Country File

[Leman]

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.

[jimduncanuk]

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.

[Orcs]

Probably all the children they are eating!

Flippin autocorrect

[Big Insect]

Nice bit of frog Camo there ...

[Heedless Horseman]

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!!! 

Ferret Man a good suggestion for Rats... can't think why I've never thought of that! maybe 'the area' in which I live. 

[Leon]

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.

[Heedless Horseman]

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!   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!   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 !).  

[Techno II]

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.

[Matt J]

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!).



locals are friendly too 



I shoot the rats

[Steve J]

That's a nice garden Matt !

I love foxes but hate badgers, which is not going to be popular with some people. C'est la vie.

[Ithoriel]

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.

[Leon]

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?

[DecemDave]

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  ]  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.

[Matt J]

They don't mind being handled after they've knocked themselves senseless on the glass doors 

[Leon]

They don't mind being handled after they've knocked themselves senseless on the glass doors