Simple Country Living.: Robin

Showing posts with label Robin. Show all posts

30 January 2017

Poly Tunnel Update

Just a quick update on the poly tunnel before I run back outside and carry on shifting soil.

The inside of the poly tunnel is now almost finished. A bit of levelling up of the slabs is needed but the raised beds are in and awaiting their mix of top soil and compost.

I've moved almost a tonne and half of top soil in the last couple of days and I have at least another tonne to move. Then there are the 40 bags of compost to lug through to the field to top up the beds so there is loads of nutrients in there for me little seedlings and I have also collected some llama poo, which I have in total abundance courtesy of my lovely llama boys to add some extra oomph to my soil.

I can't wait to get planting, I'm trying to control my urge to plant every seed I possess but it's getting harder by the second and finally, I have some seeds that I can actually plant so tomorrow, thats what I plan to do. Watch this space for a seed planting list and the biodynamic planting methods that I will be following this year.

7 April 2016

Robin Update

Hi all, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter break. I had a lovely Easter with an unexpected week's holiday due to the holiday entitlement that I had unknowingly built up since starting work. It needed to be taken before the start of April so I had a fabulous week of pottering around the house and garden, watching movies, baking cakes and eating chocolate. It was lovely. I also had visits from two of my daughters and with a little help, I managed to get all the fences in my field mended. It's a great relief that it's sorted and it means the llamas now have their other field back to graze around in.

I met my middle daughters new pug puppy, Bandit, for the first time when they came to stay for a couple of days. He's just sooooo cute and sooooo adorable. We had a lovely breakfast at Seaton Beach Cafe and a long walk on the beach. The weather was perfect.

I pottered around in the garden and potted on some cute little geraniums.

I baked some scones ..... and then I ate some scones :-)

And I played with some fabric.

I will be hopefully opening my little Etsy shop in the not too distant future so at the moment, I'm busy sewing away.

Also, very excitingly, I spotted that the robin's eggs in the nest outside my window have hatched. I can see the chicks in the nest. I've spotted three so far but there may be more further back in the nest. Again, like last time, the photos are taken through a dusty window because I don't want to open it to clean the outside in case I disturb them and they abandon the nest.

Daddy robin was on feeding duty. I spent this morning turning over a patch of earth to expose the worms and bugs for him to take back to his chicks. I didn't know male robins sat on the nest but they clearly do because the last photograph I took, the eggs hadn't hatched and he was definitely sitting on them.

All in all, a lovely couple of weeks.

Pity it's now back to reality and the dreaded work :-(

20 March 2016

Outside My Window.

Outside, at the back of my house I have my field, where my llamas live and I also have a patch of wilderness that is full of wildlife. There is a huge bank, filled with trees and a big wall that supports the road to the village. The wall is owned by the council and they are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance but as you can see form the photo, there are actually a couple of holes in the wall. That's where the bats live. Because bats and their habitats are protected, the holes have to stay and every 6 months or so, a lovely little man comes from the council to check the wall is still safe.

You see the two holes in the wall, that's where the bats live.

When we bought the house, a lot of people told me I should cut down the trees and "let more light into the house" but I have to confess, I hate it when people do that and I don't see the point in cutting down perfectly healthy trees. I particularly hate it when people move to the country from a town and the first thing they do is to try and make it look more like a town, like the place they moved from. It's something that drive me bonkers! So, I left them. I thin them out occasionally and there is one particular tree that might have to go because it could be a danger to the house if it blows down in all the winter storms we've been having over the last few years but other than that, the trees stay, as do the brambles and fox gloves and the nettles and anything else that decides it wants to grow in my little patch of wilderness. I never use pesticides and the bugs that are attracted by the plants that grow there, in turn, feed the bats and the birds. I have bees and butterflies and a whole host of wildlife that thrives in that little patch and I have absolutely no intention of listening to the people who tell me I should cut it all back.

Anyway, few days ago, on the upstairs landing window ledge, I noticed a couple of my cats acting a bit strangely. They were watching something outside the back window and making that weird little chirping sound that they make when they think they might be able to snatch a tasty birdie treat. I looked out of the window and saw a robin diving into a hole in the tree roots with a beak full the dog fur that I put out at this time of year for the birds to make their nests with.

Great camouflage .... can you spot the hole with the robin in?

Where the robins have made their nest.

I know the picture quality isn't great. It's taken through a closed window because I don't want to disturb the birds but I'm fairly certain that there is a nest in there with eggs. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see the baby birds in there when they hatch. I'm just keeping everything crossed that things go ok and that nothing happens to them and I will definitely keep you updated on their progress. So exciting.

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