Beautiful, though exhausting, Weather

There was a time, maybe up to ten years ago, when I couldn't get enough sunny weather and would be outside no matter what the temperature but these days the body doesn't cope as well as it used to. I am so pleased I had the air conditioning unit put in this room. There is somewhere we can both retreat to cool down.

A couple of nights ago we got a lovely sunset. Most of the time dark clouds seem to arrive just in time to spoil the view but late that evening things were just right.





Once again I spotted one of the froglets leaping about the garden. It may well be less than an inch long but can leap about eight inches every hop and takes some keeping up with.



I was surprised how well it could climb. As it approached a concrete step it jumped half way up the vertical edge and then crawled its way up the rest. I wonder how many of the scores of tadpoles have made it this far it their development.

My shallow water pond lilies are now coming into their own. Each flower only lasts a short while but there is usually a succession of them to add a bit of colour to the dull water.



Very close to be back door this spider has its web. I have never seen it move from its position in the centre but I assume it does manage to catch some prey from time to time.



It has been a slightly messy start to the week as during the past two days I have had an ugly old stone fireplace surround removed and replaced along with the installation of an inset gas fire. Another 'round tuit' over and done with. That one has only taken thirty years to achieve!

Angel and her Foal

As we walked down one lane I could see the mare and her foal right across the field so I decided we would go round to the other lane and try for some video. As last time, by the time we reached the far side of the field there was not a thing in sight. Part of the field goes behind a house and they were in that section. We stood there for ages waiting patiently for a sighting. Nothing.

Our luck was in though. Trundling past us was Stan who turned out to be the owner of the horses and he lived in that very house. Stan invited us to go in his back garden to get a close look and then I could see the reason why the horses had not come in to sight. The foal was having a rest and Ma was staying close by.



It turned out that the mare's name is Angel but the foal has not been named yet. It was an ideal spot for photography as the horses were only a few feet away. Stan went in the field and the foal got to his feet.



You can hear voices on the video as there was another visitor having a close look.



The foal was very cautious and stayed close to mum but having got used to visitors after a short while he decided the best thing to do on a hot afternoon was to relax and soak up the sun. It had been really great to get a close look at the youngster and manage to capture a bit of video as well as some closer shots.



Afterwards Stan invited me to stay for a cuppa and we had a long chat before wending our way home.

All photos and video were captured with the Lumix TZ7.

Friday at the Flicks (Pigeon Face Off, Blackbird, 480 mph Journey)

Many birds arrive for breakfast long before I wake up in the morning. Most of the time they keep out of each others way and get on with eating. There is one particularly bossy Wood Pigeon which does not believe in sharing and often uses its wings to keep others at a distance. I had to smile at this pair as they tried to outstare each other to get at the seed dish.



The Blackbirds are not singing as often as they did a month or so ago and it was unusual to catch one so low down. This time it is Bobby getting in on the act.



Yesterday I went for my usual monthly meal out with an old friend to one of the local hostelries. I had obtained an in car camera which I used to video the journey. Travel time was about 17 minutes so the video has been speeded up by 8 times so here is a very quick view of my area of the country though you may need a travel sickness remedy before you watch it. Speeded up 8 times means that speeds equivalent to 480 mph are achieved.



Hope the weather is as kind to you as it is here. Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Hang on to Your Food if You Can

From time to time birds find food elsewhere and bring it to my garden to eat. Most often it is large lumps of bread. This juvenile Starling had found something but I can't make out whether it is an apple core or a chunk of cake. The young birds can find food but are not yet fully garden wise in the ways of keeping it. Who will end up with a free meal?



Did you guess which bird would end up with it?

I am sure one Hedgehog has learned the sounds which mean it is safe to come for its early night feast. Once Bobby has had his last tour of the garden I bolt the back door and I am sure the squeak the bolts make is one of the signals the hog listens for as it usually arrives a few minutes later.



While I was pottering about down the bottom of the garden I had noticed the occasional bee leaving one compost bin. I kept watch and sure enough there was a constant stream of red tailed bumblebees in and out of the bin which is partly open at the front.



Most of them made a quick detour on the way in to see what I was up to but then carried on with the job in hand. I had always thought of bumblebees as being fairly solitary but apparently there can be up to 200 red tails in a nest.

Juvenile Blue Tit and Sunbathing Starling

It has been great to see a juvenile Blue Tit regularly visit the feeders.





Near the bottom of the garden is an old small metal  unit. I stand the ground feeder on it until all the seed has gone. Then I remove the feeder so the birds can eat the small seeds which have fallen through. It caught me by surprise when I saw a Starling either sunbathing or shading the seeds. It must have been hot on there as the sun had been shining on the metal for hours.



After a while it stood up panting with the heat. The first time I have seen a Starling with its beak open but no sound!



After a short while it ate some of the seeds and flew away.

It was very pleasant to have the sun back yesterday after so many gloomy days. I even got the ladder out and cleaned the back gutter which was just as well as it was nearly full of dead lichen from the concrete roof tiles. I should clean it out more often but, even though it is a bungalow, I hate being more than a couple of rungs off the ground.

When I was moving the ladder around I did spot a tiny frog so at least one of this year's tadpoles has made it. I will have to keep an keen eye open when I cut the grass as they are so hard to spot until they move.

Walkies

Twice a day we go walkies no matter what the weather. Unless it is raining I normally have the TZ7 with me. Here Bobby is enjoying the interesting scents down one of our favourite lanes:



From time to time I find the occasional plant of interest.



Barley ripening in the field.
A beautiful large white rose.
Perennial Sweet Peas
Large ferns in a shaded corner
?? Possibly a geranium ??

I coudn't resist taking a bit of video of the barley even though there were plenty of wild plants in the field entrance which got in on the act.



Once again, not Bobby barking but one of the vicar's noisy brutes.

Mare and Foal Revisited

On our afternoon walk a couple of days ago I lugged the 50D and the 100-400mm lens with us on our afternoon walk. The intention being to get some better photos of the mare and her foal. The field can be seen from two different lanes. Of course when we went down the nearest lane there they were, right across the other side. We slowly ambled round to the other lane and there they were - gone. Nothing in sight. Fortunately they had just walked to a corner which was out of view and soon came back where they could be seen.






Where are you going Ma? I hadn't finished.



Heron Fights Back
Yesterday evening as I was topping up the seed feeders I could hear a lot of cawing. Looking up I could see a heron being chased by three crows or rooks. The corvids mobbed the heron for quite a while until they disappeared out of sight. Unfortunately I didn't think to fetch a camera as what happened next would have been worth videoing. When they came back into view there was just one corvid and the heron. Next thing I knew the heron had turned round and was facing the corvid. Amazingly they both hung in the same place in the sky, only their wings flapping. I didn't realise that they were able to hover. They must have stayed like that for well over a minute before the corvid beat a hasty retreat,