How Many Eggs?

It is always difficult to spot how many eggs the Great Tit has laid so far. In this video clip at least four can be seen with possibly the faint outline of a fifth:




The Hedgehog visits are erratic at the moment but last night saw a brief visit from one. Although slugs are part of their natural diet it sniffed and then ignored the one creeping across the paving slab. The crushed, unsalted peanuts were obviously tastier:




I have been a bit lax in writing recently. Partly due to abysmal photographic opportunities with thick cloud obscuring the Sun for much of the time. Partly I have been concentrating on a new project. 15 to 20 years ago I used to grow orchids in the bay window of the utility room but the room became a general store and unused for most of the time. The orchids didn't like any other places I tried so I gave up.

I did try building a terrarium for them but at that time lighting was expensive to buy, and run. Recently I have looked in to the possibility of starting again. I found out that some indoor growers use a vivarium as a substitute terrarium. They are reasonably priced so I invested in one. Also modern LED lighting designed for plant growing is much cheaper and uses much less power so I have spent a while gradually gathering all the items I need. So far it is looking good and I will put up some photos in the near future.