Where's My Share Then?

Supper time. Madam, seemingly asleep on her blanket by the front door, I sneak out to the kitchen to finish off a small pork pie. Quiet as I try to be the next thing I know there she is looking mournful and doing her best to look under nourished and half starved.

Where's my share then?:



Me: "You're fat enough already":



Ah well. Who can resist that silent look of hurt and disappointment?:




Both satisfied we go back, settle down, carry on listening to my favourite internet radio channel - ROK Radio, British Comedy Channel. Mainly old programmes recorded off air so with variable quality. Even many of the advert fillers are from years ago, along with occasional songs and music from post war years.

I love the old comedy when comedians didn't think they were funny unless they used expletives in every other sentence. I hate it when broadcasters like the BBC say that some modern programmes contain 'strong or adult language' when what they mean is foul language which only encourages younger listeners to think that's the normal way to speak to everybody all the time. Over the past 70 years I can't remember one occasion where I heard a relative or friend use such language and personally I object to it being beamed into my home.

Two other internet radio channels I like are Abacus.fm - British Comedy and Goon Show Radio. In fact I've only just discovered that Abacus.fm has lots of free, ad free radio channels; classical, country, 70s 80s pop, relaxing nature sounds and so on.

Friday at the Flicks - Baby Snail

Spotted this small garden snail last week gliding its way across the green wheelie bin. Love the way those eyes on stalks can look in different directions:




Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you wherever you are.

Stay There While I Find More Food

Yesterday was not a good day car wise. Twice I had a real struggle trying to engage reverse gear. Not nice in a tight parking space close to a car in front when that's the only direction mine wants to move. Took it to my local garage this morning fearing a gearbox or clutch job. The most probable diagnosis was clutch. Had to leave it there as it finally refused to recognise reverse at all. As it was due for a service and MOT test the consideration was would it be worth having all that done on a 17 year old car. So I had a look at the cars for sale and liked the look of a very reasonably priced used Honda Jazz. Test drove that in the afternoon and found it to be to my liking. A bit of a change from a Mitsubishi Charisma but with my low annual mileage it will do the job for £100 a year less in road tax.

Not much opportunity for nature photography with poor weather and clatting about with car, changing insurance, etc... Did manage one photo of a parent Starling setting off having just fed one of its brood:

The Brat Pack Arrives

Tuesday has been a mixture of Sunshine and heavy showers. Also it has been very noisy with the arrival of the Brat Pack - the first batch of fledgling Starlings which spend all day calling and nagging their parents for food, food and more food:

Macro on Monday - Guess What

A bit delayed this morning. Madam achieved her ambition of catching a squirrel when I let her out in the back garden early this morning. Normally they are too fast. Now I know why she practices hurling her cuddly toys in the air nearly every day. Unfortunately before I could call her off the squirrel ended up with a broken back. I called the RSPCA but by the time they arrived it had passed away. Which was probably the best thing for it. Penny ended up with a bitten lip so I'll have to keep an eye on her.





Full marks all round this week. Congratulations and the virtual Midmarsh Gold Star go to Adrian, Wilma, TexWisGirl and Ragged Robin who all correctly identified the cropped view of a snail.

   

This week we have a macro photo.
Guess What:


As always please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.
No prizes. Just for fun and maybe a virtual Midmarsh Gold or Silver Star.

I Wonder Who Lives Here

Spotted a few days ago in the village churchyard. I can't say I have noticed this nest box before now. It is not very large but does have a large entrance hole which something has been trying to enlarge:



Could it be for a woodpecker. The hole is about 45-50mm which is about right. A couple of weeks ago I could hear one pecking away during our early morning perambulations. Unfortunately the bench seat which was nearby has been removed for some unknown reason. Maybe to be cleaned and treated after several years in all weathers. Maybe stolen, like the lych gates were a few years ago. Otherwise I would have sat for a while to see if it had any visitors.

Friday at the Flicks -- Pond Snail + Bird Table

A few days ago I noticed the pump feeding the pond waterfall had slowed to a trickle so it was time to give the pump filter a good scrub out. Once I had done that and switched it back on the flow was back to normal. Glancing at the waterfall I could see two pond snails had taken advantage of the reduced flow to climb up and were feeding on the algae. When I started videoing one it was fighting a losing battle trying to stay in place against the now roaring torrent of water flowing past it:



As mentioned earlier I set up the Toshiba X-Sports camera next to the bird table and grabbed some video clips of a few of the regulars:



What a kerfuffle - YouTube didn't make any thumbnails for the bird table video so off I went a-googling. Eventually I found it is possible to upload ones own photo for a thumbnail but only after the channel has been verified. That is easy, just a question of getting a verification code either by automated voice or text message. Once done I uploaded a photo and all was well.

Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.