Tree rats, and flying rats.....You can keep 'em.
Vile, wretched, things.
Cheers - Mr Reasonable. :P
Totally agree, trouble is Mrs Orcs likes them.........
I thought this was a nice story !
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-57808517
Cheers - Phil :)
Thank goodness for that! It was starting to get a bit Country Vile.
Quote from: Techno II on 13 July 2021, 06:52:25 AM
I thought this was a nice story !
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-57808517
Cheers - Phil :)
Great Story
Personally I think we need to properly release a few more of them
With the weather almost Summery for once, I went for a 5+ mile walk this morning over the hills and through the fields in our local area. The hay meadows have never looked better, with a lovely mix of grasses and wildflowers, with an abundance of butterflies and the sounds of grasshoppers. I saw Small Whites, Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Commas, Gate Keepers and Small Tortoiseshells :).
On my holidays I got to see a Royal Albatross soaring around the cliffs of Taiaroa Head :) :) :)
Do you get wafers with that ? :D
(Hands up everyone that remembers that sketch.)
Cheers - Phil. :)
Na - it's an Albatross.....hi Mister Cleese :d
it's bl**dy seabird flavour :)
.....and it's on a stick!
Quote from: Leman on 14 July 2021, 07:15:03 AM
.....and it's on a stick!
Thats the Stormy Petrol
You've got to love Pedants' Corner. Have you tried the Spring Surprise in the chocolates range?
Prefer Crunchie Frog meself....
This 'ere is the Cherry Fondant. Now, this is particularly nasty, but we can't prosecute you for that.
Crunchy Frog...heap good....
Not a patch on the Anthrax Ripple ... I think Captn Parrot ate one of those :-&
On my recent walk I forgot to mention that I saw a fox in the field next to me, blissfully ignoring me as it scratched the living daylights out of itself. Also I noticed an oak tree had already started to turn, as well as a few sycamores :(. Winter is coming!!!
Still haven't seen many Butterflies and not that many Moths... apart from the hapless creatures that get indoors and need deportation.
There is a local 'oasis' amidst the housing infill... left for grass, scrub and wild flowers. Quite large.. about 3 football pitches... but not many seem to know that it is there... just a few dog walkers.
Haven't visited for a while, but it was a real pleasure, on a sunny afternoon, to watch Dog, ''nosing around' in the flowering 'Small Scabious'... and raising dozens of Butterflies... :)
Does one assume that the Countryside has been infested by Pythons? They were amusing, but i never really got into them... (Ma / Grandma did not approve!)... so don't recognise sketch.
Reality... two' nice' young Girls, (LTTB! ;)) down 'The Club'... happily sucking on 'lollipops'... one with a 'Grub' inside... the other, a 'Grasshopper'... even more repellent when the legs began to appear! BUT, that's Girls for you! LOL! ;) ;D ;D ;D
Aah..........the uptight British.
On a very hot and sunny day today, lots of species of butterflies seen, which was nice, given they've had a very poor start to the year. If you have the time or inclination, the Big Butterfly Count started today:
https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/ (https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/)
I saw a whole ONE butterfly yesterday......I'll have to look up which species......But for the first time since we've been over here, I saw a dragonfly. :-bd
Apparently on our bit of land that's part of a SSSI, there's a rare species of damsel fly...and a rare butterfly......(a Marsh Fritillary).......Never ever seen either of those.
The other thing that's missing this year is the Grasshopper Warbler....Never seen one of those.....But this is the first year I haven't heard one.
Cheers - Phil. :)
Right.....The next polecat I see 'bimbling' across the road.....I'm going to flatten it with the Technomobile.
The story so far.......
At three o'clock this morning, I was woken by some VERY strange sounds outside...(didn't sound quite like a fox, 'calling'..but it was very weird)....So much so, that I thought I must have been dreaming.....Back to sleep.
This morning....Out to do my usual early checks on the 'outside beasts'....Feed the little barn cat....Check the two gees, in the big barn.....Hmmmm. :-\
There are a lot of chicken feathers outside the chicken 'pen'....(Thinks...I'll tell Von, when she wakes up.)
Von gets up.....Two chickens missing....and a trail of feathers.
Now....There's absolutely NO WAY a fox could...a).....get into the pen....and b)....get out again.
Whether a polecat got in (I could accept that)......got mugged by a fox....then went back for another one...I don't know....But the evidence is fairly damning
This is WAR. >:(
Cheers - Phil. ;)
Leave the Polecats alone.....
Send the Pole cats back to Poland where they come from? :D
Quote from: Ithoriel on 17 July 2021, 11:26:32 AM
Send the Pole cats back to Poland where they come from? :D
Ohhhhh Nasty !!!
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 17 July 2021, 11:13:27 AM
Leave the Polecats alone.....
No....(Bog off)...If I'm in the car, I'll aim to flatten it :-bd.....If I'm in the barn, and see one..... I'll blow its blanking head off. (The noise will probably upset the gee-gees.....Too bad....Oh dear, what a shame, never mind.)
Cheers - Mr Nice. :)
We're seeing more Monarch butterflies this year, which is nice. Planting milkweed helps the species recover from near extinction, and we have plenty of those in our garden.
On the downside there's a disease killing swathes of songbirds in the Midwest, and it's getting closer to Toledo. The local parks service recommends shutting down and disinfecting bird tables and baths where birds congregate until such time as the disease is over. It's a bloody shame as we're attracting plenty of birds, including mated pairs of cardinals and their offspring.
Yesterday, I saw a butterfly I've never seen before.
Same coloration as a Me109 in North Africa. Orange brown with irregular black spots.
(http://www.ww2incolor.com/d/7692-7/abj.jpg)
Tentatively identified as a Comma.
(https://butterfly-conservation.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2018-10/7705686416-comma-polygonia-c-album.jpg)
Wretched polecat was back again early this morning...Fortunately, Von was still awake and managed to disturb it.
That meant catching, and then taking, the remaining chickens out of the 'pen' and putting them in the ark at 1:30.....(The ark's more secure...but there's not a lot of space in it....especially with all of the chickens in it.)
I now know what the weird shrieking noise was the other night. It was the sound a mega panicking chicken.....one of them did it to me while I was carrying her to the ark......Absolute racket !!
I can understand how a polecat could get in to the pen.......But how it got a chicken......then another one, out.............
Must have takin one heck of an effort to pull it through a gap between the gate and a wall.
Cheers - Tired of Wales.
Quote from: Techno II on 18 July 2021, 06:20:12 AM
. . . Tired of Wales.
Well, move elsewhere then.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: Raider4 on 18 July 2021, 06:42:50 AM
Well, move elsewhere then.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Nowhere would give Phil a Visa, due to irrational hatered of endangered carnivours :d
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 18 July 2021, 06:54:54 AM
due to irrational hatered of endangered carnivours :d
Not irrational.
They joys of country life Phil. :(
Is there anything you can (legally) do with a polecat? Can it be trapped and relocated (say to Birkenhead)? Surely it must be a menace?
Relocate it to Birkenhead and the locals will eat it.
Quote from: Techno II on 17 July 2021, 09:53:07 AM
Right.....The next polecat I see 'bimbling' across the road.....I'm going to flatten it with the Technomobile.
The story so far.......
At three o'clock this morning, I was woken by some VERY strange sounds outside...(didn't sound quite like a fox, 'calling'..but it was very weird)....So much so, that I thought I must have been dreaming.....Back to sleep.
This morning....Out to do my usual early checks on the 'outside beasts'....Feed the little barn cat....Check the two gees, in the big barn.....Hmmmm. :-
There are a lot of chicken feathers outside the chicken 'pen'....(Thinks...I'll tell Von, when she wakes up.)
Von gets up.....Two chickens missing....and a trail of feathers.
Now....There's absolutely NO WAY a fox could...a).....get into the pen....and b)....get out again.
Whether a polecat got in (I could accept that)......got mugged by a fox....then went back for another one...I don't know....But the evidence is fairly damning
This is WAR. >:(
Cheers - Phil. ;)
That's a real shame Phil, Two Hens in one night.
Make what you will of this :-
It is an offence to set a trap that is likely to injure or kill a polecat that comes into contact with it. The offence is to set the trap,
It is legal to shoot polecats with appropriate firearms, and there appears to be no lawful reason why polecats (harmed or otherwise) caught in traps cannot be shot or kept in captivity. All in all, a confusing state of affairs.
So it looks like you can trap a polecat with a humane trap, then shoot it. You can shoot it if you see it but you cannot kill or injure it while trapping it!
Save the Polecat One
Might a Big, Vicious (and frustrated!) Gander do the job?
Back to Rat extermination. Watched a vid, (Probably Asian), where some sort of smallish Python type snake was introduced into a small hole, (think electric socket). in an internal wall. Out pop 14 Black Rats into buckets... followed by a disappointed snake. GREAT! 8) But... wonder what they would have done if Kaa had caught his dinner... gone for a nice long sleep... and got bigger? lol. ;D
Could have been a corn snake. :-\
If the UK's climate was a fair bit better, I'd like to get some of those and release them. ...Though a)..Von wouldn't let me...and b) it would probably be illegal to do that deliberately.
Saw a big grass snake on the track over the road...a couple of years ago...and then there was the young adder in the barn, that I had to catch and then release three ? + years ago.
(I must find the pic of the wee chap on the forum, and check the date.)
@Mark....Yes, the rule about the traps seems a bit confusing.
It SOUNDS, as though I could use a 'live trap' to catch it, and then shoot it.....But couldn't use a big 'snap trap' to kill it.
I don't think the live traps we've got are quite big enough to hold one, anyway......and as the polecat(s) :-\ haven't manage to get any more of the chickens, I won't bother.....I'd really rather not feel the need to kill one.
Cheers - Phil. :)
Better you than me with Adders! Have seen one... but the horse saw it first!
Grandma once thought there was 'a stick' on the road, picked it up to throw... and didn't like snakes, thereafter! ;)
LOL! A Real, Big, Tough Farmer type... hard as nails... got pushed into letting a snake crawl over him on a 'Pub Blackpool Trip'! He was 'bricking' but , full marks...VERY 'Sweaty'... but deserved the Beer! I 'could' have, but, the handler identified a 'more amusing Target'! TBTG! lol.
The poor little sod, that I encouraged into a big bucket, was FAR more scared of me, than I was of it.
I was far more scared when Von said......"DON'T let it bite you !"
Cheers - Phil. :)
just a Curious thought. WHY are so many people terrified by Spiders?
UK... no dangerous species... apart from VERY occasional 'exotics'. (Though there seem to be 'colonies' becoming more viable with warmer temps!).
I would NOT like to live in Australia or other places where 'The Nasties' live! :'(
I am not 'keen' on them... but catch and release outside rather than 'splat', or 'flush'.
I HATE gossamers catching my face / hair and don't like cobwebs in general... but, sadly, there are webs all over the place now... they seem to be thriving... so what are they eating...apart from other spiders?
One 'rather big, little B****r' was scuttling around on my desk, the other night. Failed to catch...might live in my PC! ;D
Wonder if is some genetically inherited ' fear'... 'Monkey eating Spiders'?
Just possibly, women might have a 'hard wired' aversion as a 'threat' to babies?
Is it being 'enhanced' by Movies... 'Alien',' LOTR'?
MY 'reflex' is to kill... but, for some reason. 'conditioning'... and I don't know where THAT may have come from... ('Incy, Wincy Spider'?)... overrides... to catch and release... somewhere else!
Maybe, I just HATE Flies MORE! LOL !
It's the WHY... ??
Curious?
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 21 July 2021, 06:23:51 AM
just a Curious thought. WHY are so many people terrified by Spiders?
No idea, Keith.....At the evil empire there was one individual who was
absolutely terrified of them.
He simply would NOT come into the photography studio, when he knew there was a tarantula 'skin' that someone had used in a vignette, for a Golden Demon entry. He also threw a copy of White Dwarf just past my head, because there was a photo of a the said GD entry, which he wasn't expecting to see....He genuinely freaked out. :o
Cheers - Phil.
(Von's got a phobia about moths, for some reason.)
I knew an ageing German woman once who had gone to some pretty serious regressive psychotherapy to work out why she became helplessly afraid if a moth or similar insect buzzed near her ear. It eventually emerged that it was about traumatic memories of running to the bomb shelter as a pre-school child in the 1940s, with the sky full of menacing buzzing things trying to kill her.
Phil... know a 'sizeable' Builder bloke... terrified of spiders... and did demolition work!
FK... possible, but always sceptical of psychotherapy... too much like 'Palm Readers'... finding a 'reaction', then 'building' on it. to 'convince'... so that the 'therapy' does work, because 'something' has been released. So Sorry for the Lady's trauma though. Have just watched a TV doc about the sinking of the 'Wilhelm Gustloff'. Probably impossible to conceive what such things can do. Seeing a man's recollection of his Mother falling back down the steps...
Know my Grandfather REALLY hated 'bangs' after WW1... but still could 'deal' with an incendiary in WW2. People are strange, sometimes.
No dear of spiders whatsoever, in fact I find them fascinating. SWMBO on the other hands hates/is terrified of them! Rats I simply loathe and still get an involuntary shiver when I see one, even on the tv!
Well the welsh big cat is obviously frit of something as it has relocated to us in Sussex:
The Argus: Police reveal big cat reports including a lion in Sussex.
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19449309.police-reveal-big-cat-reports-including-lion-sussex
Or maybe its just the heat?
I am not afraid of spiders, and will normally relocate them outside.
When I knocked the shed down I dis have a rather large spider (2-3 inches across) fall down my neck that was not very pleasant, and when it fell out I instinctively stamped on it, although I would not normally do such a thing.
Quote from: Orcs on 21 July 2021, 10:53:06 AM
I am not afraid of spiders, and will normally relocate them outside.
When I knocked the shed down I dis have a rather large spider (2-3 inches across) fall down my neck that was not very pleasant, and when it fell out I instinctively stamped on it, although I would not normally do such a thing.
There is a bit of an instinctive reaction to stuff like that. I'm not particularly scared of spiders and the like, but equally, if you wake up with a big one sitting on your chest looking at you, or have one running up your leg or down the neck the gut instinct is to knock it away or swat it.
I'm not afraid of British spiders either (although I do recall encountering a particularly large specimen in a warehouse that was surprisingly aggressive) but I was very wary (aka slightly paranoid?) about the ones in Australia when I was there in 2005 - big and deadly* buggers. :-S
* and not necessarily big.
Quote from: Westmarcher on 21 July 2021, 12:24:27 PM
I'm not afraid of British spiders either (although I do recall encountering a particularly large specimen in a warehouse that was surprisingly aggressive) but I was very wary (aka slightly paranoid?) about the ones in Australia when I was there in 2005 - big and deadly* buggers. :-S
* and not necessarily big.
True, Australian spiders are a whole other kettle of arachnids. If they can cause you serious injury, pain or death then it's completely rational to be concerned about them!
Working in a secure unit one of my colluges was bitten by a spider and left in effect, alewrgic reaction. That was in Newton le Willows....
I was recently told by an arachnologist (someone who studies spiders) that "releasing" a house spider into the wild is pretty much a death sentence unless they make it back indoors sharpish. So there may not be as much difference between catch and release and squish as we like to imagine.
At the height of the Harry Potter boom I sent him a picture of a rather large spider living in our bathroom and was reassured to be told it was harmless. The boys were a little freaked until, as a throw-away comment, I said,"Aragog (https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Aragog) lives in our bathroom." Suddenly he was quite cool.
We tend to leave house spiders be in the hope they'll sort out the flies that keep buzzing in. Though our dog does occasionally take a notion to eat them.
It is the 'Instinctive' WHY that is curious. We ALL react...well. there ARE those who LOVE 'Creepy Hairy Things'... There we go... instinctive "Whuh" as i 'imagine' a Tarantula!
Once heard... (One of those 'Servicemen' 'Tales', maybe?)... of a RAF troop who fell asleep on a beach in Cyprus?/Sardinia? And a Camel Spider had eaten his lip! :o
As for 'other Bugs'... a friend was eating out on a Spanish Island. Waiter spotted a Scorpion and 'matter of factlly' brushed it into a glass for disposal.
Myself... was outside Greek cafe, when some BIG BUZZY 'thing' , (Some sort of Moth / Beetle?), started to strafe the tables. People 'Squaking, Ducking and Diving'... but Greek Waiter just said: "Iss awright... He Leefs Here!" lol! ;D ;D ;D
Apparently, a lot of the stories of Camel Spiders eating soldiers while they sleep was a bit of a myth, their bite is pretty painful, so if one nipped you you'd pretty quickly wake up.
It's probably a lot to do with exposure. If you're dealing with something all the time you become used to it, whereas an unknown entity could be threatening. Because there are some creepy crawly things that can cause you serious harm, the instinctive reaction will always be to protect yourself from that potential harm when facing a surprise or unknown one. You risk little by reacting fearfully compared to ignoring it then getting bitten. Whereas if it's something you're used to dealing with that fear reaction diminishes. I was terrified of dogs as a kid, absolutely petrified, but now that I have a dog they don't generally scare me. But if I did encounter a dog who is acting aggressively that fear response kicks in again, because I understand the animals a bit better and I can tell when I need to be fearful and when I don't. Same with creepy crawlies I suspect. The more you know them the less you fear, or at least know when you need to fear, but while it's an unknown the fear response is a key to protecting yourself.
Still a pleasure to see 'very young' Blue / Great Tits flocking around feeders... but surely, must be another brood to the last? Glad I replenished, anyway. :)
Cat has now brought back THREE dead 'baby' Rabbits in two weeks... so Rabbits still doing what they do! :( ;) So does Cat! :'(
Plenty of Hedgehog and 'young' Fox activity. :)
Was thinking that I haven't heard OWLS very much, this year? Recent years, would often hear calls...or sometimes see. Bird populations do seem to fluctuate greatly.Only a couple of Robins about garden.... last year, there seemed to be a couple of 'families'.
A plus is that haven't 'seen' a Rat for a while... but don't think THAT will last! :(
Been on a mini-tour of Yorkshire this week, , seeing gannets, puffins, razerbills and guillimots for the first time at Bempton Cliffs. We missed the wandering albatross though by half an hour! Saw seals at Flamborough Head lighthouse, poking their noses out of the water looking like floating bottles; wood pigeons everywhere, many it seems with an obligotary branch in their beak; a very large red deer near South Landing; heard the falcons at York Minster, and two visits to Harlow Carr RHS gardens, which looks great.
(The book shop on Fossgate in York is always worth a visit for military books too!)
Today we found one of these in my allotment, which is quite unusual:
https://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/Flowers/H/Helleborine(BroadLeaved)/Helleborine(BroadLeaved).htm
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 25 July 2021, 05:03:31 PM
Was thinking that I haven't heard OWLS very much, this year? Recent years, would often hear calls...or sometimes see.
Interesting.......Neither have I.
Must be a couple of years, since I heard one.
There
were some Barn owls at the farm opposite, apparently...though I never saw one. :(
Tawny owls used to be about.....saw one in our pole barn a few years back, when it flew just over my head.
Rabbits ?.... think I've already said...not noticed
any this year...that
could be down to the polecats.
Hedgehogs.....only ever seen one, here....when it got caught in a live trap......Don't worry..it was fine. :)
Used to see oodles when we lived near Newark.
Cheers - Phil. :)
Hedgehog still active in our garden, but not seen it this year, only its droppings. Lots of rabbits still around our local area.
On a still night I can hear lions and tigers.
No bears?
Not that I can tell from the howls and growls. Very much big cat noises.
And that post would have made more sense if I'd pointed out that I live less than a mile, as the crow flies, from Edinburgh zoo. Doh!
Was wondering - I know Scotland is pretty wild - but lots of big cats !!! ;D
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 26 July 2021, 10:46:20 AM
Was wondering - I know Scotland is pretty wild - but lots of big cats !!! ;D
Its not the big cats you need to worry about , its the women ! :)
Quote from: sultanbev on 25 July 2021, 09:08:45 PM
Been on a mini-tour of Yorkshire this week, , seeing gannets, puffins, razerbills and guillimots for the first time at Bempton Cliffs. We missed the wandering albatross though by half an hour! Saw seals at Flamborough Head lighthouse, poking their noses out of the water looking like floating bottles.
We love it at Bempton and Flamborough, hopefully we can get back there soon. The highlight last time was a rather random mole who decided to pop out of the ground next to the path we were on.
Sigh. 'Should' have finished cleaning out garden pond and cut back surrounding veg when it was nearly empty... now nearly full again! Still, at least one happy Frog... :)
Don't, Keith ! X_X
I've got to 'machete' a path to the oil tank, so that matey will be able to get to it when we order some more oil, in the next few days.....everything has been growing at a completely berserk rate over the last few weeks......Then there will be the annual 'go around the fields and play find (and dig out) any ragwort' we can spot.
Easy to spot the odd bits that have the yellow flowers on them already.....otherwise it's head down and look for any small plants.
Cheers - Phil. (My back's definitely not looking forward to those jobs. :'()
I've noticed quite a few fields around have have been left to grow wild and as a result are full of ragwort. I can only imagine that it's to qualify for the new Environmental Land Management Scheme, as before they were regularly grazed by horses.
On another note, still very few butterflies still, despite plenty of food plants for them. Loads of bees though which is good.
Saw a load of these in the garden yesterday:
(https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files/styles/scaled_8_col_split_desk/public/2019-07/wildlifetrusts_51057272990.jpg?itok=rayHw9ti)
Apparently for the Cinnabar moth (which we had in plenty a few weeks ago), and they feed on ragwort (so I've got that as well. Not good, I take it?)
Quote from: Steve J on 01 August 2021, 08:38:06 AM
I've noticed quite a few fields around have have been left to grow wild and as a result are full of ragwort. I can only imagine that it's to qualify for the new Environmental Land Management Scheme, as before they were regularly grazed by horses.
On another note, still very few butterflies still, despite plenty of food plants for them. Loads of bees though which is good.
Seen a good few more butterflies, recently......But they move so fast, I simply can't identify them.
I could say.....Because there used to be a lot around here....That they were definitely NOT Red Admirals.
Bees ?......There seem to be only 'wild' bees around here.
Once a year...
almost without fail....the living room ends up with a dozen, or more, of the wee souls...that come down the chimney, and into the living room.
It's easy enough to open a window, and coax them out.
Quote from: Raider4 on 01 August 2021, 10:17:52 AM
Saw a load of these in the garden yesterday:
(https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files/styles/scaled_8_col_split_desk/public/2019-07/wildlifetrusts_51057272990.jpg?itok=rayHw9ti)
Apparently for the Cinnabar moth (which we had in plenty a few weeks ago), and they feed on ragwort (so I've got that as well. Not good, I take it?)
Hmmmm.... I'm not sure
exactly what the score is with ragwort, Martyn....I've got a feeling that you're
supposed to get rid of it, if you spot it, on your land.
The problem with ragwort is that it contains a (
cumulative) poison which basically slowly destroys the liver. (I believe of any mammal...ourselves included.)
Horses.....will leave the plant completely alone....provided they've got SOMETHING else in the field.
The biggest danger (for gee-gees) is that dried ragwort CAN end up in bales of hay.......Which the gees don't notice......and scoff.
Like I say..It's a cumulative poison...so it doesn't act like something like arsenic....It slowly builds up in the liver.
Cheers - Phil. :)
Ragwort is a keystone species to at least 37 insects, so it should be left in place unless you have to get rid of it because your horses might end up eating it because of the reasons stated - normally animals will avoid eating it. With over 75% of insects gone from the planet since 1970, we owe it to the rest to do anything to keep them around. Insects pollinate 40% of our crops, and much of our fruit.
https://friendsoftheearth.uk/nature/ragwort-poisonous-ragwort-mythbuster
If you have cinnabar moth caterpillars that's a good sign as far as I'm concerned, and as far as nature is concerned.
We Have suddenly started to get lots of ragwort in our lawn, don't remember it before this year.
There does seem to be loads a couple of fields away from our back garden, but someone keeps about 6 horses in that field, so I hope they are all right and not eating it.
I've certainly noticed a lot more ragwort this year, not only in fields, but also our back lane and in some gardens. I'm going to grow some in my wildlife patch for the reasons Mark has given. Seeing one a few years ago covered in caterpillars was a sight to behold :).
I've just looked it up. ;)
Legally, you're obliged to stop any chance of it spreading.
That's why 'councils' try and remove it from road verges...eventually. ;D
Not my rule.
Cheers - Phil :)
https://friendsoftheearth.uk/nature/ragwort-problem-plant-or-scapegoat
"Ragwort and the law
Under the Weeds Act 1959 a landowner or occupier may be ordered to control the spread of ragwort. The Ragwort Control Act 2003 allows for the creation of a code of practice. Neither of these Acts makes ragwort control compulsory in the absence of an order. However, there has been a tendency to misquote the legislation and imply that there is an automatic legal responsibility to control the plant, which there is not.
There is also frequent confusion about the terminology used in the Acts which names a group of "injurious weeds". This does not mean that the weeds concerned are dangerous or cause injury. The Weeds Act was a consolidation of earlier legislation and was not debated in Parliament but it is clear from the original discussions in the 1920s that it was referring to harm in agriculture in the context of largely pre-industrialised farming practices. Some of the other species listed in the Act are non-poisonous or even edible.
Vitally, under Section 13 of 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act it is illegal to uproot any wildflower including ragwort unless carried out by the landowner, occupier, someone authorised by them, or by a specified official."
Digging up Wildflowers is probably a 'lost cause', anyway... most are very unlikely to survive transplantation, so best left where they want to be. Maybe one of the few bits of sensible legislation in recent years!
Saying that... Many years ago, Grandfather dug up some Bluebells, (Not the native species, but some sort of hybrid), and planted the farm garden. By MY time, they were ABUNDANT and many old photos or Cine film of 'Happy Days'. When we had to shift, Ma dug many up.. and, again, they did well... more memories.
But, time passes. As tree cover shaded them out and dried the ground... they started to weaken. I planted a great number of 'Native' bulbs from commercial sources... but NONE came up. Other plants, some just unwanted... but other immigrants mistakenly introduced... out compete. Not many left now. Probably a 'toss up' as to which will 'go' first...our old Bluebells, or me!
But... 'Happy Memories'... and the Family Gravestone has Bluebells carved in the Marble... should outlast all concerned! LOL!
Seed collection... maybe also legislation about this, too? But, when I used to... ALWAYS, only take 'some'... and leave most to be where they want to grow.
Ps: 'Council Grasscutters', and Management, REALLY NEED some 'education'! So many times do I watch a patch of 'some' wildflower, starting to establish'... then, along comes a mower or strimmer. Really Saddens Me. Feels like 'hope', cut down for 'neatness'. :(
Funnily enough some of the most diverse habits are along our motorways, as they are barely touched from year to year and provide long natural highways for our flora and fauna. A few years ago our local parish council asked if residents if they wanted the grass left long or cut, with the latter sadly winning out. Over the past few years however I've noticed that Bristol and South Glos have left the grass to grow long in many areas, as not only does it benefit insects etc, but also saves them money that can be better used elsewhere.
Quote from: sultanbev on 01 August 2021, 06:17:57 PM
https://friendsoftheearth.uk/nature/ragwort-problem-plant-or-scapegoat
Under the Weeds Act 1959 a landowner or occupier may be ordered to control the spread of ragwort. The Ragwort Control Act 2003 allows for the creation of a code of practice. Neither of these Acts makes ragwort control compulsory in the absence of an order. However, there has been a tendency to misquote the legislation and imply that there is an automatic legal responsibility to control the plant, which there is not.
Interesting......Good find...:)
Oh, well....we'll still be trying to get rid of it in the fields.
It did strike me that if it was
really compulsory to get rid of it, in a few years there would be an outcry, because it affected another 'branch' of nature.....The cinnabar moths would probably end up on an endangered species list, which would be a shame.
As I've mentioned before, seven acres of our land is basically a 'bog', and is part of a SSSI, because of a couple of rare insects...and a particular plant.
Before we moved here....The powers that be 'took control' of the whole area and defined
what,
when, and which type of animals would be allowed to graze it.....Sheep were to be banned from grazing, as they'd eat/damage the rare plant, which the rare butterfly relied on.....Before it was a SSSI, the local farmers would use it for sheep grazing, for a portion of the year.
Before, 'nature' was ticking along quite nicely......Now, there are basically no animals
ever grazing on it.....and the whole area is turning into 'willow scrub'....defeating the whole point of trying to protect the rare insects.....The whole SSSI is 'evolving' into a completely different habitat,
not useful to the butterfly, in the slightest......But maybe good for other species, though.
Steve's point about the habitats along the motorway verges is very true.
Cheers - Phil. :)
Quote from: Techno II on 03 August 2021, 06:56:29 AM
Steve's point about the habitats along the motorway verges is very true.
Cheers - Phil. :)
Same applies to rail tracks - the vegitation is now rarely trimed, since there are no steam engines emitting sparks to set fire to it.
'Conservation' and 'use', can be a minefield.
The long disused railway line / Bridleway behind the house was 'wild' in my younger years. About 4' wide path and a bit 'shrubby'... but with great stands of Willowherb and Meadow Cranesbill. (And Dogs could poo in the veg, without any upset!). I liked it that way.
Then, they improved access to make it a Cycleway and more pushchair friendly...(and, maybe 'safer')... and started 'cutting'. Now, 6'-10' wide... but NO Willowherb , Cranesbill, Horsetails...etc. (SOME of us now have to bag up poo, too!). Some Sad souls have planted Snowdrops, Bluebells, Forget-Me-Nots, Campion, Violets, etc. in the hope that they might 'establish'... but then some **** will complain in local Newsletter about lack of 'management'... so along come the cutters.
'Strangely', 'They' don't seem to want to 'top' the now TOO tall trees, or clear the Ivy strangling some areas!
As a lol, 'We' property owners, received a letter from local 'Committee', a while back, complaining about quality of fencing backing onto Railway line and insisting on improvement. 'They' did not like to hear that i still have site plans showing fence posts that made legal responsibility 'Theirs'! They put up a really 'Crap' fence... just to keep things 'quiet'! Worth considering if someone is in similar circumstance!
Techno... a 'letter' to 'conservation group' 'might' result in some volunteer scrub clearance? BUT could result in 'duty' to conserve area by self! LOL! Don't know!
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 03 August 2021, 07:25:47 AM
Same applies to rail tracks - the vegitation is now rarely trimed, since there are no steam engines emitting sparks to set fire to it.
Saw a tv doc about some railway 'in the Sarth', where Grape Vines had become well established from unwanted bags being chucked out from train carriages! lol!
Wrens, Avian. We have had 'a pair' in garden for some years, nesting in some fairly safe Ivy. But, I have never seen a fledgling before! :) One flew up to cling to wall just a couple of feet nearby. Wrens are small, but this was 'TINY'! Think it was well smaller than my thumb-end! Looked at me, then buzzed off... but no 'Biggles', yet... it brushed my head! LOL! ;)
A little pleasure. :)
That's brilliant. :)
We get the occasional wren here...Though I've not actually spotted one for a good while....Never seen a youngster though !
Cheers - Phil. :)
Robin and Sparrow fledglings a common sight in our garden. which is nice. We see Wrens darting about only in the Winter, as for the rest of the year they're hidden in the undergrowth etc.
Would never have thought about migratory bats!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58128773
Some sort are local, flitterring along 'old railway line'. Fabricated 'Bat Box' many years ago... but no idea if ever used. Hope 'locals', stay local... and don't go to China! ;D
(What IS there, to eat, on a Bat?). :o
I had no idea that they migrated!
Me neither....
Seen pipistrelles here......Though not recently....and we used to see them quite a lot n Notts.
Only 'long eared' I ever saw, was in Notts....after one of the cats had killed it. :(
Cheers - Phil. :)
We see bats every night flying up and down our road, due to the street lights attracting insects etc. Also in the local woods there is a protected bat cave that used to be an ice store for an old farm that no longer exists.
First time that I saw Bats was in Wales on holliday. Glyn Ceriog and Morfar Nevyn (sp!) Ma left hotel windows open.. and we had visitors! ;) Love to see, ever since.
Quote from: Steve J on 03 August 2021, 06:33:42 AM
Funnily enough some of the most diverse habits are along our motorways, as they are barely touched from year to year and provide long natural highways for our flora and fauna. A few years ago our local parish council asked if residents if they wanted the grass left long or cut, with the latter sadly winning out. Over the past few years however I've noticed that Bristol and South Glos have left the grass to grow long in many areas, as not only does it benefit insects etc, but also saves them money that can be better used elsewhere.
Some of the grass verges near to me are so overgrown they block line of sight, particularly at roundabouts and junctions.
There are also many streets with grass growing in the gutters.
We get the occasional visit by bats which fly very low over the lawn and are presumably feeding on insects attracted by our lounge lighting. Mesmerizing to stand on the lawn outside the lounge as the bats whizz by and around your head.
QuoteSome of the grass verges near to me are so overgrown they block line of sight, particularly at roundabouts and junctions.
Round our way these are cut so as not to block views of junctions etc.
New pair of Elderly Ravens have started visiting the garden.
I'm delighted to see them keeping the Magpies and Herring Hulls in line.
You can't beat 3 inches of razor sharp beak to instil some respect into the filth and scum of the bird world.
Good morning, Mr Magpie. Give my love to your wife and children.
No Ravens around here, but some around the Avon Gorge in central Bristol I believe. Plenty of other corvids though.
On another note, yet another unseasonably cool and wet August, the third year in a row for us. I pity those who have been camping these past two weeks with young kids, certainly this morning when it has been bucketing it down.
Quote from: Steve J on 08 August 2021, 06:30:25 AM
I pity those who have been camping these past two weeks with young kids, certainly this morning when it has been bucketing it down.
Aye, I can see a lot of "used once" family tents becoming available on the 2nd-hand market in the near future.
"Why do we go abroad every summer?"
(looks at British weather)
"Oh yes, that's why"
No Ravens...but a big old Crow gets 'respect' from the Magpies! Just thinking... there used to be a lot of Jackdaws, not seen for a while... maybe Magpies took over he 'hood'!
'Sons Of Anarchy' in the avian world? ;D
Still haven't spotted any ravens here, for a good while. :(
Jackdaws, crows, magpies..a good few here......and there's a fair sized rookery, in the village, about a mile and a half away.
Don't know what's happened to the ravens......There were never oodles of them..but you'd often be able to watch them seeing off a buzzard, or a red kite.
Years ago, there was one who was a good mimic, and did quite a good impression of an 'old' mobile phone ring tone......and there was one (maybe the phone impersonator ?) who would make a 'kerplunk' sound as it flew overhead. ;D ;D
Cheers - Phil. :)
Quote from: Steve J on 08 August 2021, 06:30:25 AM
No Ravens around here, but some around the Avon Gorge in central Bristol I believe. Plenty of other corvids though.
On another note, yet another unseasonably cool and wet August, the third year in a row for us. I pity those who have been camping these past two weeks with young kids, certainly this morning when it has been bucketing it down.
We have 18th century waterwork nearby.
Dam and spillways from when the nearby town was a water driven textile powerhouse.
The site is heavily wooded now, and the dam holds doesn't retain a reservoir.
But the resulting wilderness seems to be a great Raven magnet.
About Dams...Watched a Dan Snow TV doc series about 'The Dam Busters'... and the 'mock up' dam used to test 'small scale' explosives' is still there, in a wooded stream... complete with 'hole'! Rather weird! ;)
Yesterday was a rather lovely late Summer's day here in Bristol, so after a bit of gardening, I just sat in the garden watching the bees and butterflies on the Heleniums, Buddleia and Verbena Bonariensis, which was lovely. It's nice to just stop now and then and watch the World go by :).
Young small Birds and young Foxes Really going after food... do they 'know' something? Still too early to know whether 'Berries' are heavy or not, but does not look it. Last year, LOADS of berries... but SHORT, harsh 'wintery' spell.
Nature came indoors, this morning. :)
Went back to the kitchen to see whether the dogs had let themselves back in. (I'd been playing games on the 'puter')
Door wide open...so they'd been back and gone out again.....Called them to come in.
Then had one of those "What the hell was that ?" moments, ...It was a young blackbird flapping against one of the windows, making quite a racket !!
I didn't try and grab it, as it was in a panic already....And it stayed put while I opened the window...and away it flew. :)
Cheers - Phil.
But, you only needed another Three and Twenty! :o ;)
Have had Robins exploring the main room.
Next door had Jackdaws in the unused chimney for years. Come to think, haven't seen any around for a while, so maybe she had a hidden cover installed.
Thankfully, since the rotten floor was repaired last year... not so many Slugs in the Kitchen! :)
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 22 August 2021, 02:06:36 PM
But, you only needed another Three and Twenty! :o ;)
Have had Robins exploring the main room.
No. Keith :).....But.....we (almost, without fail) get a very small portion of a swarm of bees, down the chimney each year.....which have to be gently coaxed out of one of the living room windows.
As far as we know...there are no 'domesticated' bee hives, anywhere near us.
So these have to be 'wild' bees.
They look like 'normal' bees to me. ;)
Cheers - Phil :)
Ok - to bee or not to bee
I'd say that "two bees" are a very small portion of a swarm. :) ;) Unless the swarm itself isn't a very large number.
Being the sad individual I am I just HAD to check, how many bees is a swarm.
My friend Google tells me that a "swarm" just describes a gathering/grouping of bees and not a specific number of them. So that's another fact I've learned, but I'm not so sure how I can get it into everyday conversation.
Geoff
I'd have a wild punt...that when they come down the chimney, there are something around a couple of dozen of the wee chaps (No...what am I saying.....they'll be females)...that I have to encourage out of a window
As far as I'm aware, Mrs Queen had NEVER graced us with her presence.....Otherwise we might have had the whole 'swarm' in the living room.
That would probably NOT be much fun. ;D
Cheers - Phil. :)
Wasps, on the other hand, are vicious this time of year. Knowing they are about to die in the next 2 months, and getting sugar rushes from fallen fruits, they'll sting at the slightest provacation.
The buggers built a nest in my allotment wheelie bin that I was using to mulch leaves, despite the lid being permanently closed earlier this year. Moved the bin slightly last saturday, first day out after 10 days self-isolation (2 wargaming friends got really ill off Covid, one just out of ICU but still in hospital), bang, stings to forehead. Swelled up covering one eye, then had reaction to anti-biotics, sick for 24 hours. >:(
You really don't want to see the picture.....
It's taken a week to get back to normal, hopefully council coming this week with nukes, flamethrowers and nerve gas.
Quote from: Techno II on 22 August 2021, 02:40:38 PM
As far as we know...there are no 'domesticated' bee hives, anywhere near us.
So these have to be 'wild' bees.
They look like 'normal' bees to me. ;)
Cheers - Phil :)
Depends on their Knees...
...or, so a genuphiliac entemologist said. :o ;)
Quote from: sultanbev on 22 August 2021, 10:10:43 PM
You really don't want to see the picture.....
It's taken a week to get back to normal, hopefully council coming this week with nukes, flamethrowers and nerve gas.
That does NOT sound fun. :o
Trust that you ARE back to normal, now.
Cheers - Phil.
Sorry to hear that Mark. I hope you and your wargaming chums are on the mend now.
One of our neighbours on our street found a grass snake in his garden today.
We are fairly central in out town too!
I'd love to see our grass snake but my wife would freak out. Not surprising really given that she used to see people die of snake bites in her village as a kid :(.
Quote from: Techno II on 23 August 2021, 05:40:59 AM
That does NOT sound fun. :o
Trust that you ARE back to normal, now.
Cheers - Phil.
Thanks Phil, yes, back to normal now, the council nerve gas worked and we've been able to get at the plum tree - first batch of jam made this weekend :D
Swelling went away after 8 days. Was out with the scythe on Friday, cutting the long grass we've left in lawns to encourage wildlife.
Great news :)
Ditto..Good to hear that Mark !! :-bd
Grass snakes ?
Decades ago, I was found one, while I was playing golf...picked it up...took it over to show my opponent.....He went as white as a sheet. I honestly didn't realise he was terrified of snakes.
His game went to absolute pieces after that. ;D ;D ;D ;D
Last one I saw over here was on the track opposite......3 (?) years ago...It was probably for hunting frogs on the 'marsh'.
Cheers - Phil :)
Quote from: Lord Speedy of Leighton on 29 August 2021, 07:57:04 PM
One of our neighbours on our street found a grass snake in his garden today.
We are fairly central in out town too!
Wow! Never seen one... only seen an Adder Once... horse saw it first! Snakes are the 'unloved'.But, wouldn't care to live where the 'nasties', are!
Remember a 'pub' excursrion to Blackpool. Big, Rough Tough Farmer lad allowed a local 'act' to wind it's way over him. Almost Wee'd himself... but Brave lad! Wouldn't care for it myself! LOL!
Was asked by a neiighbour if Hedgehogs going into hibernation yet?. Don't think so...I'm pretty sure they will be out and about for a couple of months, yet. Need to Feed!
However, if you have 'Hogloos' or whatever... could be a time to check and remove and replace 'old bedding'... wear gloves for scent and 'Fleas / Ticks'.
Small bags of Hay for Rabbit fodder available in Tesco, etc.
Quote from: Techno II on 22 August 2021, 06:26:31 PM
I'd have a wild punt...that when they come down the chimney, there are something around a couple of dozen of the wee chaps (No...what am I saying.....they'll be females)...that I have to encourage out of a window
As far as I'm aware, Mrs Queen had NEVER graced us with her presence.....Otherwise we might have had the whole 'swarm' in the living room.
That would probably NOT be much fun. ;D
Cheers - Phil. :)
I dreamed last night that I was playing a battle and my general knocked over a beehive and was stung to death (according to the random events table).
Well... it's similar to when a rather 'uncomfortable' French Emperor, got up in a 'hurry'... saying "WTF YOU laughing about Ney... just... go and DO something, will you!" ;)
Going back to the countryside......
I think we must have had an 'explosion' in the gray squirrel population over here.....'all of a sudden' there seem to be oodles, and I mean LOTS of squirrel corpses flattened on the road between home, and Cardigan. I've even seen one outside the back door attacking the peanuts in the bird feeder.
That's the first I've one I've seen at Techno Towers for YEARS.
Cheers - Phil. :)
We now have a regular grey squirrel to our garden, the first time in the 17 odd years we lived here >:(. We have loads in our local woods and park too.
Greys... well, local Red Support Groups will NOT be happy... unless 'flattening' the Geys! lol.
Might be worth contacting... could be a 'new variant' of the 'pox' about.
Beginnings of Autumn... feed, feed, feed!
Would like the little Reds to re-appear, hut haven't seen anything for couple of years.
I've never seen a red 'in the flesh'...I'm very envious !
Cheers - Phil. :)
We used to have regukars about 20yrs ago... but singles. Put up boxes... but no takers apart from Wasps and Starlings. Birdnut feeder about 10ft from back window... so used to see in various 'contotrions'.... and that 'TAIL'!
One seemed to building a Drey next door... but prob. just a temp 'Flat'.
Only seen One Grey local... possibly another 'migrant'. But no recent views of Reds... probably too much Tree lopping. And , OUR Scots Pine NEEDS to come down... 'leans' towards house... just haven't got round to that yet.
As a 'little Good Thing'... 'something' has flown out of what I had assumed to be an unused 'Cheap', Wall birdbox... on evening Dog walk. Sometimes there are 'plusses'.
Quote from: Techno II on 19 September 2021, 07:57:20 AM
I've never seen a red 'in the flesh'...I'm very envious !
Cheers - Phil. :)
Not at all unusual in central Europe. Cute little chaps.
Toads. Think there was one in Garage once... long time back. Usually some frogs around and used to spawn in stream... but not much chance there. Was a spell when there were Newts in garden pond... but think Dragonfly Larvae will have did for progeny.
Now pond partially cleaned out... more chance for something... Frogs, anyway.
Do others see Toads much?
No toads here, but plenty of frogs.
Both around here.
The 'bog' over the road is a haven for them, adders and grass snakes. and sadly, at the right time of year, the tiny little biting midges.
Cheers - Phil. :)
Be thankful it it is there. As a kid... 'wet' meadow / rough grazing was just across the road. Been Housing Estate for 30+ years. Used to pick 'Dog Daisies' there for Ma. NOW... more t***s with LOUD cars, Garden / Xmas lights... not many Pheasants around now.
Still. OUR estate was once OUR meadow, too... so shouldn't whinge. Just wish 'Boom' in 'Development' prices had been just couple of years earlier1 ;D :(
The midges very rarely bother yours truly......Von obviously tastes much nicer than I do.
The midges love her to bits ! (Poor lass).
Cheers - Phil. :)
They have tatste Phil. To busy dodging idiots to see any wild life apart from 2 sheep, but Derwent Water was very low.
I always get bitten, my wife, who is African, they leave alone :(.
I popped into my old workplace today to take part in some research, the first time in 18 months or so. By God I realised how dirty central Bristol is and there is no greenery where I used to work, which really struck me after spending so much time outdoors since I retired. It felt very depressing to be indoors in somewhere so gloomy and devoid of greenery.
Fortunately this malaise was remedied by sitting in the garden, watching the butterflies and a warbler fly past and settle in a tree. Magical!
That's reminded me of something I haven't heard at all this year.....A Grasshopper Warbler.
Never seen one (that I know of)...But the call is very distinctive......Guess what it sounds like. :D
Cheers - Phil. :)
Quote from: Techno II on 22 September 2021, 05:28:03 PM
That's reminded me of something I haven't heard at all this year.....A Grasshopper Warbler.
Never seen one (that I know of)...But the call is very distinctive......Guess what it sounds like. :D
Cheers - Phil. :)
Never seen... or heard... or heard of... before. Cheers!
This absolutely disgusted me...
It's, weight wise, smaller than a sheep....are the folk/police of Bottle really that pathetic
Let's get our guns out boys, and have some target practice.
I genuinely give up. :(
I take it you mean Rare white deer shot dead on Bootle street by police (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-58718085).
Aye, very sad.
Sorry Phil, but what are you referring to?
Sorry, Guys...I was SO frigging angry, I didn't put the link in.
Try again. X_X
Martyn (Raider4) got the right story...Well done, Matey. :-bd
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-58718085
Fuming of Wales.
And now I hurt.......(A LOT)
Our young friends....up the road ...half a mile way.
Their young son..three ?...Far, far too much energy =).....Hellfire..I'm older than his Granddad. :'( :'( :'(
I was very proud of the younger of the 'labs', who was getting smacked in the face..and basically didn't react, at all.
I got ticked of, by Von, for trying to control the small person, by simply holding him....(You'll hurt your back !!)
He'll be a prop forward for Wales in fifteen years time.
Quote from: Techno II on 28 September 2021, 05:39:37 PM
And now I hurt.......(A LOT)
Our young friends....up the road ...half a mile way.
Their young son..three ?...Far, far too much energy =).....Hellfire..I'm older than his Granddad. :'( :'( :'(
I was very proud of the younger of the 'labs', who was getting smacked in the face..and basically didn't react, at all.
I got ticked of, by Von, for trying to control the small person, by simply holding him....(You'll hurt your back !!)
He'll be a prop forward for Wales in fifteen years time.
That would have annoyed me intensely. The Dog was very good, but i would not have blamed the dog if he had got cross in some way.
Quote from: Raider4 on 28 September 2021, 03:51:18 PM
I take it you mean Rare white deer shot dead on Bootle street by police (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-58718085).
Aye, very sad.
F*** that's so B****y stupid! >:(
Maybe 'end of shift'!
Now, Kids and Dogs ... or Cats...
"Where's Tigger? I want Tigger!"
"Tigger wants to be quiet".
"There's his tail !"...
"Oh, you little S***! " >:( ;D
Greedy Sod !!
I was pleased to see a Jay had returned a few days ago...having a go at the peanuts.
It was back again yesterday, and I watched it having another feed.
Now....The peanut holder on the shed door has a bit of broken wire towards the bottom, big enough for single peanuts to fall into a small 'tray' on the base.
The smaller birds have this sussed, so instead of pecking at the peanuts through the wire, they take whole peanuts, one at a time and then fly off...Presumably back to their nests, or to store them.
The Jay however, was doing the equivalent of "how many gobstoppers can you fit in your mouth."
I didn't see it arrive...so I don't know how long it had been there when I first noticed it......I counted 16 peanuts going into its gob, before it spotted me and flew off ! :o
I wonder where it's storing them ?....
Years ago magpies were taking five or so at a time and hiding them in molehills....I only found this out when I kicked a molehill flat and found dozens of the 'nuts'.
No wonder we're getting through so many peanuts. X_X
I'm only half filling that 'broken' holder now..and using another one that the birds HAVE to peck through.
Stitch that Mr Jay. ;)
Cheers - Phil. :)
Never seen a Jay, local... only when patrolling nature reserves around Gateshead. Magpies annoy by demolishing about half a fat filled Coconut in one go... or pulling off twig onto ground for the Slugs!
Join the club, Keith !
S*dding corvids. ;D ;D
The magpies and jackdaws (as well)..are horrid little piggies.
Cheers - Phil :)
We regularly have a Jay in the garden
Although I really, REALLY, couldn't be bothered,...( And Dog did not help!)... carefully managed to work my way down embankment of old railway line / bridle track, to collect and bin 3 beer cans, 1 plastic bottle and 1 glass bottle. (Bin within 20 yards... and not kicked over!). You DO feel better for it! Would feel better if I could take a Bat to the teen ********! lol.
Nice to see Nuthatch back, on peanut feeder outside kitchen... don't think I saw one last year.
And couple of Sparrers on a fat coconut. We don't get many round here, now.
We have plenty of Sparrows here, around 30 in peak breeding season, but now down to around 10 at present. The Sparrowhawk took a toll a month or so ago. The long tailed tits have returned along with a few blue tits. The blackbird has been scarce, but I think the very mild weather of late and the autumnal glut of fruit means they do not have to come to the garden for food.
I have to say that I was very impressed with the ingenuity of one of the Nuthatches that visits us. :-bd
I blocked the hole in the wire, at the bottom of the peanut holder, with a few smallish stones, so that the peanuts wouldn't just keep falling into the 'tray' at the base of the holder.
I thought that the nuthatch I was watching, was pecking through the wire and just feeding on 'bits' of the peanuts. The way the holder is supposed to function.
No....The clever little sod was pecking through the wire until he flipped a whole peanut over the stones and out of the hole in the wire, where he could pick it up and fly away.
The Jay hasn't sussed this yet !
Cheers - Phil. :)
Greeted this morning by the first frost of Autumn.
Pouring rain here in our part of Ohio. We can at least start putting out seed on the bird table again since the illness affecting song birds has subsided.
I have commented before, but bird populations do seem to vary tremendously... yearly and by decade.
When I was young, Sparrows, Starlings and Blackbirds were most commonly seen in garden.... plus some Robins, Collared Doves and Jackdaws. Other 'occasionals'.
Now, very few Sparrows. Starling flock went when another house felled their roosting tree...(plenty of other trees, but...). Collared Doves displaced by Woodies and Jackdaws by Magpies. Pheasant's field got built on.
BUT, Birds much more diverse, now. All sorts of things that I never saw in previous decades. However, some have disaappeared completely.
Used to get migrants ... Redwings and a transient flock of little twittery things form Scandinavia... then, there was a storm about when they would be crossing... not seen since.
'Suicidal' Chaffinches, gone. Haven't seen Woodpecker for a while... or a Wagtail for a long time.
Even regulars such as Robins, vary. Year or two ago, maybe 3 pairs... now, just one.
Ah well. I am not a birdwatcher... just, sometimes, they give you a 'lift'. Thing 'go round' ... so enjoy what IS there. :)
You're absolutely right, Keith.
The different species do seem to vary from year to year.
Some seem to thrive....others, the opposite.
Our 'Spadger' population seems to have dropped over the last couple of years...partly down to their nesting sites in our big barn being annexed by the flying rats, which have virtually taken over that area.
That won't last long, as Annie Oakley has been popping them off at a rate of knots in the last few days.
She's a much better shot than me !
Cheers - Phil. :)
Never underestimate the capacities of a Female who 'takes an objection' to something... ;) ;D
Ohhhh.....She absolutely LOATHES them, Keith.....The amount of 'guano' they produce is ridiculous.....and the gee-gees' water buckets end up with a film of pigeon dust, on the top, 10 minutes after Von's freshened them up.
It's their 'own fault' that they're being dealt with, with extreme prejudice...Over two days we spent at least one whole day trying to make the barn 'off limits' to them.
This involved but a netting screen on the side entrance to the barn......then trying to drive the sods out of the (then) completely open front.
The idea being, that once they were all out, the front of the barn would be closed off.
They just would not go...They just flew up and down the barn...Over and over (and over and s*dding over) again. :'(
I got a very sore shoulder from throwing tennis balls at them....to 'encourage' them out......a gash on the shin, where I tripped over an aluminium ladder that I'd left on its side.
(Tripped over it 'cos I was looking upwards to throw more tennis balls.......I said bad words ! >:( >:( >:()
"How are we going to get rid of them ?," said Annie......"We'll have to pay some pest controller to come and shoot them"......
"Sod that, I'll shoot them myself."
Well..there were about 40 in there, when we started....That's been basically halved now.
I'm sure Annie will be out there this afto' trying to take more out.
Well...they are considered vermin....wretched things !
Cheers - Phil ;)
Quote from: Techno II on 16 October 2021, 09:09:47 AM
Ohhhh.....She absolutely LOATHES them, Keith.....The amount of 'guano' they produce is ridiculous.....and the gee-gees' water buckets end up with a film of pigeon dust, on the top, 10 minutes after Von's freshened them up.
It's their 'own fault' that they're being dealt with, with extreme prejudice...Over two days we spent at least one whole day trying to make the barn 'off limits' to them.
This involved but a netting screen on the side entrance to the barn......then trying to drive the sods out of the (then) completely open front.
The idea being, that once they were all out, the front of the barn would be closed off.
They just would not go...They just flew up and down the barn...Over and over (and over and s*dding over) again. :'(
I got a very sore shoulder from throwing tennis balls at them....to 'encourage' them out......a gash on the shin, where I tripped over an aluminium ladder that I'd left on its side.
(Tripped over it 'cos I was looking upwards to throw more tennis balls.......I said bad words ! >:( >:( >:()
"How are we going to get rid of them ?," said Annie......"We'll have to pay some pest controller to come and shoot them"......
"Sod that, I'll shoot them myself."
Well..there were about 40 in there, when we started....That's been basically halved now.
I'm sure Annie will be out there this afto' trying to take more out.
Well...they are considered vermin....wretched things !
Cheers - Phil ;)
I shoud have bought my air rifle over when we came over that afternoon.
Phill, you seem to have infinite capacity to damage yourself. Let 'The Gal with a Grudge' do it!... and full marks to her! ;)
But she might not like the doing... so...
Saw a coaltit in the garden today.
Not seen one of those for ages. 8)
There were Coaltits around a year or two ago... but mainly Blue or Great with visiting Long Tailed.
Incidentally, when buying Birdboxes... the extra £s for a bigger one seems to be Des Res! Have had several generations of Bluetits in one and Greattits in another. Not sure whether any of the several smaller, cheaper boxes have been used!
Coaltits ?..... pretty good population around us....A few 'greats', ditto 'blues'.
Cheers - Phil. :)
Have just remembered what 'the little twittery' seasonal visitors were. Waxwings. Would arrive in a flock each Autumn, ploat the berries and move along. Then one stormy year, they did not... and I haven't seen any since. :(
Rather seasonal fluctuations with Waxwings. Far too mild here today for them with our blast of tropical air.
You lucky chaps.......Never seen a waxwing, either here, or at our previous homes.
Cheers - Phil. :)
Waxwings were amusing little chaps. Very active and constantly twittering in their flock. Sad miss.
Hedgehogloos. Eventualy got round to changing bedding in the three I put out last year. . (They have swivelling lids allowing me to freshen with Tesco Rabbit Hay. Wear gloves).
Two showed certain signs of occupancy at some time... one had been collecting plastic litter instead of leaves! :o
(Or, I may have Wombles!). ;)
There have been several Hogs of various sizes around this year... and they will probably be active,' feeding up' for some time yet.
Three or four Foxes, including a 'pair'. So far, no Rats seen. :) But backdoor security light u/s so have not been 'watching' wildlife as much as in previous years,
Keith. :)
VERY roughly......which part of the UK do you live in ?
When Von and I loved in a part of Notts....hedgehogs were all over the place.
In Pembrokeshire.....I've only seen a single one.....caught in a live trap, in the barn, when I was after rats.
Mr or Mrs Tiggywinkle was released within your any harm.
Cheers - Phil :)
South Northumberland... a semi built up area with a 1/4 acre , rather TOO wild garden!
Have always had one or two around,but last couple of years more. I have not seen as many roadkill as there used to be... so maybe the general population in area declining... and, so doing my bit.
Saw a jay on my morning walk today, which has cheered me up enormously.
They ARE rather special to see, aren't they Martyn ?
Cheers - Phil. :)
Quote from: Techno II on 23 October 2021, 01:32:09 PM
When Von and I loved in a part of Notts....hedgehogs were all over the place.
That sounds painful!
Only if you walked on them :d
Fungi. I am a bit late in this, as season almost over... but they can be fascinating. When in garden last week, there were at least half a dozen different species. Although I do have a very good photo identifcation book, I am not bothered enough to try to I.D them... and prefer to let them be. rather than uprooting for examination.
They tend to come and go with years. Of the species that I do know... we used to have Shaggy Ink Caps... but not many now... think there was a clump. Until a few years ago, we never had Fly Agaric... last year several... this year only a couple of small ones. Last year there were a couple of Big, un-i.D'd things... dinner plate size... until 'Builder's Lads' kicked them about! :(
Not a Fungi Forager... frankly, I wouldn't... but they can give you an "Ooh... what's that?" pleasure... especially the various smaller ones. :)
Ps: I do not know what 'Magic Mushrooms' are and never tried. But some teen mates found some... and one 'thought the trees were coming to get him'!... so jumped into the river! (Luckily, shallow!). :o ;D
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 28 October 2021, 02:01:30 PM
Only if you walked on them :d
Look more carefully at the quotation. Feet are a lesser concern, honestly.
Have seen oodles of the wee 'magic mushrooms' in our fields....I DO know what they look like !
Wouldn't touch ANY sort of fungi....unless I bought it from a supermarket.
When my very good friend, Eddie, lived over the road.....600 yards away....he'd pick 'proper ' mushrooms from his fields, which were the size of dinner plates.
I wouldn't have cooked, and eaten those.....even though I know Eddie knew what he was talking about.
Cheers - Phil. :)
(Hasn't happened for a good few years.....but 'hippies' used used to invade the common... The other side of our little valley.... Hundreds of acres.....and collect 'shrooms' in carrier bags.)
'When my very good friend, Eddie, lived over the road.....600 yards away....he'd pick 'proper ' mushrooms from his fields, which were the size of dinner plates.
I wouldn't have cooked, and eaten those.....even though I know Eddie knew what he was talking about.'
On The Farm, before my time, Granda used to pick the BIG 'Horse Mushrooms' from fields and sell them to Hotel Chefs on his swill run...they couldn't get enough! Don't see the attraction, myself.
I can't tell the different taste 'nuances' between edible Mushrooms... but, then, I prefer them fried Black in butter and put loads of salt & pepper on stuff!
When Ma used to get 'Field Mushrooms' from my uncle, she used to soak in salty water for a while... in case they had any maggots!
As Pratchett said:
"All mushrooms are edible, once!"
True !! ;D
Cheers - Phil. :)
Vaguely heard a chainsaw this morning... then, ring at doorbell. It was the 'Little Old Guy', back again... no contact since January! He has had very bad 'family matters' so ok.
He had already piled up a mound of branches and brack. I could not be bothered to apply for permit to tip a van load at local council site... and they don't like 'jobbing gardeners' anyway... so accepted that his local dump would charge £140 for a Transit Van load and let him get on with his chainsaw antics. Don't think he's a liar, though permanently short of cash! ;) Work did need doing!
But £140 for a Transit Van of Garden Waste? A BIG skip would take 30+ of such loads! So, 'somebody' is raking in the money! >:(
A visitor at the door announced with excitement, that he had just seen a Fox! :o ;)
One tends to forget that 'Toon' dwellers may not see them. :(
We have had two or three regulars every night through successive generations... right up to back door. :)
We saw a fox on our road every night pretty much. I just wish it would catch the damned grey squirrel that's visiting our garden several times a day >:( .
Saw a kingfisher yesterday, flitting down the canal near me. Just stunning. Then it flew back and was basically showing off!
Excellent, Will. :-bd
Only ever seen one of those, and that was back in Notts.
Here, the little stream over the road is way too narrow for there to be any interest for a Kingfisher.
Keith...you can keep the foxes. ;D
The chickens have got enough problems with the polecats. ;)
Cheers - Phil :)
Have seen Kingfisher in local Park 'river'... but just a Blue 'flash'!
Wonder what speed they would be going at... if 'scaled up' to 'Fast Jet'? Bet Birds would 'Top Gun' anything that we could build! :o ;)
Except for 'Woodies'... would never get off the ground! ;D
Yep, the fly so fast that I've only ever seen glimpses of them, which is a shame as they are such stunning birds.
Kingfishers - have only seen them once in town, but got a full half hour watching one at the Eric Morcambe hide earlier this year, and several spots at the river next to Brockholes during the summer.
Remembrance Sunday. Garden, Sunshine on the leaves which have fully 'turned'... gorgeous but sad... so many saplings 'need to go'.
Reminds me of a family tale... well, it has a 'nice ring'...
Great Grandfather, a Joiner by trade, shipped out to Canada in the 20s looking for work... and leaving wife and adult sons at home.
It did not pan out... but on return, he brought his wife a present.
A 'Trunk full of Gold'!
Not cash... but Leaves from the Canadian Fall!
Sounds like he was a Good bloke.
The up and down weather continues here, with the poor spring bulbs not knowing whether they are coming or going, as I've got crocuses coming up and the first sign of some daffodils by the look of it.
Northumberland. Snowdrops probably about to pop up shoot tips, but still leaf covered. Hedgehogs still about. No frosts, yet... BUT... a 'Wind Warning' RED' for tonight! Worrying, as it is a North Wind. Too many overgrown trees which have adapted to 'Westerlies' from which we have some shelter. I do not mind Blizzards or Downpours or Thunderstorms... but I HATE High Winds! :(
Our son saw a hedgehog whilst out on walk this afternoon. Really they should have been hibernating by now.
Your son hibernates? Well, OK, I remember that British winter....
Pft! British winter? I spent a substantial part of my teen years hibernating :)
Quote from: Ithoriel on 26 November 2021, 05:28:33 PMPft! British winter? I spent a substantial part of my teen years hibernating :)
Didn't we all ? :ar! :ar!
Hmmm....Don't think it's worth putting any food out for the birds, this morning'. At least, not yet. None of the poor little sods will be able to fly, with the wind as strong as it is.
Great fun going to the chippy, last night. MEGA sleet/snow/hail thunderstorm while I was driving down to the village. :o
(Talk about thunderbolt and lightning,) ;D ;D ;D
Cheers - Phil. :)
Quote(Talk about thunderbolt and lightning,) ;D ;D ;D
Very, very frightening. None of that here (yet).
Well...
To a certain extent, I was a bit bothered when I drove down to the chippy, last night.
(It's roughly two miles from Techno Towers.)
There was enough 'snowy stuff' on the road to make driving a tiny bit 'iffy'....But it WAS very patchy, so all I was worried about.....Would it get worse ?
The two 'hills' that I have to go up and down (both ways) were fine, on the way in.
On the way back, the snowy stuff had turned to rain and washed the roads clear....HUZZAH !!
Cheers - Phil. :)
Quote from: Techno II on 27 November 2021, 10:22:45 AMOn the way back, the snowy stuff had turned to rain and washed the roads clear....HUZZAH !!
Cheers - Phil. :)
Normal weather conditions resumed then ?
NAH !
But I still don't understand why 'they' switch those enormous fans on, on the tops of hills when it's this cold.
Cheers - Phil. ;)
Forgot to say....
The wee birds WERE keen on me putting down/hanging up stuff for them to scoff.....So I done that (sic)
There's a young (?) female blackbird who's definitely getting towards 'tame'
She doesn't leg it when I go out there..and just basically waits for me to chuck feed on the floor...I'll get some belting piccies.
(As long as it's not that frigging Jay who porks 40 peanuts in two visits X_X (True).... within 10 minutes....where's he/she stashing them ?)
Come Spring...I'm going sit outside the back door with the camera.
Cheers - Phil. :)
I wonder whether Wind Turbines and Barrages were in use... I'd guess not...?
It was the Day of the Raptor on our way back from Warfare today with buzzards, red kites and sparrowhawks frequently spotted on our travel back up the M40/M1. Must have been nearly a dozen separate sightings of them hovering over the central reservation or hard shoulder.
When I drive from Bristol to North Norfolk, I see loads of red kites around Oxfordshire, to the point that they now seem commonplace, which is a good thing. They haven't quite reached my neck of the woods yet but one can but hope.
Few weeks since I've seen any raptors here.
We DO get the occasional sparrowhawk...But with the kites and buzzards, I usually hear those before I see them.
Cheers - Phil :)
We get buzzards over Burnley now on occasional days, venturing south from the Settle area, usually soaring on the thermals. We do have urban raptors too, including sparrowhawks - can never remember whether the others are falcons or kestrels.
Funnily enough I saw a Sparrowhawk this morning in the garden whilst taking a break. Stunningly beautiful.
Gorgeous birds....especially from 4 feet away..( a female, just outside a kitchen window feasting on a feral pigeon...that must be over 5 years ago, now. :o )
Cheers - Phil :)
The only Raptors that I have ever seen were the local Sparrowhawks, (Still around, from feathery remnants of prey), and sometimes Kestrels, when travelling.
It is rather strange to consider how some things have changed since what I think of as 'MY DAY'... (The 1980s... 40 years ago! :o :( ).
I remember reintroduction of Kites being controversial. Otters have made a comeback... never thought that I 'd see one! Small colony of Beaver, somewhere. Fish in the Tyne!
I only saw Hedgehogs as roadkill... lots... now garden residents. Ditto Foxes... though visitors. Bats around, too... I'd only seen them on holiday in Wales.
Yet, other things have declined or gone.
Haven't seen a Pheasant locally for years. No Ladybirds and very few Butterflies. Very few slugs this year... (Loathe them!)...maybe due to Hedgehogs. Snails also few ...(Strangely, I like them and hate to hear that 'crunch'). Annoyingly, saw first Rat this year at 4am... very dark pelt... could be new resident!
Oh, well, soon be another year... rather doubt that I will see another 40! ;)
Was surprised to see a Hedgehog stuffing itself last night, after 'cold snap'. So, if feeding, keep on for a while?
I'd think so, Keith.
I believe they need to go into hibernation weighing something around a kilo.
Long, long time since I've kept baby hedgehogs alive through a winter, then released then in the Spring.
Cheers - Phil. :)
Sadly I have not seen a hedgehog in our garden for about 7 years. We do have a badger family across the road, so I expect that is why.
I just built a bug hotel, which has been on my list to do for sometime. Tomorrow I'll begin to stock it with twigs, leaves, hollow stems etc. It's right next to me dedge, so hopefully will continue to add to the good biodiversity in the garden. Next up somehow I need to find space for a bigger pond...
'Bug Box' Has been on my 'to do' list for years!
Have just bought some as Xmas prezzies!
Ta for reminder! :)
You're welcome :) . I'm looking forward to seeing if the solitary and mason bees use the holes I've drilled in old wood to make their nests or not. A neighbour has an old dead tree and she's for me to put holes in this too.
Probably too late for this year... but if a concrete or pottery Planter gets broke, instead of skip, why not emplace any 'sizeable' chunks in shady corners as 'Bunkers' for Frogs or Toads?
Some soft weed/ grass clippings inside to burrow into... and maybe partially bury to taste, leaving entrance gap.
Piled rocks / broken flags, etc. also good.
You may not have a pond yourself... but there may be one nearby.
Numbers declining... but,who would not be cheered by having a little chat to a Frog? :)
A Kiwi, I suspect.
They're not too bad so long as they don't get close to a rainbow ;)
And Again! Yet another Mouse has inconsiderately discarded his Trousers and other 'bits' at MY back door! Damn good job we have a Cat to curtail many such atrocious 'goings on' in MY Garden! Cat appeared most apologetic for this lapse in picket duties... but needed his supper dish...asap.
A lot more bird song of late as territories are being established etc. Also our nest boxes are being checked out by Robins and Blue Tits :) .
Certainly a huge amount of chattering from the area just outside the back door, when I go out and fill the feeders each morning.
It's almost as though I'm being ticked off for making them wait. :o Cheek !!
At the mo'....Thirty or forty starlings come down and pig themselves before the smaller birds get a look in......They seem to being joined by a dozen or so rooks.
Saw a buzzard for the first time for ages. :)
Cheers - Phil. :)
Pretty sure Foxes lie up and wait for evening food bowls to be put out... though they don't immediately pile in... movement noise in bushes out the back.
Starlings... very few about now. Used to he a horde... but their roosting tree down the road was cut down a few years ago... and, even though many alternatives, they just seem to have done off.
Not many 'big' birds, this last year... just one or two Magpies. Jackdaws and the Old Crow... absent.
Small birds giving nut/seed feeders/ coconuts the hammer... and Hedgehog Poo in the feed bowl!
Magpies, Jackdaws, Crows and Rooks much in evidence around here. We have a small murmuration of Starlings, which is slowly increasing after there roost was cut down maybe 10 years ago. Lots of tress have been cut down in nearby gardens of late, so I expect we'll see fewer birds next year :( .
I saw a butterfly on a walk this afternoon, but sadly it flew by too quickly to get a good look. Really surprised to see one on the wing, given it was very dull and somewhat cool.
Years back, a neighbour was surprised to find a load of Butterflies attempting to overwinter in the folds of her curtains.
Find the occasional tortoiseshell hidden in the folds of the curtains...or in the upstairs area of the polebarn...during the 'winter months'.
None so far, this year.
Cheers - Phil. :)
I had a nice couple of hours pottering about in the garden this afternoon, having a bit of a weed (they grow all year round here in Bristol) and tidy up. Whilst doing this I noticed so many more of the bulbs have started to come up, which seem to be much earlier this year than previous ones.
My eldest has managed to cultivate quite the hungry bird collection in the front garden now, there's about 20-30 house sparrows, tree sparrows and starlings that can empty 5 feeders in 24 hours, so we're going through a mountain of bird feed at the moment.
We have more families near us feeding the birds, so don't see as many as we used to, but good to see others helping out :) .
Small birds giving feeders / Fat Coconuts a hammering in the cold and wet. Something, probably Sparrowhawk, made a 'fast pass', the other day... everything 'Ducked'!
Nice to feed 'the wild'... cheering to see. But, when I think about it... 'creatures' and Pets are getting fed better than WE are! lol. ;)
Birds: Peanuts, Seed, Fat Coconuts and Bread mainly bought for purpose! Dry and wet dog food for Foxes / Hedgehogs. Dog gets 2-3 feeds a day... dry / wet, with Bran and a Fungi supplement 'garnish'! Up to him when he eats it. Cat has 4 pouches... plus 'thieving' and 'hunting'... sicked up 'something' on return last night! >:(
Bought Fat Coconuts,, seed and nuts for Birds Xmas. Foxes might get double rations. Dog and Cat a bit extra.
Ma might be able to manage a mashed Mince Pie with Milk... and I might get Turkey Sandwiches as OUR Xmas treats!
L.O.L ! ;D
The Sparrowhawk was in our garden yesterday, but caught nothing and in the neighbours the day before. Stunning birds. Plenty of corvids and sparrows, dunnocks, blackbirds and robins, with the odd bluetit showing up now. still very mild though despite a brief cold snap yesterday.
Quote from: Steve J on 23 December 2021, 07:45:16 AMThe Sparrowhawk was in our garden yesterday, but caught nothing and in the neighbours the day before.
I'd love a sparrowhawk in our garden, we rarely see them around here. There's a local chap on Facebook called 'Boro Garden' who livestreams his garden each day and he gets one quite often.
Sparrowhawks have 'visited' garden for several years / generations. Have seen perched on bird table roof for a breather, but usually a 'fast pass'. As Garden is Very wooded, their maneuverability at speed is astounding.
Just a reminder to anyone thinking to put out waste Xmas food for wild animals, etc. Some constituents may be harmful to some creatures. Xmas cake/ mince pies have raisins and stuffing, onion which can harm Foxes/Dogs. Etc. DO NOT feed Horses/ Donkeys unless with permission of owner. Keep Xmas season Happy! :)
'Little Old Guy' turned up again, on a cold, wet day, in need of cash! (Some F has nicked the Cat Converter off his Van!). So, got Gutters cleared before snow starts, flags shovelled, some saplings cut down, Security light now working (How can one Halogen Bulb be 'too big' when 'same' size as replacement?), some 'clean up' of roadside, and his Dumpy Bag from last visit removed! Green Bin now far too heavy... will have to tip some content!
All stuff that needed doing... but annoying thing about someone else doing stuff is that, unless YOU watch/ help, they will do things that you would not have wanted! Roadside 'self set' Wallflowers that have been nice for 3 yrs+, now gone!
Himself 'salivating' over getting chainsaw to work on overgrown bushes/branches! I Dread! :( ;D
Oh Well! ;)
Nice to see Nuthatch... Beautiful little Bird... on nut feeders. Also Blue Tits.
As Hedgehogs probably Hibernating... shouldn't get 'Fishy stuff'... Foxes scoffed Salmon Cuiches! :)
Heard a woodpecker today.
best sightings of 2022 so far:
1st Jan: tree creeper and possibly gold crests at Hardcastle Crags
2nd Jan: merganser on Leed&Liverpool canal (en route to help plant another 500 trees - 27 people turned up, all done in 1 hour 40 minutes, with a rainbow appearance just as we finished :) )
3rd Jan: long tailed tits at the allotment, and the ubiqitous robins of course.
Trying to see if I can get a daily sighting worthy of recording....
Went for a bike ride with a gaming mate along the Fylde to Morcombe bay this afternoon - windy and sunny, but we avoided the rain!
Stopped by a field as he had a puncture - and there where huge numbers of Canadian (?) geese in the field, as they took off the sound of all their wings was incredible - they looked like they were going nowhere taking off into the wind - but that may just have been the perspective.
This was a little bit earlier
(https://i.imgur.com/Z2NWQtA.jpg)
Not really what anyone would want to read... so Don't! :o
Woke up 2am... having HAD to 'Crash'. Going through... S**t pong. Soft 'Plats'on Pile rugs... several places... plus 'Sick' in kitchen and at back of cage. Poor BIG Dog must have been worrying!
Cleaned up and took him out to get rid of some more. Gave Kaolin.
REALLY wanted to lie down on Frosty Road and wait for a Bus. BUT... not the 'Thing'.
PLEASE, Chaps, enjoy life... in whatever form... you only have One.
There is SO much Joy and Wonder... but, sometimes, just 'S***!. ;)
(Have known several who have 'Gone Down'. 'Silly B*****s... They have Gone.)
Being a bit +ve... but S**t in the ear[y hours is hard to take! LOL! Cleaned up now. :) :) :)
Have tried to Delete, but cannot!
:-& :-& Hope you both recover soon.
Just to update for anyone interested. Dog has been out again twice but no further 'developments'!
I notice that 'out the back and across the stream'... Snowdrops and Bluebells are pushing up shoots! :) :) :)
Oh! HH, not good. But glad to hear things seemed to have passed (in both senses!).
Thanks for the reminder of why I don't have pets. :)
Mention of bluebells reminds me of the "bluebell wood" behind my grandparents house in Maidstone ... probably a housing estate these days.
To quote Joni Mitchell:
"Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot"
In younger days, we had loads of Bluebells... before Trees grew. Not 'Natives'... crossbreeds dug up long before Me. Farm of my early years had masses! :) Ma dug up many for new house and they did well... but tree cover and 'Dry' years... dwindling. Planted 300+ 'Native'bulbs some years ago... but not a D*** one came up! Always Glad to see new shoots! :) ,
Quote from: Ithoriel on 04 January 2022, 04:19:00 PMThanks for the reminder of why I don't have pets. :)
Yep good reminder, I find its best to enjoy other peoples animals.
I hope the dog is ok now.
4th January sigthing: a raptor, possibly a sparrowhawk, flew nonchalantly through the woods at the bottom of my allotment, only to be mobbed by a corvid. On returning home saw the same raptor sat on my house roof!
Can't explain how 'Good' it is to give a Hug to your GSD or a cuddle a Purry Furry. BUT... they make 70% of daily 'work'... and sometimes more! Think these Two will be the last. Sad. Wonderful that they are Best Friends !
We had a Sparrowhawk again in the garden yesterday, all rather fluffed up against the cold breeze. A few days before at dusk on a walk we say a beautiful Kestrel begin mobbed from tree to tree by Crows.
In the garden, tulips, daffodils, snowdrops, hyacinths and crocuses popping up all over the place. Also a late flowering clematis already in bud, which is way too early really for the time of year.
Just to explain Dog and Cat 'thing'. Dog is VERY Big, Hairy German Shepherd and doesn't like anyone/thing not of His Pack.
MY FAULT...should have been 'socialised'... but I was working.
Cat had lived with Family... but They moved... and Cat did not want to!
Lived 'feral' in bushes for a year.
Cat and Dog, amazingly... took 'A Sniff' and made Friends.
Cat's Family Found him and reclaimed Twice... but Cat Chose His Residence!
Dog and Cat now Best Friends... with occasional 'spat'... mainly Cat'!
Pets!
5th January sighting: another raptor, possibly a sparrowhawk again, flew through our community garden chased by crows. Two days in a row? :o
They will often re-visit a garden for a few days, even several times a day, then move on to other areas, as their prey gets wise to their visits and so move elsewhere.
Quote from: Steve J on 06 January 2022, 08:00:24 AMThey will often re-visit a garden for a few days, even several times a day, then move on to other areas, as their prey gets wise to their visits and so move elsewhere.
A tell-tale sign is seeing Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen scouting the perimetre. A wise predator moves on for a season or two.
QuoteA tell-tale sign is seeing Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen scouting the perimetre. A wise predator moves on for a season or two.
If they're hunting predators, then surely it should be Arnie or Danny Glover (or - $DEITY help me - Adrian Brody!) you should be keeping an eye out for?
Ein Raubtier, Dummkopf! ;) Oder lieber ein Raubvogel.
I liked the Adrian Brody film...
But I'm a massive Predator II fan too...
I noticed the cherry trees along our road are beginning to blossom, although a lot of it has already been hit by the rain :( . Still nice to see, especially if we get a few sunny days in a row and they really get going.
We have several plants in the garden trying to flower, not sure why as its been really cold at night here
Plants will try... even if pointless.
Trying continue to Feed Birds and Foxes.
The 7 was best 'Western', Ever. Had it All... even if rubbish! Lol!
The rhubarb is currently ahead of the snowdrops at the community garden...
QuoteI noticed the cherry trees along our road are beginning to blossom, although a lot of it has already been hit by the rain :( . Still nice to see, especially if we get a few sunny days in a row and they really get going.
Well, they're only going to get slaughtered when the Jan/Feb frosts arrive.
Our first proper frost of the Winter, with temps down to around -4C overnight. No fog this morning so a stunning sunrise and a glorious day beckons. Balm for the soul :) .
Very rare sighting to day - the lesser spotted cleaning lady. :)
Tends to inhabit the bedroom or the study, avoids green vegetables, but rather partial to Latte's ,chocolates and wine.
You can tell its about by the constant noise of Netflix on the iPad and the whiff of cleaning food and bleach. :D
We now have a sparling Bathroom
WTF is a sparling Bathroom ?....
Feck me....I promised myself that I wouldn't post replies.
Don't take this as a hint that I'm back.
I'm just watching. :P
But I still have all the buttons.
P.
A sparling is a European smelt (Osmerus eperlanus).
I think there's something fishy about his bathroom.
On an unconnected note, I had a Tesco delivery today (All the important stuff "unavailable" despite being in stock at 11:30 last night - don't get me started).
Decanted the stuff from their trays to mine. I place a chair in the doorway which they put the trays on to save bending and stretching (and going temporarily blind and passing out). I left the door open as I carried the shopping to the kitchen.
Came back to see a grey squirrel under the chair having a good look round. First living thing in the house, besides me, in months!
Took off before I could get a photo. :(
Quote from: Phil2 on 15 January 2022, 04:37:54 PMWTF is a sparling Bathroom ?....
P.
And that should be cleaning Fluid not Cleaning food.
Correction - Sparkling
Note to self : must check spelling before hitting post, even if I am supposed to be working
Quote from: Phil2 on 15 January 2022, 04:37:54 PMWTF is a sparling Bathroom ?....
A bathroom to sparl in, of course.
Quote from: Phil2 on 15 January 2022, 04:37:54 PMWTF is a sparling Bathroom ?....
Feck me....I promised myself that I wouldn't post replies.
Don't take this as a hint that I'm back.
I'm just watching. :P
But I still have all the buttons.
P.
You know you will post Phil....
Yes... I will....from time to time. :P
I'm just having another mega hissy fit.....Trying to log in as Phil2...The new forum definitely doesn't like me....three goes until I can actually post
I have a theory, now...
When I EVENTUALLY manage to get in.
The forum treats me as an 'administrator' (sort of...)
I think there's a glitch between the admin level, and the Global moderators level.
Cheers - Igottaheadache.
Quote from: Phil2 on 16 January 2022, 04:00:13 PMYes... I will....from time to time. :P
I'm just having another mega hissy fit.....Trying to log in as Phil2...The new forum definitely doesn't like me....three goes until I can actually post
I have a theory, now...
When I EVENTUALLY manage to get in.
The forum treats me as an 'administrator' (sort of...)
I think there's a glitch between the admin level, and the Global moderators level.
Cheers - Igottaheadache.
Two parcetamol works. No IT eworks proper !!!
We had a few bullfinches in the garden over the weekend which is a first for us. The red breasts on the males is particularly striking. (No they definitely weren't robins!)
Not quite nature, but I had a great view of Venus this morning, which did look rather splendid before the cloud cover came over.
An unnatural planet?
Another chilly but Sunny day... in January. I blame Global Warming. Doubt it will last.
Bullfinches, Long Tailed Tits and Woodpecker on the feeders... plus lots of 'twitering' going on! :)
I have virtually given up feeding the birds
I bought one of these squirrel proof posts that hold several feeders and water bowls. The songbirds won't go near it and it ends up all being eaten by jackdaws or magpies, niether of which do I wish to encourage. The bits that fall to the ground are gobbled up by the flying rats.
As the Corvids and the flying rats are no longer under the "General License" I am no longer allowed to thin them down with the air rifle.
Any suggestions as to how to encourage the songbirds to use the new feeder would be appreciated
Orcs. If post feeder fairly new... give them time? Will soon be hungry fledglings. Small birds seem to like some nearby 'cover'to flit to and from, so maybe resite a little way?
Nowt much you can do about nuisance big birds except bang on the window... but... if scoffing from feeders, might be less likely to raid nests?
THanks for the suggestions HH
Feeder has been in garden for a year, is within hopping distance of several bushes. The laurel had several bids actually living in it. It had Peanuts, Generl bird seed, Niger seed and fatballs in feeders and I reguarly put meal worms and seed on its tray. The Robin uses very occasionally as does the blackbird.
Yes I suppose it might stop some nest raiding
Do the feeders have a "roof" on them or some sort of cover over them? Birdbox style feeders can keep the bigger birds out as they have a harder time getting under the cover giving a bit more protection for the smaller birds. Though ultimately it can be hard to keep the big bullies away but I find the smaller birds tend to flit in and out and between them.
Another factor to take into consideration may be whether your neighbours have feeders, as the birds may already have established patterns of feeding from neighbouring feeders so are less inclined to visit your newer one. Maybe having a few smaller feeders scattered at other parts of the garden may tempt them in to find the bigger feeder.
QuoteI have virtually given up feeding the birds
I bought one of these squirrel proof posts that hold several feeders and water bowls. The songbirds won't go near it and it ends up all being eaten by jackdaws or magpies, niether of which do I wish to encourage. The bits that fall to the ground are gobbled up by the flying rats.
As the Corvids and the flying rats are no longer under the "General License" I am no longer allowed to thin them down with the air rifle.
Any suggestions as to how to encourage the songbirds to use the new feeder would be appreciated
I suggest you check the General Licences GL40 and GL42 (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/general-licences-for-wildlife-management)
Things may not be as bad as you think 8)
Magpies on both lists.
Quote from: Gwydion on 21 January 2022, 01:02:26 PMI suggest you check the General Licences GL40 and GL42 (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/general-licences-for-wildlife-management)
Things may not be as bad as you think 8)
Magpies on both lists.
Yes looks like they have changed the license. I have a thrush in my garden, and this is a specie of concern, I can get the flying rat and Jackdaw on grounds of crop damage.
Thanks for that
What is most annoying is that the songbirds used to use our garden a lot to feed, until the Squirrel destroyed all the feeders. Hence the purchase of the new one that they do not use.
The first cut of the lawn this year on a rather lovely afternoon. Very nice to be outside again pottering about :) . Oh and the snowdrops are out and a solitary crocus.
Quote from: Steve J on 27 January 2022, 03:50:06 PMThe first cut of the lawn this year on a rather lovely afternoon. Very nice to be outside again pottering about :) . Oh and the snowdrops are out and a solitary crocus.
Your keen, once you start cutting the grass you have to do it regularly.
Not a good idea to cut grass before the threat of frost is past.
No frost forecast for several days, so the grass will be fine, famous last words. I have cut it earlier in January before, but several years ago now.
QuoteNo frost forecast for several days, so the grass will be fine, famous last words. I have cut it earlier in January before, but several years ago now.
Frost this morning here, and I don't think I'm too far away from you.
A touch of frost here too which was certainly not forecast. Still the grass looks fine as pretty resilient, so I'm not worried. Damned foggy now than and very dreary.
Storm Malik seems to be doing more local damage than Arwen did. So far... an 8" branch off the old Ash and several smaller branches off various other trees. Changed my mind about going out for shopping! ;)
Periodic visit to the garden by a Sparrow Hawk yesterday. Well, I assume it's the same one we see every time but who knows. We feed the birds, the birds feed the Sparrow Hawk. It seems to be partial to Collared Doves and Wood Pigeons judging by the feathers it leaves behind so I'm guessing it's a female. Still, there are plenty of them, especially Wood Pigeons.
We had a visit from a Sparrowhawk yesterday, after I'd done my RSPB Birdwatch recording. Plenty of Corvids and Sparrows seen, not much else. Might do one tomorrow as the weather is looking better...
We're planning our Birdwatch today instead as we were busy with Dave's 60th birthday yesterday!
QuoteStorm Malik seems to be doing more local damage than Arwen did.
What's up with these names? Arwen, then Malik, and now Corrie?
It's something along the lines of the country most likely to be hit by the storm gets to name it (Denmark named Malik), hence the non-alphabetical nature of the recent ones.
Belated Happy Birthday to Dave!
QuoteBelated Happy Birthday to Dave!
<:-P <:-P <:-P
Happy Birthday, Dave!
<:-P <:-P <:-P <:-P
QuoteWhat's up with these names? Arwen, then Malik, and now Corrie?
The UK, Ireland and the Netherlands collaborate on naming most storms in the region for the year (Arwen, Barra and Corrie so far). Malik was an interloper from Denmark as mentioned elsewhere using a different naming system.
The next names for storms for the year will be Dudley, Eunice, Franklin, Gladys, Herman, Imani, Jack, Kim, Logan, Méabh, Nasim, Olwen, Pól, Ruby, Seán, Tineke, Vergil and Willemien.
As you can see a mix of British, Irish and Dutch names.
My guess is Arwen was submitted for a LotR fan (it is technically a Welsh name), Barra was named after a weather presenter here in NI, Corrie was maybe named by someone with a love of soaps?
Anyway... Happy Birthday, Dave!
My sympathies to weather presenters if they get past L this year ;)
Quote from: paulr on 01 February 2022, 12:42:09 AMMy sympathies to weather presenters if they get past L this year ;)
Hang on, isn't the weather their fault? :)
QuoteHang on, isn't the weather their fault? :)
Do you view weather forecasters as some kind of Druid summoning the weather into being with their animated maps?
QuoteDo you view weather forecasters as some kind of Druid summoning the weather into being with their animated maps?
Wait! They're not? Dang!
But they know what the weather will be! What sorcery is this!!?? :D
Quote from: Ithoriel on 01 February 2022, 03:40:51 PMWait! They're not? Dang!
But they know what the weather will be! What sorcery is this!!?? :D
Divination of the weather, definitely a suspect craft. Perhaps we should hand them by their thumbs until they confess. :)
Pheasants. Many years ago, now, our garden was a regular haunt for a truly Gorgeous and aristocratic visitor. A ring necked Cock Pheasant. Full bodied and in his prime... his lordly strut was a joy to behold. On occasion, a much more timid hen may have accompanied.
Christened 'Pheasan Phesumpus' by Ma... the 'Royal progress' was a real pleasure. :)
But... years pass. The rough field nearby became housing and His visits stopped. :(
There were occasional visits by newer generations... but declining... and I have not seen or heard a Pheasant locally for many years. :(
Some time past, I took Ma for a drive though 'The Debatable Land' looking for Pele Towers. We encountered several Pheasants... but not a pleasure. Scrawny, scabby... not what we used to enjoy... and no-one would waste a cartridge on them. Sad. :'(
So... if you are Graced by a resplendent visitor, in all his glory... just enjoy. :)
Sunny Spring day here today. :)
Masses of Snowdrops out and, for once, Crocus flowers standing up nicely and not beaten flat as they usually get.
Cleared stick / leaf jams in stream... pleasant to see light glinting on flowing water.
Annoyance is that 'Little Old Guy' still has not finished cutting back bushes, etc. and they are shooting. Seeing as he has already been paid for work, probably not his priority! >:( ;) ;D
Nice day! :)
Finally some sunshine again after a pretty iffy couple of weeks with the storms and the aftermath of those. Spring has well and truly sprung here in Bristol, with everything shooting up left, right and centre. The blackbirds are nest building which is always good to see and I saw a female chaffinch in the garden this morning, the first one for a long, long time.
Well a male Blackcap spotted on the feeders in the garden this morning :) . Not seen one for a few months, so could be an early migrant or one of the residents that have begun over Wintering in the UK. Either way a pleasure to see on a cold and cloudy day.
The birds have largely deserted our back garden since it turned into the Somme last year, but I'm hoping we can tempt them back this summer as we tidy things up a bit. Even the squirrel has given up as every time he came back his landmarks had disappeared/moved and he couldn't retrace his steps to his stashes.
Once I've got a few more big jobs done we'll be putting a load of bird boxes up, and also some bat boxes hopefully. We see them hunting at dusk each night so there's healthy population around here somewhere, and it'd be great to give them somewhere in the garden to live.
Gave the grass it's first 'long' cut of the year yesterday.
Assuming it stays dry - and the forecast is that it will - will lower the blades and give it more of a 'buzz' cut this afternoon.
Then I have to put up a birdbox - xmas gift from grand-daughter - somewhere . . . not sure where yet. There's a lot of cats around here.
Sunny, but breezy Spring day. Garden... loads of Violets, Wood Anemones, Oxlips and Fritillaries out and Wood Sorrel starting. Night Foxes and Hedgehogs busy. April already! :o :)
Dull and grey here but no rain ATM
Planted the first of my onions at the weekend - Stuttgart Giants - it was a glorious Saturday and the tadpoles in the pond on my plot were wriggling like crazy in the warm sunshine.
Makes you glad to be alive :D
Tadpoles ?.....Hmmmm...that makes me realise that I haven't seen any toads flattened on the road, this year. Hopefully that means they've been lucky, rather than them all disappearing !
We saw a nice mix of butterflies over that lovely early Spring spell of sunshine and warmth, but none since. Most of the Spring bulbs have gone over, but the tulips are looking lovely again this year. Second early potatoes planted at the weekend and tomatoes and lettuce seedlings doing very nicely on the windowsill. Even the dahlias in pots have started growing and I hope the ones left in the ground have survived the wet Winter.
In my garden the slightly warmer weather has seen the return of a pair of amorous woodpigeons. Most evenings around 6 they fly in (not together), land on the same part of the trellis at the end of the garden and start the foreplay, involving small hops, mutual preening and much beak-locking. Eventually the female sort of crouches down and the male gets flappy for a few seconds. A few more hops, a rest that's the equivalent of a post-coital cigarette, and they fly off. They've been doing it for at least three years, and have convinced me they must be carrying on an intense extra-marital affair.
Of course it may not always be the same pair, despite the consistency of behaviour. But that would mean my trellis has become a prime woodpigeon dogging site.... :o
The blackbirds have fledglings as they are busily carrying worms, caterpillars etc to the neighbours garden. Always lovely to see.
One Swallow does not a Summer make, but maybe 8+ flying over our house this evening might :) . The garden is coming along nicely and even the Dahlias I grew from seed last year have come up again. Happy days!
We have had a solitary rook in the garden the last couple of days. I thought they were more social birds. Not sure where the nearest rookery is to here
In Japanese chess you get only one rook.
Maybe he just wants some alone time, to get away from the hurly-burly and stress of the rookery?
We've got foxes. Which would be nice, but they're terrifying the chickens, literally to death :/
QuoteIn Japanese chess you get only one rook.
Until you "turn" opponent's one by capturing it.
This week, mostly bird stuff and lawn mowing.
A very overdue cut of the lawn and my post-surgery recuperation continues.
#3 son came back fomr University to assist with a chunk of the back lawn.
We left a border uncut as per "be nice to the bees" advice.
Also closed up a couple of holes under the eaves where jackdaws were intent on breaking and entering.
Visits to the garden now see 2 pairs of jackdaws looking down in an accusing manner.
Big "thump" on an upstairs window yesterday.
Checking about revealed a very young and slightly bewildered starling standing on the patio below the window.
Thinking about cat danger I herded it to a more sheltered location, and dropped off some bird food.
Several minutes later a loud adult starling appeared and started making a lot of noise.
The two flew off together.
This morning, shuffling and tapping on bedroom window.
Pulling back the curtain I saw a very young starling perched outside.
We eyeballed each other for a while and it flew off when I opened a side window.
(Though not before taking a dump on my window sill).
Have I made a friend for life?
How do I persuade t to visit a little later in the day?
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 14 May 2022, 01:31:00 PMUntil you "turn" opponent's one by capturing it.
Do you play? :)
QuoteDo you play? :)
Shogi, Yes.
I had a ranking once, also had a couple of bilingual books on the subject?
I still have a magnetic travel set, but haven't played for years.
Found five dead baby starlings on a path at the community garden last week which was a bit of a shock.
But good news is the swifts are back in the area, and a pair of blue tits have taken up residence in my partner's bird box at the bottom of the garden. Looks like they are feeding young too, judging by the flights in and out.
Saw spoonbills again last month :) At Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve. And whilst at Bempton cliffs amongst the usual gannets, razorbills, guillimots and occasional puffin we spotted a rock pippet, a bit of uncommon one - only 34000 breeding pairs and only live on coasts. My partner got this pic:
(https://i.postimg.cc/yNPJyGV4/rock-pippet-2022.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/CZRLFmBm)
:)
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 14 May 2022, 09:37:36 PMShogi, Yes.
I had a ranking once, also had a couple of bilingual books on the subject?
I still have a magnetic travel set, but haven't played for years.
Rather proud that I challenged and beat one of the management at Gojozaki Guest House on my last visit. He warned me that he wasn't very good, however, and that his father would have been another matter. Probably true; I'm certainly no Yoshitsune.
QuoteRather proud that I challenged and beat one of the management at Gojozaki Guest House on my last visit. He warned me that he wasn't very good, however, and that his father would have been another matter. Probably true; I'm certainly no Yoshitsune.
That's an impressive boast.
Claims of "not very good" in any native art form need to be treated with extreme caution.
I think back to a string of Indian postgrad students who were "not very good" at cricket, only to effortlessly dispatch the regular team's best bowlers for a flurry of boundaries.
Indians who are not very good at cricket are fed to the crocodiles!
Our little orange visitor furry visitor git is not content with frightening old hens to death, it wants into the new ones and has severed the wiring to our auto close door on the coop!
I was going to post a pic but the forum requires JPG not JPEG and I can't reformat the file extension on the phone :/
Going back a long time, now... Grandma used to buy Peanuts still in 'shells'... and 'somehow' thread them into a 'string' to hang for birds. Possibly with Darning Needle and wool?
Would Husks be beneficial?
Not something that I could be bothered with... but might be interesting for some to try?
Ps: In a Hospital stay, Ma asked for a bag of such nuts to do to relieve boredom and hang near hospital windows. An elderly Lady patient thanked Ma for her care and for providing a source of interest! Apparently, the Lady was a descendent of either Grace Darling or Florence Nightingale... but, sadly, I cannot remember which and cannot ask Ma, now.
I just fill nut/seed feeders and put out Fat filled Coconuts now and again... but for own garden.
Hmm. Have just noticed some sort of insects establishing colony behind recent Fascia under flat roof.
First thought was Wasps... but, thinking, 'may' be Bees. Have not gone up close yet! ;D They seem rather small for either... (But Bees usually smaller than Wasps). Are there any other similar nest builders?
If Bees... can stay... would be impossible to remove, anyway. Wasps... "Best ride outa Town, Boys!"
The location is the kind of place wasps like to build nests. The last time I had a wasp nest the noise was remarkable and there were dozens of them about, coming and going - unmistakable. Without a picture of the critter it is impossible to say really.
(In the days before Health and Safety) my father once had a wasps nest in the farm yard. His friend from the local council brought some SERIOUS chemicals (I think it might have been cyanide, but could be mistaken. Whatever, it was something very, very nasty) and just put small amount at the entrance to the nest. The explanation was that every wasp that touched the chemicals as they went in/out of the nest would be dead soon after.
On a different occasion I was once chased 100+ yards by angry wasps - so I'm afraid the little beggars don't get much sympathy from me.
Geoff
Still have not got up close enough for a positive ID... possibly annoyed insects and ME on a step ladder ? !!! ;D
They don't look like Wasps and too small. Def 'could' be Bees... but, again, seem on the small side. Very little noise...so far.
Have seen pics of Bees taking up residence in several unusual places. In various locations inside cars, or using 'overflows' or flues...if not in regular use...etc.
Don't want to powder poison Bees unless they become a problem. No way they could be collected and rehomed. :(
To be fair wasps are just as important to the ecosystem as bees - they're also pollinators and great for pest control of other insects. If they're not doing any harm/damage might be as easy to leave them be then remove the nest at the end of the season when they've all died off to discourage anything else from taking up residence or them returning next year. If it is wasps I don't think they return to the same nest but will sometimes make one near their previous.
Just had Mouse upside down on fat filled Coconut feeder. So Cat has not wiped them out...yet! I quite like to see Mice... so as long as they are outside... and not in bits!
Lots of small Moths indoors, this year... especially in bathroom... but no idea where they are coming from. I try to capture and 'put out'... but lots of dead moths around.
A few Butterflies about... mainly some sort of 'White' with some brownish 'Wood' species.
Frogs in pond and young Foxes around... plus several Hedgehogs doing well.
'Life' goes on.
QuoteLots of small Moths indoors, this year...
Yeah, I've noticed a large amount of moths this summer as well.
In complete contrast, very few moths in the bathroom this year. Normally we have to keep the window closed or just ajar to keep them out.
Wouldn't mind a few moths....Currently being driven mad by a young buzzard, flying around Techno Towers, screaming "Feed me, feed me".
Mummy and Daddy have obviously decided that it's time it fended for itself.
This is Techno...currently under a hosepipe ban*. (I mean WHAT ?)
Cheers - Phil. *..The ban will make NO difference to me and Von...Only thing a hosepipe gets used for here, is to fill water troughs...and that doesn't count. :P
Quote from: Techno 3 on 07 August 2022, 10:23:51 AMCheers - Phil. *..The ban will make NO difference to me and Von...Only thing a hosepipe gets used for here, is to fill water troughs...and that doesn't count. :P
I did wonder how you would cope watering the menagerie.
You mean to say you don't have a perfectly manicured lawn surrounded with Begonias?
Mark....My dear friend :) ....Our 'lawn' is still very green, and really quite 'lush'.
What we've noticed is that the 7 (garbage) acres we've got, over the road (Part of a SSSI) is SO amazingly dry, I could easily walk on it with my trainers. Normally I'd need waders to play 'bog hopping' there.
Over the road from us, is one of the two sources of the river Cleddau.....that source is virtually gone, like the source of Thames. :o
Cheers - Phil. ;)
I wonder how long it will take certain certain members of our esteemed forum to realise that they've been blocked by everyone
They can still post...but no-one will be able to see what they've posted.
And there I was thinking it was just that my posts were so boring nobody bothered to reply :) :) :)
Quote from: Techno 3 on 07 August 2022, 01:51:03 PMI wonder how long it will take certain certain members of our esteemed forum to realise that they've been blocked by everyone
They can still post...but no-one will be able to see what they've posted.
We live in hope in your case Phil ;)
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 07 August 2022, 03:01:49 PMWe live in hope in your case Phil ;)
Until i saw this post I thought you might have been one of them.
QuoteWe live in hope in your case Phil ;)
Pah! What this forum needs is ....
MOAR TECHNO!... and more cowbell :)
QuoteI wonder how long it will take certain certain members of our esteemed forum to realise that they've been blocked by everyone
Is that done by the Forum admins then? 'Cos I don't think I've blocked anyone. Didn't even know you could?
Quote from: Raider4 on 07 August 2022, 03:48:27 PMIs that done by the Forum admins then? 'Cos I don't think I've blocked anyone. Didn't even know you could?
Me neither. I hope they've been told.
Quote from: Techno 3 on 07 August 2022, 10:23:51 AMWouldn't mind a few moths
Was just sitting in my garden watching a couple of Humming-bird Hawk-moths. Lovely creatures.
QuoteI wonder how long it will take certain certain members of our esteemed forum to realise that they've been blocked by everyone.
The Tang masters are coming along nicely.
So
that's why nobody responds to my posts!
We see them now and then and they are a joy to watch.
Quote from: Orcs on 07 August 2022, 03:23:44 PMUntil i saw this post I thought you might have been one of them.
So did I
02.30, Unwell and drunk. About to let Dog have late night Wee in garden.
BUT... skinny young Fox at dishes of 'Kibble'... Hedgehog already been 'stuffing'!
Think Fox was a young Female. It Knew it was 'observed'... but HUNGRY.
So... took Dog out of Front door, instead. Then put out canned Meat...
WHY do WE do this?? Hour later.. meat gone... good luck Girl!
Apples are beginning to drop in our lower lot. Each evening the deer come down off the mountain and gobble them up. This creates quite a stir amongst the neighborhood dogs, which upsets the cats. So far no one has taken a shot at them, deer, dogs or cats.
The rabbits hide in the brambles through it all and the squirrels throw acorns at everybody. The birds have roosted and remain indifferent.
Some friends are already harvesting Blackberries... but UK 'Blackberry Week' should be early October!
Wild Brambles do not seem to be ripe yet... so maybe garden crops?
Mention of Apples got me thinking of Halloween... supermarkets will soon start stacking up rubbish! But... this IS August...isn't it?
Cornfields getting cut and Willowherb starting to go to seed... so must be!
But! I see Remembrance Day Poppies already appearing on shop counters... Fine by Me... but what?
Am I in some sort of Time Warp? :o ;D
LOL! I've just checked today's Date on Google!
Christmas decorations in Costco today ;)
Quote from: howayman on 13 August 2022, 07:34:11 PMChristmas decorations in Costco today ;)
I do hope you're kidding?
Well, Something Wolfed... or FOXED the Sliced Turkey that I just chucked outside... within 5 mins! 2 days past date, from fridge unlikely to harm Fox digestion, and smelt OK... just did not want to eat myself, being 'ropy' anyway... I managed to force down some newer stuff. :)
Two Hedgehogs, 1 big, 1 medium currently guzzling kibble! :) Water provided.
Ignore list ?
Top left hand corner, click on the down arrow by your moniker....You should have a tab which says 'ignore list'...click on that, and away you go...just type in anyone you want to ignore. ;)
Should work for everyone.
Works for my Doppelganger, who/which(?) :-\ has no admin facilities at all. ;)
(Cheers - Phil/Techno 3 )
But is there any way to see other peeps ignore list ?
QuoteBut is there any way to see other peeps ignore list ?
I would certainly hope not
Blackberrys (wild) start to ripen here in certain places from mid-July onwards. Very early this year but many so small and dry that not worth picking.
At garden centre yesterday with family and they had roped an area off to prepare for the Xmas decorations display :( :o .
Blackberry's on dog walks have been yum.
Have just seen that the small stream in back garden COMPLETELY dry. It has not done that before... previous dry spells, usually still had a tiny trickle with puddles.
That means garden pond will be the ONLY source of water around vicinity for wildlife apart from putting out shallow bowls. I suspect some creatures may visit neighbours greenhouse Tomato trays,though!
1976... there was still a flow in stream and thunderstorms had meant garden flooded several times. Construction of a storm drain and new development's drain systems in 80s reduced normal waterflow by about 50-60%... and never a flood since. They reckon thunderstorms on the way, though.
I spent the weekend in rural North Norfolk and took a stroll up to the mound that the church in Downham Market is on, from which you get stunning views for many, many miles. The only green to be seen was trees and shrubs, which looked weird against the corn coloured fields and grass. Never seen it like this, even in 1976.
Quote from: Steve J on 14 August 2022, 08:53:41 PMI spent the weekend in rural North Norfolk and took a stroll up to the mound that the church in Downham Market is on, from which you get stunning views for many, many miles. The only green to be seen was trees and shrubs, which looked weird against the corn coloured fields and grass. Never seen it like this, even in 1976.
It's very much that way here in the Midlands. Scorched brown except for the also somewhat desiccated and limp shrubs and trees.
The lawn is... well... less a lawn, more like a parched Savannah.
We're similar up here although the bottom end of our garden is quite shaded with trees and unkept weeds/growth. The top end is parched but we've stripped that back to the dirt anyway so it's not really affecting much.
The resident frogs don't seem to be suffering, we had 8 of them out last night waiting on some unfortunate insects to wander by. We've put extra water down there for them just in case.
'Wild Garden' was lovely, once... but recent years of neglect... overgrown, with over heavy tree cover. Plenty of vegetation but ground VERY dried out. I doubt remaining Bluebells will survive... though Wild Garlic almost certainly will. NEVER plant Wild Garlic! :o :'(
Some..., very little... spots of rain 05.30... but not enough to do anything.
I love wild garlic!
I gather it's both hardy and invasive though :D The one thing still thriving is the bloody bindweed in ours. Strangling sod.
Good job on the frogs Leon, I'm reading a lot of warnings to put accessible water out for animals as their usual sources are gone :/
Luckily still signs of our hedgehog visiting, which is good. I leave water out all year long for the birds to bathe in plus we have a very small wildlife pond that is used mainly for drinking and for the frogs to rest in now and then. I have had to water the garden at least once a day for over a week, to help keep the bugs and insects going to feed the food chain (namely hedgehog and frogs).
The Blackberries in the garden are just ready for harvesting. Freezing them as we pick them - bramble jelly as usual I expect. The wild bramble we also used to collect from have all been grubbed out to make way for a development of about 100 three and four bedroom houses. This is in small town where the two schools and surgeries are already full. Runner beans are very poor this year, can't get enough water on them even with an irrigation system which I've decided to turn off for all the good it is doing. Chilli plants are doing well though. The grass is like straw but it will recover as it always does. We still have frogs living in and around our small pond but our hedgehog population has dwindled from five a few years ago to none last year. Our hibernation boxes weren't used last winter. Garden birds seem to have almost disappeared during this drought and we only see them coming down to have a drink and bathe first thing. They are not feeding during the drought on the usual stuff we put out for them - the containers are usually emptied in a couple of days but are hardly touched at the moment. The countryside here reminds me of Australia - brown. It is all a bit depressing as if we have finally succeeded and screwed the planet properly.
QuoteI love wild garlic!
I gather it's both hardy and invasive though :D The one thing still thriving is the bloody bindweed in ours. Strangling sod.
Good job on the frogs Leon, I'm reading a lot of warnings to put accessible water out for animals as their usual sources are gone :/
I like smell of Wild Garlic and flower but leaves smother other spring plants. Planted small clump in 90s. 10yrs later, covering up back. Digging out has no effect...like ground Elder. Now has achieved successful 'river' crossings and advancing! Eating tubers may be toxic to pets...don't know about leaves. Don't think they try eating it... but sometimes wonder about crushed leaf sap on Feet/Fur?
A couple of Frogs in Pond and Hedgehogs seem to be doing OK.
Just few spots of light rain so far, here.
Virtually nothing, rain wise, here yesterday....Though I could see one HELL of a localised downpour going on a few miles away.
Weather finally broke last night, rained constantly for last sixteen hours or so, to varying degrees.
Barely seems to have touched the sides, but hopefully a good few damp days in the mid twenties at worst will let us recover!
Cooler here thank God to the point of needing to wear more than one layer of clothing. Steady rain on and off over the past day or so, aside from the torrential downpour. I'm in the garden later so will have a better idea of how deep or not it penetrated.
Quote from: Steve J on 17 August 2022, 09:55:26 AMCooler here thank God to the point of needing to wear more than one layer of clothing. Steady rain on and off over the past day or so, aside from the torrential downpour. I'm in the garden later so will have a better idea of how deep or not it penetrated.
Tbh it's now cool enough to wear *any* clothing :D
We only had an hour or so of light rain yesterday... just enough to 'dampen'. Back to Sun today!
Oh well... we'll miss it when it's gone! :o ;D
Hedgehogs. I cannot figure out population visiting feed bowls. Certainly, at least 2... 1 large and 1 medium seen feeding together... but possibly, also, 1 large and a 'smaller'. Individuals around all night... but may be returnees back for 'seconds'!
Food is 'Puppy' kibble, Chicken flavour... plus water bowl.
Some strange sounding 'snarls'... but imagine Hedge Pigs as prone to aggro as anything! NOT Mrs. Tiggywinkle!
Foxes... not as many as in previous years... but definitely around... can hear something and see one sometimes. But I have not been putting out a nightly supply of canned dog meat as I used to. When I do put some sort of meat out... gone VERY quick!
Note: Foxes can digest Fish or fish Based foods... but I don't think Hedgehogs can... so I don't put it out. Do NOT put out waste containing Onion or Garlic.... or Grapes/Raisins... harmful to canids.
Although little rain... a trickle of water in stream
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 19 August 2022, 03:43:50 AMDo NOT put out waste containing Onion or Garlic.... or Grapes/Raisins... harmful to canids.
And to felines.
Got to bed around 1am last night/ this morning.
Asleep by around 1:30.
1:45 two foxes are having a spat in the middle of the street for around five minutes. Much sound and fury, no contact.
2am, back to sleep.
2:25 fox and cat now having a face off. After ten minutes or so of noise and posturing from both sides cat decides to have a go. Fox gets a faceful of paw but cat gets nipped on the rump. Cat gives a loud yowl and shoots off like a rocket.
Fox sits for a minute or so on the monoblock then proceeds to yip and yowl for several minutes. Possibly the fox equivalent of "Come and take us on if ya think yer 'ard enough!"
Stalks off through the bars of the wrought iron gate and disappears from view and hearing.
3am - back to sleep.
7:30 two young girls in the room above mine wake up full of the joys because they are off on holiday today.
YAWN! Anyone else familiar with "Peace At Last" by Jill Murphy?
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ln-5f7DH0d4/Ubgtvu8Vw2I/AAAAAAAAAuQ/Q_g0Gv4KMRU/s1600/bear.jpg)
Found a very large house spider in the kitchen yesterday. Caught him and threw him on the grass in the back garden. Robin swept down and had him for breakfast.
We regularly put water out at the front and back of the house and top it up. Primarily intended for our puppy and the two cats if they wish but open to other animals e.g. fox if they so desire.
Saw our local fox in the front garden last week when it triggered a security light. I usually see it in the day but not recently.
Edward
Lots of trees now showing signs of the false Autumn caused by stress from the recent heat and prolonged drought. Rather strange for the time of year.
Yeah, noticed that yesterday. Walked past the local park, it looked more like late October. Brown leaves everywhere on the floor. Neighbour's apples seem to be falling much earlier as well.
Yes, happens in prolonged dry spells. Our Malus has dropped a lot of its leaves but after the rain on Thursday the lawn is showing shoots of green.
Even though we've got a hosepipe ban in Pembs...The grass, in the fields, is still VERY green.
Only a few sycamores look a bit sad.
Given that He seems to have wiped out local Voles, working on mice and the occasional Rat or Baby Rabbit... my Purry Furry should have been named 'Genghis Cat'! Little T**t! :o ;)
That's a shame but I'm afraid where the population of domestic cats is high, wildlife suffers, not only from cat predation but it also denies the voles to natural predators. But, as long as it doesn't crap in my front garden it will be OK. :D
Trap the mouse... shoot the rat... trap and shoot the squirrel... trap, shoot, spade, fork, bludgeon the mole!
but voles are lovely Godly creatures O:-) and so cute!
(saw a squirrel pick one up once, took into a tree and started to eat the poor bugger... shot the b*stard squirrel)
Many assume Squirrels to only eat nuts and Pinecones. Not sure about Reds, but Greys raid bird nests / boxes if able to. Reputedly... may be cannibal in extremity, like Rats... and Humans! :o
Red and grey squirrels are omnivorous, both eat bird's eggs, nestlings, small mammals and insects. Greys are not indigenous. They are a pest and carry diseases fatal to reds, so you can shoot them and trap them. If you trap a grey you cannot release it and you have to kill it.
There used to be Red Squirrels around . but haven't seen for a long time. Probably, tree felling... loss of 'pathway' and Pines.
Only seen One Grey... on public property! Not sure what I would do... MAYBE shoot. Would NOT want to... but feel same about Rats. :(
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 25 August 2022, 05:13:15 PMMany assume Squirrels to only eat nuts and Pinecones. Not sure about Reds, but Greys raid bird nests / boxes if able to. Reputedly... may be cannibal in extremity, like Rats... and Humans! :o
We had a spate of "bin bag robberies" a few years ago, with nappies being left discarded across gardens...
I spotted the culprit - was a squirrel, running across the big fence at the back with a nappie clutched in its gob!
Tasty! ;D Last time I checked Hedgehog Houses... the one near street had old crisp packets and sweet wrappers dragged in for bedding! :o ;)
About 25 sparrows in the garden each day now, which is great to see, but SWMBO doesn't believe they've had a sharp decline in numbers, when she sees the whole flock together!
Birds are going through Peanuts like mad... a full large feeder in a week! A fat coconut also. Seed feeder largely untouched... maybe plenty natural around.
Cautionary tale about a Hedgehog. Kindly neighbour was given a young pig that someone's dog had got. No apparent injuries and it came out of 'shock' after a while and started feeding. She phoned to ask if she could release into my garden after 2nd day... but didn't. 3rd day, I popped round and it seemed lively... wanting to be out of the good sized bird cage that it was in... but later retreated into shelter and died.
I think it had just 'given up'. Maybe it would have been ok if released earlier? Don't know. :(
Shame about the hedgehog. We had up to five regulars a few years ago but none at all now. The boxes were not occupied at all over last winter. Our Sparrow Hawk, I assume there is just the one, had a wood pigeon for its breakfast this morning. All that was left were the feathers. We feed the birds and the birds feed the Sparrow Hawk. Watching a couple of Kites circling. They have made a real come-back recently. They never come into the garden but must be looking for food I suppose. Perhaps I should put out a chicken carcass and see what happens!
Something killed a pigeon in our front garden last week and removed the carcass - don't think it was either of our cats but could have been a sparrow hawk (we've had it happen before), possibly a kite as they are increasingly prevalent round here.
Edward
The hedgehog was in the garden a few nights ago at dusk, which was good to see. The birds are eating the seed like crazy at present, even though Summer is doing its damnedest to hang on here in Bristol. A few butterflies still around which is nice to see.
Not seen many Butterflies this year gone.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63164826
Very few... just odd Whites or Wood browns... but have not really been looking.
Not large numbers of 'outdoor' Moths, either... just the occasional annoying B****r that enters and needs to be captured and put out!
For some reason very large numbers of small Moths in Bathroom... usually dead or weak. Put them out... but probably little chance. No idea where they are coming from! Have not had these before.
Lots of spindly spiders... I would not mind presence, but too much web around!
I do a daily butterfly count each year and certainly a drop in number and species that came to the garden this Summer.
This year's theme for us has been close encounters with raptors. At the Vegan B&B in Kendal recently, a buzzard landed in the garden on some guinea pig pens and just sat there looking around even though we crept closer.
(https://i.postimg.cc/x8BF4D4j/buzzard-vegan-BB.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/q6XLNYrW)
And yesterday twice up close with a kestrel at Brockholes - it was too windy for their usual hovering tactics, so sitting in trees and on posts looking down on the ground was their next tactic - one landed in a tree 20' away from us and stayed scanning the ground a while, then later we saw it on a large wooden post overlooking a play area - I thought it was a carved one at first until it turned it's head. :)
Saw lots of dragonflys too, and even a butterfly. Which for early October is quite unusual.
Not a vegan buzzard then?
Quote from: Lord Speedy of Leighton on 07 October 2022, 11:44:27 AMNot a vegan buzzard then?
Dunno, I didn't ask him. Certainly showed no interest in the guinea pigs whilst he was there.
Quote from: sultanbev on 07 October 2022, 08:18:36 AMbuzzard landed in the garden on some guinea pig pens and just sat there looking around even though we crept closer.
Stunning bird. We see them overhead from time to time but not in the garden. The most common raptor we see is the Red Kite which we see in numbers almost daily, 25 years ago you never saw them at all. The only raptor we see in our garden is a Sparrow Hawk which takes Wood Pigeons and Collared Doves, sometimes the occasional Blackbird. The main problem in our neck of the woods is the explosion of the domestic cat population, which plays havoc with the birds, particularly during nesting as they take a lot of chicks and scare birds from nesting at all. They also foul our flower beds and lawn. I tried 'Silent Roar - Lion Poo' deterent but it didn't really work. Any suggestions. I have thought of Claymores already but nothing, even on Ebay:D
I love the buzzards, we used to get a family of them overhead almost daily when we lived in Cornwall but we don't see many up here in the north-east. A few kites here and there and sparrow hawks are quite common when we get out into the countryside.
We've had butterflies in the garden this summer but I've not kept a proper tally list sadly. Cabbage whites, peacocks and a few red admirals I think. We had a couple of dragonflies as well which was nice, not had those before.
Quote from: John Cook on 07 October 2022, 02:17:41 PMAny suggestions. I have thought of Claymores already but nothing, even on Ebay:D
At out community garden we have CDs hanging on strings from plastic tubing hoops at the end of the raised beds. Apparently the CD twirling in the wind scares the cat off enough to stop them pooping in the raised bed, or that the see their reflection in the disc and thinks it's another cat and scarper. Seems to work!
There's at least three owls,bats, wrens, kingfisher, heron, deer red kites and kestrel on my local dog walk.
Someone near me saw an otter recently too.
QuoteThere's at least three owls,bats, wrens, kingfisher, heron, deer red kites and kestrel on my local dog walk.
Someone near me saw an otter recently too.
Owls / Bats around. Wrens nest in garden. Have seen Kingfisher and Otters in local river. Herons... or maybe Dragonfly larvae... did for Pond Goldfish long ago! Herons... suddenly this B****y BIG THING takes off nearby! Wump! Wump! Wump! LOL.
Sadness about people, myself inc. Clearing out Ma's stuff... saved some small china bird statuettes. Thought I would gift to local bloke into collecting such.... really into small birds. Chatting, thereafter, he proudly recounted that Sparrowhawk had flown into window and was lying stunned... so he raced out... and stomped on it's head.
I cannot fathom some people. :(
Berries in 2022. Just wondering what UK berry supply like around UK this year?
Not all that much around locally... S Northumberland.
Brambles / Blackberries were not up to some years. Rosehips vary... some smallish. Not much on Hawthorns but Rowans plentiful. Some on Hollys.
In garden Cotoneasters have loads but not a lot on Berberis.
A caterpillar crawling across the pavement whilst I was walking the dogs a couple of days ago. I'd have thought it waaaayyy too cold. Ah well....
QuoteA caterpillar crawling across the pavement whilst I was walking the dogs a couple of days ago. I'd have thought it waaaayyy too cold. Ah well....
Memory from long ago. Newly built 'Middle' school had areas of tall weeds. Not sure whether weeds scythed... but think weed killered. Many Hundreds of green Caterpillars trying to cross tarmac 'courts' to find refuge. Sad. :'(
Curious? Are Your Hedgehogs still active? Have not seen for a while... but 'Poo'! Think a bit early for hibernation... will still want food... something clears bowls... but probably Foxes, Cats or Rats!
They are here - massive one ran past the side door the other night just as I was letting the cat out, scared the living daylights out of the moggy! Hoping it's the young one I saved from a drain about eighteen months ago all grown up. We have several though, kept them in water during the summer when the normal sources were drying up. Nice to see them thriving (no slug pellets or any noxious chemicals in our garden and lots of undergrowth - neighbours hate me! :) )
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 05 November 2022, 01:13:55 AMCurious? Are Your Hedgehogs still active? Have not seen for a while... but 'Poo'! Think a bit early for hibernation... will still want food... something clears bowls... but probably Foxes, Cats or Rats!
We had five hedgehogs a few years ago, and three boxes that were all occupied during the winter. The population has slowly decreased such that we saw none this summer, no food was taken and there were no tell-tale droppings, and none of the boxes were occupied over winter. I've left the boxes out but I'm not hopeful.
I saw some poo last week, but nothing since. At least the Red Admirals are still active, which is good to see.
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 19 October 2022, 02:49:22 PMBerries in 2022. Just wondering what UK berry supply like around UK this year?
Not all that much around locally... S Northumberland.
Brambles / Blackberries were not up to some years. Rosehips vary... some smallish. Not much on Hawthorns but Rowans plentiful. Some on Hollys.
In garden Cotoneasters have loads but not a lot on Berberis.
Massive crop of Slow berries around us in the countryside around Bristol & Bath.
Daughter no1 picked a load and put them in the freezer ahead of making Slow Gin. As it looks to be unlikely we will be getting frost any time soon.
I have fox on the allotment - young(ish) one - who sits about 10 feet away from me as I dig. He then moves in and eats the worms and slugs. I just wish he'd up his game and eat the rat that is living under my shed, that ate 1/3rd of my broad bean crop this year :'(
Borrow a terrier - no more rats. Probably no more allotment either, but you know, eggs, omelettes. :D
Used to be Guy at work who Stank of Ferrets! Useful, maybe? LOL! ;D
Rats ?...I just give them lead poisoning, through the cranium. They don't seem to like that.
An unbelievably warm and sunny day today, considering the time of year. Dahlias still in flower, Echinops having another go and some bulbs already beginning to show, plus I needed to cut the grass again. Strange weather indeed.
Our Hibiscus has started growing again, which shouldn't happen for about another 5 months! However it looks like we'll get a touch of frost tonight, so the Dahlias will be blackened not doubt and the Bougainvillia will be a tad sad. Funny to actually have the first cold day of Autumn here in Bristol.
Quote from: Steve J on 12 November 2022, 06:31:17 PMAn unbelievably warm and sunny day today, considering the time of year. Dahlias still in flower, Echinops having another go and some bulbs already beginning to show, plus I needed to cut the grass again. Strange weather indeed.
I cut the lawn once over summer. It's grown more this last six weeks than it did in the six motnhs before but it's so bloody wet I couldn't mow it even if I was minded to!
Avian Flu order is a bit awkward, means the chickens are roofed off.
Huh, snow.
That wasn't forecast. Very quiet on my walk this AM. Good job it's a Sunday, otherwise the city would be completely grid-locked by now.
WE had some snow but melted completely...
Just heavy frost and fog here in East Anglia. The frost hasn't really melted for about three days. People are moaning about how cold it is - around -4c max overnight and -1c during the day. That isn't cold really.
We too had snow overnight which again wasn't forecast. Just around freezing now, so not too cold at all. The past few days we've had about -3C during the day, but in the sun it's been lovely. Nice to wrap up and feel crisp fresh air for once.
Also saw a male Blackcap in the garden this morning, the first of this Winter and normally see it quite often until it migrates again in the Spring.
South Nld Sunday, Frost not broken since Thurs. Roads ok but paths dodgy. Thurs night was weird! Light Snow Gateshead to NW of Newcastle Airport... then just stopped... dead... in a line!
Something eating dry food put out... probably Fox or Cat. Coconuts or Peanut / seed feeders getting a hammerring.
Update. Snow this evening in Cambridgeshire.
Very light dusting here but at 12:00 it's still -3 - 2 pullovers and fan heater flat out.
Temperature in kitchen/diner 3oC, temperature inside fridge 4.5oC. Excuse me while I pop into the fridge to warm up :D
Fortunately rest of house ranges from 13o in bathroom to 18o in the bedroom. Two PCs and body heat contributing to the latter.
Time to fire up the central heating for a bit.
For 'kids' of my age... (60!)... it is difficult to imagine home life without central heating... just fires or range. Some modern 'burning' fires are almost TOO Good! How did people survive, clustered about some burning sticks? Maybe... 'survival', in the mind?
I used to prefer 'Cold' to Hot... NOT anymore! LOL!
Thoughts for those without anything.
I'm 10 years younger HH, and the house I was a kid in didn't have central heating. It was a big old vicarage, we had 'night storage heaters' in the bedrooms - these allegedly heated up overnight when electricity was cheap and then warmed the room. The only time I remember getting warm from them was sitting with my back resting on it! It wasn't unusual to see ice on the inside of the windows. Getting dressed in bed was necessary!
In the living room we had a coal fire place - that could really put out some heat - but the only way to regulate the heat was to move further away! But the far side of the room could be still be pretty cold.
This morning at 7am the car read -7ºC which is 3-4 degrees colder than the rest of this week. Inside of the windscreen needed scraping!
-8C on the car temp reading at 7.00am today. It really did feel cold, the first time it has felt like that this current cold snap.
Growing up in our first house we had a Rayburn heater in the kitchen cum dining room which kept the place relatively warm. Nothing in the rest of the house. So hot water bottles for bedtime, flannelette sheets and pyjames in the Winter with thick dressing gowns. A bar heater in the bathroom to keep it warmish for when you got out and still remember huddled over it with a towel around me!
As for storage heaters, they were utter rubbish! We finally moved into a house in 1978 that had central heating and what a luxury that was.
I do miss Jack Frost on the inside of thw windows in the Winter though as the patterns made looked just wonderful.
Lap top has just gone up from -7 to -6 on the weather forcast..
1oC in kitchen/dining room first thing this morning and 3oC in fridge.
Roll on next Spring :)
A high of 3oC and a low of -6oC predicted today in the Cambridgeshire fens. Getting warmer by the weekend. This country is a joke when it comes to winter weather, everything come to a grinding halt it seem.
The first house I can really remember was a large four bedroom one in Wandsworth, built in the 1920s, which the family moved into in, the mid-1950s I suppose. The only heating was by means of fireplaces, even in the bedrooms.
I'll stop now before this sounds too much like the 4 Yorkshiremen sketch.
Where in the Fens are you out of interest John? My Mum was a Fen Tiger, having been born in Earith, just on the edge of the Fens. Always bleak when that Easterly wind would blow and go right through you, or that's what it felt like.
Quote from: John Cook on 15 December 2022, 01:03:01 PMA high of 3oC and a low of -6oC predicted today in the Cambridgeshire fens. Getting warmer by the weekend. This country is a joke when it comes to winter weather, everything come to a grinding halt it seem.
The first house I can really remember was a large four bedroom one in Wandsworth, built in the 1920s, which the family moved into in, the mid-1950s I suppose. The only heating was by means of fireplaces, even in the bedrooms.
I'll stop now before this sounds too much like the 4 Yorkshiremen sketch.
Fireplaces .... in't bedrooms! By Eck! Luxury.
We 'ad one paraffin 'eater as was moved abaat as needed for t'bedrooms in aar 'ouse! :D :D :D
Quote from: Steve J on 15 December 2022, 07:02:59 PMWhere in the Fens are you out of interest John? My Mum was a Fen Tiger, having been born in Earith, just on the edge of the Fens. Always bleak when that Easterly wind would blow and go right through you, or that's what it felt like.
About ten miles from Earith. I'm not a local. Moved here when I left the army and got a job in Huntingdon. I don't like the area much to be frank, but there are probably worse places to live and moving is just too much trouble.
Quote from: Ithoriel on 14 December 2022, 11:34:23 AMTemperature in kitchen/diner 3oC, temperature inside fridge 4.5oC. Excuse me while I pop into the fridge to warm up :D
Fortunately rest of house ranges from 13o in bathroom to 18o in the bedroom. Two PCs and body heat contributing to the latter.
Time to fire up the central heating for a bit.
What laughingly passes for my office was similar than - I worked from bed for the morning till the front room warmed up enough to go downstairs. Barely in the office extention for a couple weeks...
So far, another horrible January. Cold...ish, wet and windy. Birds going through Feeders like Mad. No sightings of Foxes or Hedgehogs... 'somethings' are eating the kibble... cats, rats or birds! Bulb shoots coming up! Really NEED to cut back some trees before they bud up... but NOT doing 'outside' just yet! :(
Well it's been pretty wet but quite mild here so far in Bristol. The bulbs are going made with crocuses showing buds and the snowdrops pushing up too. Daffodils and tulips doing there stuff too. Few birds sadly (avian flu?) but our son saw the local fox last night. I need to do a few things too but the ground too sodden at present.
Daffs coming up, grass growing, wet and grey. All in all a pretty typical spring. Two months early...
Grass growing in January fairly typical here in Bristol and in fact have cut it late January before. I don't think so this year given how wet everything is...
Quote from: Steve J on 14 January 2023, 11:19:07 AMGrass growing in January fairly typical here in Bristol and in fact have cut it late January before. I don't think so this year given how wet everything is...
Blimey, we don't normally see this much movement till March-ish. The wet has also hit us, though. We're in March-April quagmire atm.
Yes, it's B COLD! Reluctant to venture outside. Still have some snow lying and paths VERY dodgy!. But do not forget birds and creatures. Seed feeder at front needed replenish and only filled last week! H Hogs probably back to sleep and have not seen a Fox for months... but, 'something' eats the kibble... though, probably, a Cat or Rat!
Ever seen Otters? When a kid, having read Gavin Maxwell and'Tarka' I thought them to be virtually extinct except, maybe, some areas of Scotland or S W UK.
Then, on an April evening, I was walking down to the village along side local small river. (Pont).
And there were TWO... just 'messing around'and doing 'Ottery stuff'!
Mesmerised... watched for, maybe' 15 mins until they drifted downriver, under bridge and past Church.
Magical. Something that I never thought that I would ever see. Never mind in my home village!
That was maybe 20+ years ago... and have not heard anyone seeing any since. Hope still around. :)
Loads (well several :) ) of the little b*gg*rs round the Gwent levels and between the Wye and Usk.
Beautiful and I wish them well but they are vicious little devils despite being pretty.
They are doing better than ever (and long may they do so).
I watched a pair playing about in a river about forty years ago in East Anglia, superbly lithe athletic beasts but killers if you are a fish or wildfowl. They suddenly dived out of sight and a few seconds later a small duck was thrashing about and they were dragging it off to shore. Definitely a red in tooth and claw moment.
Well... that's what they do. There was a Mink 'release' sometime previous... by b idiots! Think Otters got rid of them! Mink are worse. Just Kill on instinct.
Heard Wye was an area of survival. Nice river, from what I have heard. :)
Lovely river. Very muddy near the Severn and a 40ft tidal range at this end, but a beautiful river beyond Tintern.
Suffering some algal bloom problems recently in warm, low rainfall years, exacerbated by phosphate run of from agricultural land. Still nicer than the river I grew up by - you could tell which day of the week it was by its colour from the dye works outflow upstream!
A VERY long time ago, I was an 'Environmental Studies' graduate. Run Off was a prob then... not up to date now. I lived not too far from Tyne. As a kid... you did NOT fall in... you might not drown... but WATER would Kill you! A LOT cleaner now! ;)
My friend (who used to frequent this forum) gets regular photos of otter on the Sharpness canal in Gloucestershire. Apparently we have them in Bristol near the centre too.
As for run off, still an issue with nitrates (and slurry) from farms, but getting much better.
Well another year and another Big Garden birdwatch completed. Far fewer birds this time around, both in terms of numbers and species. Corvids, Robin and dunnock noticeable no-shows compared previous years and even just a few days ago. The recent cold snaps and avian flu might be responsible?
We get far to many Jackdaws eating the food I put out. Yesterday saw a pair of blackbirds, Blue Tit , Siskin and the back garden robin ( we have a pair in the front garden too) in the space of about 5 mins while making tea. The Jackdaws and Wood pigeon were on the other side of the garden
Populations tend to vary over the years. The Jackdaws were replaced by Magpies, but have not seen either for a year or two. Mags had been in next door's chimney but probably got rid of!
Robins, Blue and Great Tits stuffing themselves at feeders and Fat Coconuts. Blackbirds have come back... absent for a while. Have not seen Sparrowhawk for a bit. Not much sound of Owls. Other neighbour says Goldfinches around but I have not seen yet. Nuthatch, Goldcrests, Bullfinches, Treecreeper and Wrens were around last year. Also Sparrows... they were noticably absent for some time. Chaffinch that used to batter itself stupid against windows now missing, presumed dead. Have not seen Woodpeckers recently, nor Collared Doves and Woodies and Fox populations seem to have dropped. Probably a bit early for H Hogs to be about much but something eats kibble and ain't seen a Rat! Sadly, not seen Red Squirrels for several years. Cat sometimes leaves bits of Mice, but think He has killed all Voles. Life goes on!
A Sparrowhawk buzzed the garden twice this morning but didn't alight on the tree, which it sometimes does. First time I've seen one for a few months. Around the same time a Red Kite hove into view in the distance being mobbed by Corvids. Great to see they have finally moved down off the Cotswold edge and to the outskirts of South East Bristol :) .
I spotted a Golden Eagle last week while on a short trip to Italy, which was great to see. It was only overhead briefly on its way to lunch but I can tick that off the wishlist.
This popped up for me yesterday - might be of interest for the twitchers!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-64786796
Where some friends live in SE London by the Thames, there are Parakeets everywhere. Damned nuisance for sure.
Might be a few less if there weren't so many tasty pidgeons about!
I came downstairs Saturday and there was a squirrel sat on my painting desk. I looked at it, it looked at me then panicked and trashed everything. A whole Timecast Vietnamese village id just finished was pillaged, paints brushes everywhere. My wife refused my request to discharge firearms in the house so we had to corral and herd the thing out of one of the doors.
Spent all day wondering how the damn thing had got in... no open windows, no one had been out that morning. Could it have come in the day before and hid all night...not likely whole house would be trashed...and it had muddy footprints.
It was only later my wife suggested 'you sure it didn't come down the chimney..' Pile of soot in the log burner sooty rodent foot prints.
On the plus side don't need to sweep the flue this year :)
Oh dear!
I see Pendraken's Anti-Timecast Squirrel Squad has been activated then?
Hint: Don't buy Kallistra. Badgers can be absolute fiends.
That's bad news to say the least :( .
It's ok, the resin was surprisingly resilient. Trees that I added, not so...
Quote from: Matt J on 01 March 2023, 04:28:07 PMI came downstairs Saturday and there was a squirrel sat on my painting desk. I looked at it, it looked at me then panicked and trashed everything. A whole Timecast Vietnamese village id just finished was pillaged, paints brushes everywhere. My wife refused my request to discharge firearms in the house so we had to corral and herd the thing out of one of the doors.......
You got off lightly. A neighbour of mine had a squirrel come down the chimney, while there was a fire in the hearth. It set its tail on fire and in its panicked attempts to escape, it set the curtains alight. It was caught eventually and taken to the water butt where it was 'extinguished'.
Ouch, that's both a bit rough! I've had a panicking bird in the extension before, that's fun with excitable hounds. Nothing so exciting as arsonist squirrels tho!
Quote from: toxicpixie on 02 March 2023, 10:12:42 AMOuch, that's both a bit rough! I've had a panicking bird in the extension before, that's fun with excitable hounds. Nothing so exciting as arsonist squirrels tho!
There's a pun there, but it's too easy....
Quote from: FierceKitty on 02 March 2023, 10:16:50 AMThere's a pun there, but it's too easy....
In war every pun is very simple, but the simplest puns are very difficult.
QuoteYou got off lightly. A neighbour of mine had a squirrel come down the chimney, while there was a fire in the hearth. It set its tail on fire and in its panicked attempts to escape, it set the curtains alight. It was caught eventually and taken to the water butt where it was 'extinguished'.
To think that Tamburlaine had to make do with camels.
Imagine what he'd have achieved with a similar weight of squirrels.
Foxy at kibble last night. :) Have not 'seen' for some time. 'Something' has been emptying bowls but thought, maybe cat or rat. B left a 'present', though! :-X
Light 'dusting' of snow S Northumberland. But shelterred, here. it may come! I don't mind snow... until Ice! it is Wind that I HATE! More seed for birds... and kibble for 'vermin' aka Foxes, etc. cleared! 12 PM.
Ahhh, snow. An inch or more on the parked cars outside, but the road is clear and traffic appear to be flowing.
When growing up, the only time we listened to the local BBC radio station, to see if our school was shut. No breakfast TV in those days mind! Heck, still only three channels.
Hmm, I appear to be having an attack of nostalgia.
1" - 2" of snow here in Bristol, which is settling but not on the roads which are slushy. Bristol Airport is closed due to the snow. I'm sure I saw hedgehog poo a couple of days ago which was good, but I imagine it's gone back to bed for a day or so now.
Quote from: Raider4 on 08 March 2023, 08:58:18 AMAhhh, snow. An inch or more on the parked cars outside, but the road is clear and traffic appear to be flowing.
When growing up, the only time we listened to the local BBC radio station, to see if our school was shut. No breakfast TV in those days mind! Heck, still only three channels.
Hmm, I appear to be having an attack of nostalgia.
we were late for school on the C4 start day, it was that exciting an event. Mind most of the school includiong teachers was late anyway as they'd all stopped to watch it!
Quote from: Raider4 on 08 March 2023, 08:58:18 AMHmm, I appear to be having an attack of nostalgia.
It's not curable. No snow here, which is not surprising. Cold though.Phone has 2, laptop 1.
Hi
Son's school closed. Just battled my way to the garden shed to dig out a shovel, a good 6" - 7" of snow here in the Mendips and looking out of the window it is still snowing.
Cheers Paul
Here in the blighted industrial 'urbs of the West Midlands it's just a constant too wet and thin to settle drizzle of almost snow. Damn our microclimate!
Just turned to rain here, over the bridge from Steve J. Roads clear.
Drizzle come sleet here now. Not that cold though but lots of snow still on the ground, but thawing slowly.
Same here - can't make it's mind up whether it's rain or sleet. Most of the vegetation is free as well, except in hedgebacks and up on the hills.
Getting some light sleet here
Snos-rain-snow-sleet-snow so far today
Thickened up and decided it was actual snow about 5-6ish and now we've... well, 2" on the car roof, less in the natural world.
Roads look nasty tho.
Wet here now
Snowing this morning but not sticking
Light dusting again S Northumberland. Nowt to be bothered with, locally. Glad I filled Bird Peanut and Seed feeders... getting a hammering!
Remembering way back, when Waxwings would turn up every year...autumn, maybe. Then there was a Storm when about due. Not been back since. Sad.
Flipped to actual rain now, knocked up a couple degrees. The snows fading, but the small ones got a full afternoon of high stakes snowball and snow Axolotl making at least!
Heavy snow overnight
Very light snow flurries here and bitterly cold wind. No snow left on the ground now.
Snow falling steadily in Suffolk, ground coated.
Cold but gloriously sunny here in Edinburgh at the moment. Long may that continue!
QuoteSnow falling steadily in Suffolk, ground coated.
All over now, sun shining, nothing to see here, move along!
Yeah, when I was out with the chickens at 8am it was snowing quite heavily, freesh inch or so down. Since then it's warmed up, drizzzled and everythings fading away back to the grey and the grime.
Some light snow AM but, nothing heavy. Took Dog out 10pm and B Freezing! But...
in PJs and Coat as I Do when dark! LOL!
Had hardly any snow at Techno Towers.....A couple of 'dustings' and that's been it.
Resembled a heavy frost, this morning, but the drizzle has washed it all away, already.
...And while I'm here...
By any chance, has anyone invested in a 'wildlife' camera ?...The type that takes pics or vids when a motion sensor is activated.
Von's keen to know, for sure, that a fox is going upstairs in the pole barn and scoffing all the food or 'biccies' that the semi feral cat leaves overnight. (No way is the little cat eating all that !)
Not worth spending oodles of cash on something that will probably only get used once in a blue moon, but I've seen some on Amazon for around £60.
Beginning to warm up here now, but the snow has crushed about 50% of my crocuses, that were looking lovely. I might even be able to get out on the garden tomorrow...
I did manage to get out on the garden for about 4 hours, which was really nice, after being stuck indoors for quite sometime. Weather mild compared to of late, some sunshine and plenty of fresh air :) .
Snowdrops now gone... Crocus finishing... Daffs coming out... little Tete A Tetes, anyway. Whitethorn starting and other trees budding. Have missed time to prune stuff... 'not well'. Small Birds hammering Peanuts... have emptied seed Feeder in about 4 days!
Remember when Ma was in hospital, long time ago... maybe '96. 'Stringed' Peanuts in shells, just for 'occupation' and put one outside of 'Old Lady's' window... she was Thrilled that 'someone' Bothered'. Think she was descendent of either Grace Darling or Florence Nightingale... can not know now.
Owls around now. 'Hooties' and 'Screechies' Presume different. Like to hear Owls! :)
A few snowdrops and crocuses left, daffodils in full bloom (tete a tete) and a tulip in flower too.
Quote from: Steve J on 17 March 2023, 07:05:42 AMA few snowdrops and crocuses left, daffodils in full bloom (tete a tete) and a tulip in flower too.
Daffs out here too. Pile of feathers in the back garden; looks like our Sparrow Hawk has had Blackbird for breakfast. Gold Finches tucking into Sunflower seeds. Feels like spring is on the way.
Sparrow Hawk sat on the birds water trough (son's old sand pit repurposed!) last Sunday.
Not seen it around before.
Might explain the dead pigeon found in the front garden on Saturday.
Well it certainly felt very Springlike this morning, but now rather cool, cloudy and windy. Nice to get out into the garden, planting a few things. Sadly lost quite a few plants in pots due to the severe Winter cold snap of a few months ago. The only downside of this nice weather is that my painting has stopped!
Quote from: Steve J on 22 March 2023, 02:25:14 PMWell it certainly felt very Springlike this morning......
Yes, it is on the way. Cleared the kitchen garden, I can't be bothered with veg any more and am going to return it to grass, with maybe a fruit tree. Had a long conversation with a Robin who came down to take advantage of the worms I'd turned up. All in all, it felt pretty good.
My attempts at 'produce', long ago, were Fail. Gave up! Onion sets turned into... onion sets! Leeks were size of spring onions. Lettuce got eaten by slugs. Rhubarb died, Tomatos were miserable. Gooseberries... few when new from Garden Center... then nowt... saw some on small bush just left, last year... but not worth collection as nobody to cook them now. Got ONE Raspberry! Old Apple tree left unpruned for too long... probably past it now. Mint died... HOW does Mint Die? Supposed to be invasive!
Only success was Parsley... but Ma did not like broad leaf parsley... preferred buying curly! If I should ever wish to eat Wild Garlic, Wood Sorrel or Pine seeds... TONS! ;D
Pine nuts (I suppose that's the same as the seeds)? Invaluable; borrow any good Italian cookbook, or Google them. Pesto alone makes them a must-have.
Pine, about 50 yrs old chucks out LOADS of cones. Only about 15ft from house and has a growth 'lean' towards house and not much root ground on other side. Been intending have taken down... but 'tree loppers' look and say "Oh... well have insurance"! 'Little Old Guy' wanted to take down by himself... 'err, rather you didn't'... not heard from him for a while! Much of his 'kit' still around, so presume 'gone'. It was great for Red Squirrels... but not seen any for several years. Wind bothers me... but 60! You get used to it! lol.
Never really thought about Pine Nuts... Med diet. Never been my scene. just Pizza, Pasta... the normal wiz.
Plan B, then. They also fetch a whopping great price on the market.
Didn't think much Eating on a squirell. Not like a Tortoise!
Good suggestion... but just cannot bother to shovel stuff 'out back' never mind 'Harvest'!
I have thought about 'propagating' little Pine trees and planting around... but... when just waking up is unwanted! :(
Cheers, for thought! :)
Spring day, breeze but Sun. All of a sudden, Violets all over the garden and a couple of rather lonely Primrose coming out. Planted loads, years gone... but do not thrive here. Oxlips still do well, across stream... they will be next...and Wood anemonies. 'Feels' like New Year was just couple of weeks ago! Mind, I have been thinking Today was Friday! (Thurs!). ;)
Seed sowing in trays of tomatoes, lettuce and a mix of flowers. Lovely morning then peeing it down all afternoon.
Yesterday eneded up a gorgeous day in complete contrast to the weather forecast. Today it's spot on as it's wet and horrible. Apparently we've had double the normal rainfall for March and it's certainly felt that way. At least I saw a Brimstone butterfly yesterday, the first one since 3rd January, and my seeds recently sown have started to germinate :).
First Hedgehog of year... but 'splattered' on nearby road. May have been one of my residents. Please drive carefully, folks. :(
I aim at em :d :d
A few signs of the hedgehog in the garden, but no sightings as yet. Thank God we've got some dry weather forecast for the next week or two, as we've had over double our normal rainfall for March here in Bristol. Lot's of stuff raring to start growing and hopefully the forcest sun will really get them going...
I stopped for one on the road round the corner from home on Thursday night. Daft thing did the usual and froze in the middle of the road in the lights. Turned them off and it uncurled and legged it across to nearby gardens, safe and sound. Might be one of ours - we have a family in the bushes at the bottom of the garden.
Long ago, staggering back from pub, saw H'hog curled up in road. Thought I'd help it to roadside... then it's guts fell out! :o :(
In 43 yrs driving, have only once hit anything. Rabbit ran from hedge... straight under wheel. Bye, Hazel. :(
Checked my hedgehog boxes this weekend. No evidence that they'd been used over the winter. None last year either and I haven't seen a sign of hedgehog for three years now. We had up to five coming for a feed at one time and all the boxes were always occupied. All a bit sad really.
Last year, at least 2 'pairs' or 'parent with young'. Plus 'singles, who might have been same critters. Big... and medium or little. Roadkill was a Big.
I managed to site 3 main boxes under bushes which are rather difficult to access... Getting OLD!...and then covered with brush/branches... 'might' check and cleanout... sometime!
At least 1 Fox feeding. Have not seen Red Squirrels for several years... but tree felling has prob destroyed 'route'... and 'Pox' now in locality.
Once knew someome who hit a Badger. Did NOT do car much good... but, not Badger, either! :(
Laugh Out F Loud! Late last night and V tired, only enough 'ready use' kibble for two of four bowls usually out for Foxes / H'Hogs. Morning... empty, of course... but the unused bowls had both been crapped in by different critters! Who says critters do not have an evil sense of humour? ;D
Oh God. Nice day... so Venture across bridge into 'back' first time this Year! Some surviving Oxlips and some Wood Anemonies, Fritillaries and leaves for a few Bluebells.. but all getting swamped by Damn Wild Garlic! Place used to be covered in Celandines! DO NOT import Wild Garlic! Still... been across, to have a look. :( :)
Take revenge! Eat them!
Very nice in a pesto with those pine nuts from a few weeks ago. :)
(Just make sure they aren't Lily of the Valley - poisonous - a quick crush of a leaf and the smell should confirm what you've got!)
Rainy/windy here. :(
Well the tulips are looking lovely and have somehow survived the horrible gale force wind and rain we are having here. It certainly doesn't feel Spring like at all. To make things worse SWMBO is watching the tennis from Monte Carlo and the weather looks fantastic!
No Hedgehogs near us, we have a badger sett over the road
No evidence of Badgers in immediate locality. Did think that I may have seen back end of one disappearing round corner of house, long ago and seen crossing road in distance about 1/2 mile away. When younger, patrolled some Nature Reserves, one of which had a 'secret' Sett... but I left before going on a 'watch'.
Saw the first Swallow whilst out on a walk near to Westonbirt Arboretum, then another Red Kite on the Cotswold Edge by Bristol :) .
Quote from: Steve J on 20 April 2023, 05:37:14 PMSaw the first Swallow whilst out on a walk near to Westonbirt Arboretum, then another Red Kite on the Cotswold Edge by Bristol :) .
Made friends with a Robin today while doing a bit of weeding. Musy have chicks nearby as he flew away with a beakful of worms. Close enough to reach out and touch him (on reflection I have no idea of its sex or if there was a pair taking turns toing and froing). Sat in the conserservatory later with a cuppa and watched a couple of Red Kites circling overhead - they have really made a come back over the past few years.
I saw a Red Kite over Downham Market a few years ago, which surprised me, but in a nice way. Great to see them making a come back in the same way Buzzards did round here in Bristol some 20 years ago.
Woken by Chaffinch repeatedly bashing itself against window. One or more used to do this several years ago. Probably battered itself to death as Chaffinches have been absent since. I think they see reflection as a rival and attack. None of the other birds seem to do this. :(
Warmish, sunny day today... Saturday was wet.
On Friday I saw a heron land on the hedge at the side of our garden - presumably deciding which of the local fishponds it needed to "visit". My wife saw it again yesterday.
I recall that 30+ years ago my father eventually had to cover the top of his pond with mesh, as the heron kept turning up to take the fish. Whether the current heron(s) is part of the same f"family" I don't know.
Cheers,
Geoff
Quote from: Elliesdad on 23 April 2023, 10:00:08 AMOn Friday I saw a heron land on the hedge at the side of our garden - presumably deciding which of the local fishponds it needed to "visit". My wife saw it again yesterday.
I recall that 30+ years ago my father eventually had to cover the top of his pond with mesh, as the heron kept turning up to take the fish. Whether the current heron(s) is part of the same f"family" I don't know.
We used to have one come to our pond in Cornwall and take the fish. The pond was right outside the dining room window so if you were careful you could 'sneak' up and have a look at the bird close-up. They're surprisingly big things and don't half panic when they suddenly spot you in the window!
We had an old metal gate over the top of the pond to try and thwart his attempts but he still grabbed the fish through the bars of it.
Heard them flying over loads of times..But for the first time, I've noticed, we had a couple of Canada Geese ambling around in one of our fields.
Get lots of geese overflying, also some winter in Birkenhead Park.
Surprised Heron in our little stream, many years ago. VTOL for such a BIG bird, very impressive! 8)
Something got a couple of Goldfish in garden pond out front... but may have been Larvae... some repulsive, and, rather large, creatures there, then. :(
Geese fly overhead sometimes. Once had visit from a Mallard Duck pair who had gone up the strean, exploring. Too shallow... had sleepover, then went back.
B Chaffinch woke me up...still Havin' A Go' !
Good intentions for today, but cold, breezy and light rain... NOPE! :(
Was up at my Mum's on the Welsh borders a few weeks back, place was swarming with bunnies, hardly see them here in Beds.
Hedgehog active and Sparrows plus Blackbirds gathering nesting material. Bloomin' cold and wet here though :(.
Heard the first Cuckoo of the Spring. Few days late, compared to previous years
Some clarification required.
QuoteWas up at my Mum's on the Welsh borders a few weeks back, place was swarming with bunnies, hardly see them here in Beds.
(https://foodtank.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/aswathy-n-srMHHWCTvcU-unsplash.jpg) or (https://c8.alamy.com/comp/H87W42/playboy-bunny-girls-playboys-super-saturday-night-balboa-park-sasn-H87W42.jpg)?
And when you say "Beds", I assume you mean "Bedfordshire"?
No comment
A cold and wet Spring to start with and now into week 4 of glorious, warm/hot and sunny weather. Aside from a few showers or thunderstorms this weekend. However I've barely seen any butterflies this year, which I'd expect loads of by now and with this weather. On the news they said insect numbers are down 60% in England and 40% in Scotland. Last years hot and dry Summer impacted numbers apparently.
The wildlife camera is doing its job, upstairs in the pole barn. :)
We now know there are at least 3 other feral (?) cats nicking the semi-feral's grub...and last night it
took a video of a fox stuffing its face.
Driving home last night saw a fox trotting along on the pavement and takeing an interest in the other pedestrians. Central Birkenhead.
We had a bat come into our bedroom the other night. This instantly became a 'Blue' job as Mrs orcs hid under the duvet. :)
Flapped my T shirt at it and it landed on the bedside table. Ised a glass and piece of card to collect it and then released it out the window
Quote from: Orcs on 23 June 2023, 03:23:22 PMWe had a bat come into our bedroom the other night. This instantly became a 'Blue' job as Mrs orcs hid under the duvet. :)
Flapped my T shirt at it and it landed on the bedside table. Ised a glass and piece of card to collect it and then released it out the window
Keep some garlic and a stake handy just in case.
Quote from: Orcs on 23 June 2023, 03:23:22 PMWe had a bat come into our bedroom the other night. This instantly became a 'Blue' job as Mrs orcs hid under the duvet. :)
Can I just check ... bat appears, Mrs Orcs disappears? :-\
Quote from: John Cook on 24 June 2023, 01:30:16 AMKeep some garlic and a stake handy just in case.
It may be too late.
We had one a few years back that suddenly appeared in the upstairs landing, I've never seen Adele hit the deck so quick! She scuttled into the bedroom and locked me out, so I took that as a subtle message that I needed to deal with the intruder.
I managed to herd it into the bathroom but the stupid thing just kept doing 'zoomies' around the room while I wafted a towel in a vain attempt to guide it towards the window. After about 20 minutes it got bored of me and just flew out of its own accord.
Quote from: fsn on 24 June 2023, 07:42:02 AMCan I just check ... bat appears, Mrs Orcs disappears? :-\
It may be too late.
;D ;D ;D
I do like garlic and steak... great suggestion!
Chickens have enjoyed the current weather. We've been getting an egg a day from each, I had to give 54 to a mate just to clear the fridge a couple weeks ago!
Potato's are coming up nicely.
Most everything else was looking very patched till yesterdays downpour.
Berberis at front getting loads of berries. Get a lot of 'brown' birds. Know they must be female Blackbirds... but frankly, seem rather big and vicious! Rare to see Male Blackbirds on berries... hardly surprising ! ;)
Nice to see the swallows leading their offspring outside for the first time.
Not nice to have to 'napalm' the chicken run.....Mites by the thousand in the nest box....But think that's dealt with now. (Mite killer and a thorough blasting with a jet wash.)
Deep joy....a 'half football' sized wasps' nest in the big barn..AND....another wasp nest in a (wild bird) nest box about 5 yards away.
Be careful with those Phil
Quote from: Techno 3 on 04 July 2023, 07:00:58 AMNice to see the swallows leading their offspring outside for the first time.
Not nice to have to 'napalm' the chicken run.....Mites by the thousand in the nest box....But think that's dealt with now. (Mite killer and a thorough blasting with a jet wash.)
Deep joy....a 'half football' sized wasps' nest in the big barn..AND....another wasp nest in a (wild bird) nest box about 5 yards away.
Blech, hate mites, little soda. They're a complete arse to put an end to , persistent little buggers.
We have an Egloo which is all plastic and disassembles whilst still locked so you can spray, clean, disinfect, and spray and they still find ways to creep back every couple-three years.
I know it's a general hazard of chicken keeping but theyre nasty :/
I reckon the mites had such a good time as the chickens had been locked down for so many times, and for so long...and hadn't been able to have a dust bath.
We'll get something sorted out for their run, if they have to be locked in, again. (Should have thought of this before !)
The 'Worsps'.....A bee-keeping friend of a friend is coming around in the next couple of days to sort those out. :D .I wasn't going to take on the half football sized nest....(My guesstimate would be there are a good few dozen, if not 100 + in that one....The one in the bird box can't have THAT many in it (not enough room ?)......Probably could have used the electric 'fly swat' on those.
The barn is obviously an awkward place for a wasps nest and has to go, but if you can you should live with wasps as far as possible. B****y annoying little b*****s but they do kill an enormous number of insect pests and spiders so embrace the wasp - just not literally! :D
Quote from: Techno 3 on 05 July 2023, 06:26:37 AMI reckon the mites had such a good time as the chickens had been locked down for so many times, and for so long...and hadn't been able to have a dust bath.
We'll get something sorted out for their run, if they have to be locked in, again. (Should have thought of this before !)
The 'Worsps'.....A bee-keeping friend of a friend is coming around in the next couple of days to sort those out. :D .I wasn't going to take on the half football sized nest....(My guesstimate would be there are a good few dozen, if not 100 + in that one....The one in the bird box can't have THAT many in it (not enough room ?)......Probably could have used the electric 'fly swat' on those.
Flockdown is a *pain*.
I find a bit of small sand and a load of diamateceous earth into a small dip is a great incentive for the chickens to have a good roll around and dust bath!
Worsps gone. :)
(I expected to see a lot more peed off worsps, flying around, while matey was working on the nests...Those that weren't in the nests, will die off in the next few days. (Apparently)
I HATE Wasps... don't mind Bees. Thing about either is to wear protective kit that they can' get into. Most important thing is not to 'Flap' around... it excites them ! Poison will be carried into nest and will 'do' for most.
I did take my 'Executioner' (?) into the barn, while Matey was dealing with the nests.
Haven't zapped anything with that for a long while...I was surprised the battery hadn't given up the ghost.
I thought the advantage in using that, would be that I wouldn't have to swish it around.
I semi-literally flamethrowered a centipede in the shower this morning. Insecticide won't kill them, but hold a flame in front of the spray...
Quote from: FierceKitty on 08 July 2023, 08:36:32 AMI semi-literally flamethrowered a centipede...
'semi-literally flamethrowered'. That's an interesting concept. I presume it was unnecessary to fully-literally flamethrower it? :D
Quote from: FierceKitty on 08 July 2023, 08:36:32 AMI semi-literally flamethrowered a centipede in the shower this morning. Insecticide won't kill them, but hold a flame in front of the spray...
That seems somewhat excessive, do I gather your local centipedes are... somewhat less friendly than UK based ones :D
Dunno what is wrong with a Centipede... or Millipede... maybe regional. When an evil teen, used to flamethrower greenfly with lighter. Don't do it now. Food for something!
Quote from: Heedless Horseman on 08 July 2023, 02:14:12 PMDunno what is wrong with a Centipede... or Millipede... maybe regional. When an evil teen, used to flamethrower greenfly with lighter. Don't do it now. Food for something!
Also with a venomous "bite" much to be dreaded. I have cats to protect, and even a human make be taken unawares.
Quote from: John Cook on 08 July 2023, 01:46:03 PM'semi-literally flamethrowered'. That's an interesting concept. I presume it was unnecessary to fully-literally flamethrower it? :D
"Throw" suggests a longer-ranged projection. This was a close-combat weapon, selected since the dam' creatures are harder to put down than zombies.
Asian centipedes are a LOT bigger* than the ones we get in the UK.... with a really painful bite :o .....IIRC.
*Sodding enormous springs to mind.
IIRC, in the original book version of the James Bond "Dr No", it is not a spider dropped on Bond, but a millipede.
QuoteIIRC, in the original book version of the James Bond "Dr No", it is not a spider dropped on Bond, but a millipede.
Still a creepy crawly.....
Yeah, that's sounding like a flamethrowering is well in order!
Waaaayyyy back - about 50+ years ago - I remember my father would "clean" the chicken cages by blasting the "red mites" with a blowtorch.
Cheers,
Geoff
Quote from: Elliesdad on 09 July 2023, 01:20:32 PMWaaaayyyy back - about 50+ years ago - I remember my father would "clean" the chicken cages by blasting the "red mites" with a blowtorch.
Cheers,
Geoff
That's still practised by some. It's effective, if you can get them all, but not sure I want to take a blowtorch to my plastic Egloo :D
Quote from: Techno 3 on 09 July 2023, 06:31:42 AMAsian centipedes are a LOT bigger* than the ones we get in the UK.... with a really painful bite :o .....IIRC.
*Sodding enormous springs to mind.
If they are like the ones in Hong Kong they are about six inches long, at least, fast, with a very, very, painful bite and unaffected by Baygon.
I'm glad we don't get those in the UK !!!! :o
Now meteorological Autumn has arrived, we have had an explosion of spiders and their webs in the garden. Beautiful to look at but a nightmare in the morning making sure you don't get cobwebs on your face!
Quote from: Steve J on 06 September 2023, 05:12:57 PMNow meteorological Autumn has arrived, we have had an explosion of spiders and their webs in the garden. Beautiful to look at but a nightmare in the morning making sure you don't get cobwebs on your face!
We've had an explosion of them in the bloody house! I'm not fussed, but some of them are *big* and made even me pause...
We seem to have been infested with midges recently. I've been doing a bit of work in the garden over the past couple of weeks and I've been bitten to pieces.
Quote from: Leon on 06 September 2023, 09:44:30 PMWe seem to have been infested with midges recently. I've been doing a bit of work in the garden over the past couple of weeks and I've been bitten to pieces.
Oo lovely :/ My other half is a midge attractor and also has a big reaction to them. It's a great combo!
Quote from: toxicpixie on 08 September 2023, 11:43:01 AMOo lovely :/ My other half is a midge attractor and also has a big reaction to them. It's a great combo!
For many years midges never seemed to be interested in me... thank goodness.
Then, a couple of years ago, we went to help set up the tents etc for my daughter's Y6 class camping trip in Derbyshire. And then the little beggars seemed to bite me with a vengeance.
Strangely enough, the following year I was unavailable to help out 😉
Cheers,
Geoff
Ooof, ouch! Yeah I can see how availability would rapidly decrease!
They're a nuisance. I've always expected them in certain places, when we had a short camping break at Kielder a few years ago you had to fight your way through a physical cloud of them at dusk. They've never been this bad in the garden though.
So I'm now researching how to encourage swallows, swifts, housemartins and bats into the garden to eat them. Apparently a few birds can take out 1000+ midges in a single evening!
Quote from: Leon on 10 September 2023, 10:10:44 PMSo I'm now researching how to encourage swallows, swifts, housemartins and bats into the garden to eat them. Apparently a few birds can take out 1000+ midges in a single evening!
We have a number of bats come into our garden at evening. They swoop in, snatch (whatever) insects they're after and they're gone almost before you realise it. I've not actually seen one "still" - just flying away at speed. 🦇🦇🏏
Quote from: Elliesdad on 11 September 2023, 07:00:18 PMWe have a number of bats come into our garden at evening. They swoop in, snatch (whatever) insects they're after and they're gone almost before you realise it. I've not actually seen one "still" - just flying away at speed. 🦇🦇🏏
We've got a couple that live in the eaves of the next-door-but-one house I think. I'm hoping we can put some boxes up and encourage a few more into our garden as we've certainly got enough food for them!
We have bats every night flying along up and down our street. The local woods have bat boxes in them which helps keep the number up. There is also a bat cave in an old ice cellar, which was part of a now long gone farm. You can hire listening devices to hear them as you walk in the woods at dusk.
I've been divebombed by them before as well, just like a flitting visual glitch that you're not quite sure was there until it's away!
We went on a couple bat walks a few years ago with audio receiver's tuned to their pitch which then replay it at human audible levels, very cool, very weierd!
QuoteThey're a nuisance. I've always expected them in certain places, when we had a short camping break at Kielder a few years ago you had to fight your way through a physical cloud of them at dusk. They've never been this bad in the garden though.
So I'm now researching how to encourage swallows, swifts, housemartins and bats into the garden to eat them. Apparently a few birds can take out 1000+ midges in a single evening!
Have you seen the RSPB advice on encouraging housemartin nesting
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/house-martin/encouraging-them-to-nest/ (https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/house-martin/encouraging-them-to-nest/)
There's probably something similar for swifts and swallows.
Painting the top of the house white seems like overkill, but constructing artificial nests as described could be the next Pendraken non-mini project.
(A long honourable tradition following the covid masks).
Bat boxes are also good, and probably easier to construct.
From memory they're beter installed in trees than on buildings.
And an obligatory wargame angle:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ababil_(religious)#:~:text=It%20refers%20to%20the%20miraculous,on%20them%20as%20they%20approached. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ababil_(religious)#:~:text=It refers to the miraculous,on them as they approached.)
Ababil (Arabic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language): أبابيل, romanized (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanization_of_Arabic): abābīl) means a "Flock of Birds". It refers to the miraculous birds in Islamic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam) belief mentioned in Surah Al-Fil (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surah_105) of the Quran (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quran) that protected the Kaaba (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaaba) in Mecca (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca) from the Aksumite (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aksum) elephant army of Abraha (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraha), then self-styled governor of Himyar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himyar), by dropping small clay stones on them as they approached.
The event is said to have occurred in 570, the year that the Islamic prophet Muhammad (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad) was born.
To bring the event to your tabletop, deploy Pre Islamic Arabs defending against an Abyssinian led Yemeni force.
QuoteHave you seen the RSPB advice on encouraging housemartin nesting
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/house-martin/encouraging-them-to-nest/ (https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/house-martin/encouraging-them-to-nest/)
There's probably something similar for swifts and swallows.
Painting the top of the house white seems like overkill, but constructing artificial nests as described could be the next Pendraken non-mini project.
My daughters house had/has a wasps nest in the attic - fortunately the little bu99ers couldn't get into the house living space 🐝🐝.
She bought a couple of fake "wasps nests" and fixed them to the outside of the house. Now no more wasps - seemingly the logic being that the wasps are "keeping away" from those new nests and whatever lives in them (errr... nothing 'cause they are fakes). Anyhow, she's happy and the wasps seem to have moved on/disappeared. 😎
Cheers,
Geoff
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 13 September 2023, 07:24:28 PMHave you seen the RSPB advice on encouraging housemartin nesting
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/house-martin/encouraging-them-to-nest/ (https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/house-martin/encouraging-them-to-nest/)
That's interesting, I'd seen the artificial nests and wondered if we could get some of those. The bit I'm not sure about is that they recommend a 5m drop below the nest entrance but not to put them above a door/human area as the birds need to swoop up into the nest. The back of the house is above 5m (and north facing) but half of it is conservatory (so not 5m) and the other half has the kitchen door so might be in the 'droppings zone'! I've got a friend in the RSPB so I'll give him a nudge and see what the best option would be.
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 13 September 2023, 07:24:28 PMBat boxes are also good, and probably easier to construct.
From memory they're beter installed in trees than on buildings.
Trees are an easier option for us, there's a couple at the back of the garden of a reasonable height so we can put something on those.
Taken advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to mow the lawn for probably the final time this year. Not sure I've ever done it in October before?
Quote from: Raider4 on 09 October 2023, 02:04:41 PMTaken advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to mow the lawn for probably the final time this year. Not sure I've ever done it in October before?
Great minds think alike... I'm on my way to the shed for the lawnmower as I type :D
Update! Lawn too long and wet to mow but too long to leave over winter. It now looks like some psychopathic and over enthusiastic barber has had the clippers out...
First proper day out on the garden for many months and it felt good! Spring like at times the past few days here. My body aches but in a nice way :) . I'll probably cut the grass tomorrow, after doing the RSPB Big Bird Watch first thing.
We've not had chance up here yet, it's been wet and windy for about 4 months now. I built a pond in September that has subsequently been filled with dead leaves, so I really need to get them out of there before it ruins the water.
We've had wind and rain for ages, with frequent gales too of late. Nice to actually have some settled weather for once.
Best viewing in our back garden is when one member of the local pair (a breeding couple no-doubt) of Sparrow Hawks visits and makes a kill. Sometimes you catch them mid-meal. Others, you just see the evidence left behind. One of them must have caught a Collared Dove the other week, as there was feathers everywhere (same colour feathers as a Wood Pigeon, which we can have a dozen or more visit at a time, but have never seen a Sparrow Hawk target something so large in our gardens).
Quote from: Steve J on 26 January 2024, 06:25:43 PMFirst proper day out on the garden for many months and it felt good! Spring like at times the past few days here. My body aches but in a nice way :) . I'll probably cut the grass tomorrow, after doing the RSPB Big Bird Watch first thing.
Yeah, very spring like here! All the daffs and snowdrops etc are popping up which is going to be a bit awkward if we actually have a winter over Feb...
There was gorse budding in Powys last week! :o
Driving back from the North Riding Wargames Club meet this lunchtime and spotted two buzzards riding thermals next to the A1 overpass, towards Leeming Bar.
Then got home and watched some Foxes playing with Toffees on the Beeb.
Woke up to two inches of snow. Don't remember that being forecast.
snow_warning.jpg
QuoteWoke up to two inches of snow. Don't remember that being forecast.
About 3" here in the Mendips, although it seems to be melting pretty fast.
Cheers Paul
Quote"Northerners you will need your big coat."
B-gger that. I've put the central heating on. (Though it's, also, to help keep the dampness out of the house's atmosphere. I found LOTS of black mould in our front bedroom this week. Especially behind a large wardrobe. So I'm cleaning all that up - on to the second scrubbing at time of writing - between painting Pendraken ACW Union troops.)
2" here too and not forecast at all! Virtually all gone now, but noticeably much less traffic this morning and lots of families out enjoying the snow!
And after leaving Leon and Pendraken HQ, yesterday, myself and my father only got a little-bit lost navigating past Southbank to Stokesley garden centre :-[ (Turning off the A66 onto the A1053, then turning west-ward onto the A174, threw me a little bit before we recognised where we were by turning south onto the A172.)
However, once at Strikes Garden Centre and after visiting the restaurant - and not being run-over by my father in his mobility buggy (the pain is so intense, after having your foot reversed onto, it left me feeling nauseous when it happened days before) - purchases were made; Midi Pack Geranium, two number (12 plants in total); Foxglove Excelsior Hybrids Mixed (seeds); Geranium Horizon Shadow Mix (seeds); Viola Sweeties (seeds).
I obviously bought stuff from Leon too, whilst at Pendraken HQ, as it would have been rude not to make some spur-of-the-moment buys while collecting an order to-pick-up ;)
Good to see you and glad to hear the Strikes visit went well too!
Quote from: Roy on 13 June 2024, 02:48:44 PMAnd after leaving Leon and Pendraken HQ, yesterday, myself and my father only got a little-bit lost navigating past Southbank to Stokesley garden centre :-[ (Turning off the A66 onto the A1053, then turning west-ward onto the A174, threw me a little bit before we recognised where we were by turning south onto the A172.)
I wouldn't consider that 'lost', that's the way I'd go to get there myself! It's the same way I drive to work too.
Ah, but I didn't write up the list of "this exit not that exit", or "keeping going straight at the light, as far as I know", and the "we need to be heading for Redcar, then turn south, then turn west at some point" directions I was giving the driver.
It was very much the case of 'I know the compass directions to take, no idea which roads will get us there," approach on my behalf. But all roads lead to Rome, as they say.
I've not seen it...but from Von's description, we've got a female Sparrowhawk taking out some of the flying rats (feral pigeons) in the big barn. :-bd
"Something" has had three pigeons in the last few days..and we're absolutely sure it wasn't the cat.
(Especially with Von's sighting in the barn this morning.)
Quote from: Techno 3 on 18 July 2024, 02:55:58 PMI've not seen it...but from Von's description, we've got a female Sparrowhawk taking out some of the flying rats (feral pigeons) in the big barn. :-bd
"Something" has had three pigeons in the last few days..and we're absolutely sure it wasn't the cat.
(Especially with Von's sighting in the barn this morning.)
Can I borrow it? We've got the coastal flying rats here and they're an absolute menace. They attacked one of our staff on Monday but apparently we can't do anything about them because they're 'endangered'...!
Nice Phil! 8)
A couple of weeks ago I was treated to the sight of one of our two cats chasing the local fox round our front lawn three times. They paused in between circuits while the fox decided if to hang in there for another round. After the fox finally left, Puzzle came in and threw himself on the hall carpet with a 'mission accomplished' look. Our neighbours have told us that he chases foxes but we hadn't seen it ourselves.
This weekend it's very obvious that the leaves on the trees are beginning to fall, so Autumn feels like it's on its way...
It's felt like Autumn today.....because of the mist/fog/low flying cloud that's been around all day.
Visibility down to 60 or so yards.....never more than 150.
Gloomy or what ? (:|
Glorious sunshine this afternoon, now raining.
That's a Scottish summer's day for you! :)
Blackberries are early this year!
Glorious sunshine all day, everyday, for weeks. Have not cut the grass since the last week in June. Starting to look like South Africa in the movie Zulu.
Snowdrops on their way, ditto tulips and daffs are beginning to nudge through too. But as it's so mild, my fuscias are growing again, ditto the verbena bonariensis and clematis. I could even cut the grass if I could be so inclined! Certainly more like Spring out there than Winter today.
Blinking Hell!
(Other B words are available - but possibly not on a work computer)
Tad early methinks
The trees are confused.....budding very early and there's a wild primrose in flower.
The Daffs haven't started here yet, though.
(They're probably waterlogged.) :D
I saw a Birch and Hazel with catkins on them today and we've had a primrose flower and go to seed already! Nature is all over the shop at present...
Quote from: Techno 3 on 24 December 2024, 04:03:04 PMThe trees are confused.....budding very early and there's a wild primrose in flower.
The Daffs haven't started here yet, though.
(They're probably waterlogged.) :D
We have flowers on our primroses in the garden
An hour of amusement (PAH !) =)
Walking through the living room to go and make a cup of coffee....I thought, " *&$* ! there must be a lot of bluebottles in here....there's an awful lot of buzzing going on."
WRONG !.....A swarm of bees had come down the chimney. (I think this is the third time this has happened since we've been here.)
An hour or so removing the bees, one by one.....and then some newspaper on the fire to try and drive the queen up and out of the chimney with smoke.
At least they seem to have b*ggered off now.....Though a few seem to be interested in trying to get into the kitchen.
They can sod off !! ;)
..and now back to pushing putty around. :D
Techno Towers Honey
It has a ring to it
The neighbours, over the road (600 yards away) keep bees.
They do their own honey, so I'll let THEM do that, Will. ;D ;D
Quote from: Techno 3 on 20 June 2025, 06:42:09 AMThe neighbours, over the road (600 yards away) keep bees.
They do their own honey, so I'll let THEM do that, Will. ;D ;D
600 yards, must read that as 600 years...
'One by one'!!!
Not a 'swarm' then!
Probably a cast - young queen legged/winged it followed by a breakaway group from a main hive.
Usually about pint pot size.
Still not something you want to share a living room with - and they will sometimes set up home and become much bigger colony given half the chance. Usually they push off back home in a few days. Nice idea to give a helping hand though!
Newspaper? I'd be stuffed - haven't had one of them about since Covid.
Sounds very plausible, 'G'.
If it had been a full swarm, I don't think I'd have gone into the living room !
I'd have been onto the local council to help deal with it.
I think that there were 2 to 3 dozen that I released through a fanlight...But, yes..one at a time.
They were very 'placid'..at no point did they cause me any worry that they were going to turn on me.
The biggest worry was the mad, rescue dog.
He HATES bluebottles and will try and catch them by snapping at them....but the bees didn't seem to attract his attention.
There was still a lot of noise coming from the log burner and chimney, while all this was going on, but I'd shut the doors on the fire...so that stopped them !! ;)
Cheers - Phil :)
My cat 'caught' a bee when he was young
He's never tried that again. :D
Mrs Orcs and I decided to have our tea outside on the patio. Spicy hot chicken wings and salad. I ate the boring salad first, then started on the Chicken wings. They were very nice, Well the first two were. Just as I was about to reach for the third, something swooped between us brushing its wings on both of us, and snatched the rest of the chicken off my plate. - It was a red Tailed Kite.
Thieving Bars**rd!!!!!
I hope it didn't burn its claws, poor thing. You should have blown on it for him.
Most exciting thing we've had was a Sparrowhawk, clearing out some woodpigeons.
I worry about her. Haven't seen her for a while, but the b****y woodpigeons remain in force.
If you ever get to the South Island of NZ Orcs I would recommend not having a barbeque at Arthurs Pass.
The Keas (NZ naive parrots) will suss out any food and do their level best to scrounge anything edible that isn't nailed down, and have a good go at anything that is human protected as well.
They are real masters of their craft! :)
QuoteI hope it didn't burn its claws, poor thing. You should have blown on it for him.
Most exciting thing we've had was a Sparrowhawk, clearing out some woodpigeons.
I worry about her. Haven't seen her for a while, but the b****y woodpigeons remain in force.
Don't mind 'woodies'.We only see one or two..It's the feral flying rats that annoy us. There are over twenty squatting in the barn.
Oh, for a Sparrowhawk!!!
QuoteMrs Orcs and I decided to have our tea outside on the patio. Spicy hot chicken wings and salad. I ate the boring salad first, then started on the Chicken wings. They were very nice, Well the first two were. Just as I was about to reach for the third, something swooped between us brushing its wings on both of us, and snatched the rest of the chicken off my plate. - It was a red Tailed Kite.
Thieving Bars**rd!!!!!
:o :o :o
Good effort that Kite! ❤️