Sunday morning on Cannock Chase.

Hi Folks!

First and foremost, I MUST thank you for your lovely comments on my last post - I'm sorry that I didn't reply to you all, (hangs head in shame).

This morning I had to take hubs to Stafford Showground as he has a bike in the Classic Motorcycle show there.  I decided to come back home through the 'Chase' and see what I could find to photograph.  (Click on any photo to enlarge.)

I found this little chaffinch hunkering down out of the wind.

Another one with a beak-full!

A male great tit and another chaffinch.

Then there was the magpie, female pheasant and the male great tit. 

Magpies feeding their face ;o)

(I LOVE magpies)

Sadly, there were far too many folk out and about to see any deer, but I caught these images the other afternoon (17th October) when I escaped for a few hours.

Melanistic fallow doe

Melanistic 'pricket' fallow buck

(first antlers)

* * *

I've started to capture and weigh my little spiky garden visitors to make sure they have enough fat reserves to last the Winter hibernation (at this time of year minimum of 700g.  So far the three I've weighed were - 1.2kg! 900g and the first juvenile I've seen this year that was only 400g.  She has been taken to West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue so that my dear friend Joan can 'fatten her up to a safe weight and then she'll be released back into my garden at an appropriate time,'  :o)

Keep an eye out for hogs and weigh them too.  If you see one out in the daylight there IS a problem.  (See my hedgehog info page for details)

I leave you one happy lady!

Best wishes to all.

  

Thought I'd better check in again.

Hi folks, yes - it's really me!

I'd like to thank sincerely, those of you who have contacted me, concerned that I was okay.

I hope that you are all still out there, and haven't lost interest during my absence - and of course all is well with you.

Time flies and I can hardly believe that it's been four months since I last posted.

I'd lie if I said it hadn't been a stressful four months with various things going on, and as you can imagine my Mother has been at the centre of a lot of it.  Her dementia continues to run it's course, she is still refusing any outside help and so I continue to go each day with her meds and to make sure that her beautiful cat Teddy is fed - she forgets otherwise.

We've had other problems in the family, and I admit that there's been a black dog following me around for a while, which is the main reason for my low profile.  I feel that I'm gaining a better hold though now and my face doesn't seem to leak as much - thank goodness.  I have visited blogs a couple of times a week, though I know I've missed a lot that's been going on.

Anyway, that's enough of that.  Updates on my sweet little prickly friends.

Since I posted Juvenile Hedgehogs  way back in November, I captured a further five underweight juveniles the following night, making a total of NINE!  Poor Joan was overwhelmed with these and many more that came into the rescue centre.

One of the 200 - 250g hogs

Two more

Double decked carriers waiting overnight in the laundry with the five hogs inside.

I also had another two brought to me by neighbours who were found in daylight, but sadly neither of them made it.

Joan kept my nine (!) and fed them up over the Winter, but again sadly two of those didn't make it either.  BUT the seven that did make it were released back into the garden in late March and early April during the mild weather we were having.  The hedgehog boxes in the garden were waiting for them :o)  They all came back like fat footballs, five of them weighed in at over a kilo!

The first three paint marked and ready for freedom :o)

The big bruiser - the heaviest one.

I'm pleased to report that they've ALL prospered and were joined by at least three of last years adults.  I continue to feed and look out for them.

Oh, I almost forgot - a few weeks after release I awoke one morning to find one (very large one)  feeding in the garden, and I knew that wasn't right.  I weighed it and it seemed to be okay but it wasn't curling up, but after speaking to Joan we decided that she'd better take him in to check over.  His eyes appeared to be bright and there was nothing apparently wrong.  He was wormed and given a dose of antibiotics, then after a night at the rescue centre was released again.  Joan's only comment was that he was very randy!  So we put his daylight hours down to keeping his strength up ;o) and I decided to christen him Dick!  BUT the following day a neighbour came round and said that there was a very large paint marked hedgehog in her garden looking for food.  When I checked it was Dick.  I contacted Joan again, and after much discussion I checked his eyes again - still clear and bright.  Joan asked me to put my finger towards his eyes - he didn't flinch at all.  So off he went again back to the rescue centre.  He was certainly blind, and even though Joan had over wintered him it wasn't apparent at all, and we wondered if something had happened since his release?  He couldn't be returned to the wild as his life would be in danger without sight. 

Happily though Joan has some very good contacts, a few of them have very large, enclosed gardens in which disabled or blind hogs can live safely and happily.  A retired farmer who lives near to us both offered (the now re-named) Dead-eyed Dick a permanent home in his walled garden.  We both went along to release him into his new home.  Here he is settling into his new home.

a corner of Dead-eyed Dick's new garden.

The good news is that he has settled in well and there is also a young three legged lady hedgehog living there, so you never know there could be some little babies this Summer :o)  We're all just hoping they have four legs and are not carrying white sticks ;o)

I'll be back again with more in the next week or two.

Sending love and best wishes

I've had a few bargains....

Hi folks, hope all is well in blogland.  

I realise that I haven't posted any finds, so to put thing right here's a few.

Hubs didn't quite know what to make of this one ;o)

From memory I think it was £1.25.

Just this week I found this glorious double Welsh woollen blanket.

It just needed a careful wash.  In perfect condition. 

£3 - yes, £3.  Even I was amazed at the price!

This wasn't actually a bargain find, I won it at the Hedgehog Rescue fundraiser day last month, but thought you'd like to see it.

(Sorry about the reflection)

I also bought this little felted beauty home.

Isn't he delightful?

(It's making me want to try felting....)

* * *

I've kept seeing a neglected old stone trough (full of weeds) outside the back entrance of one of our local businesses, and I finally plucked the courage to ask if they wanted to sell it.  The lady I asked got in touch with the owners and they asked if I'd like to 'make them an offer', if it was acceptable they'd donate it to the local Air ambulance.  I offered £20 which was accepted :o)

Dimensions 21.5" x 16.5" x 8" deep.

Even though it's seen a little life and had a crude repair I'm delighted with it, and am looking forward to finding it's 'forever home*' in the garden and planting it up.

(* It's just too flamin' heavy to keep moving around!)

* * *

Hedgehog catch-up

During the week I cleaned out the four hog boxes in the garden to ready them for any over-Wintering visitors.  Box 2 appeared to be empty when I started removing the hay, but nestled up a corner was a hog :o)  I took him out to weigh and mark him and was amazed to find he weighed 850 grammes - wot a whoppa!  (At this time of year hedgehogs need to be a minimum of 600 grammes to safely hibernate through the Winter months.)  I didn't have the camera handy, so sorry there's no pictures of him.  Though because of it's weight I'm pretty sure it's either  Otto or Archie as they were both huge.  He's now sporting an 'X' on his head and christened X-man.

Over the last few weeks there's been less and less spiky visitors to the garden, which I'm finding a little worrying as these dear little creatures should be fattening up.  I'm just hoping they've found another good food supply somewhere.  I shall still continue to leave a good supply of crushed peanuts, sunflower hearts, sultanas and dried mealworm out for them.  (Whole peanuts would lodge in their mouths and could choke them or prevent them from eating.)  I have tried over the years leaving both wet and dried cat food out but it's ignored in favour of the mealworm.

Mmmm!  Mealworms!

Best wishes to all

x x

She peeps round the corner...

Hello, is there anybody out there?  I'm hoping so as I've been away SO LONG. 
  

Admission time.  Dear Hubs got me up and running again with parts from a second hand laptop some time ago, but life got in the way and it's rarely been turned on.  We've had such a wonderful Summer that the days have simply whizzed by and I'd not realised it's been nearly two months since I posted.
There have been some problems of course, things that I don't feel I can discuss here just yet, because they all involve Mom - but thank goodness most of them have been overcome - for the moment anyway.

* * *

I've had a birthday - my 57th (aaargh)  

Mom still doesn't realise she forgot it :o(

* * *

There have been hedgehogs of course, lots of them giving us great joy - every night :o) 

I've made a couple of new videos for you to see.

(The nature camera is rigged up for 25 second videos with a 5 second delay before filming again, so the videos can seem to 'jump' a little - I really need to find out how to edit them properly...)

Here are the links - do you think I can remember how to put them on here? I'm an eejit!

Hog watching

Awakening from hog box #4

(I'm trying to source a power lead for the camera though as videos are eating up 8 x Duracell AA batteries up at an alarming rate.)

We have one small, visiting juvenile - a worry at time of year and so far an impossibility to capture it, I'm sure it's related to Lewis Hamilton as it's SO SPEEDY ;o) one crunch on the gravel and it's gone.  Here it is.

the bigger picture - spot the hog.

I've also had an amazing surprise from the nature camera, a visiting fox cub!  Sadly problems with uploading the next day lost the two videos - but I now have some software that could possibly find them again - fingers crossed!

* * *

I attended West Midland Hedgehog Rescues  fundraiser event on the 07th September.  Joan raised an amazing £897.59 during the event, which will be a great help over winter as she is self funded.   Joan told me that she has had very few monetary donations over the last twelve months, so if you have a wildlife/hedgehog rescue centre nearby how about sending them a donation to help out?

* * *

Then there was a bit of painting and improving.  Remember this?

Well now it looks like this!

The hanging baskets filled out nicely.

Much better!

We had another visit from a Sparrow Hawk

No casualties this time though.

Taken from the bedroom window, a bit dull as it was early morning and in the shade.

* * *

Five (pampered) tomato plants in the greenhouse have been a disappointment - as I'm still having to buy tomatoes!  The runner beans aren't exactly cropping lots either, I went out veg hunting one evening and came back with one runner bean and one finger sized courgette (zucchini) good job I have fat reserves - at that rate I'd fade away!

* * *

I managed a wonderful day out with George's Mom to Walcott (Ooops! That should have been)Wollerton Old Hall Garden private Gardens in Shropshire but that's a whole other post!  

They even had a resident hedgehog ;o)

and a preview ...

(Which somehow missed off my original post)

* * *

I've added another face to the garden - a charity shop find of course!  And you know I like weird things of course ;o)

* * *

Well, I think that'll do for now.  I hope you have had an excellent Summer.  Next time Walcott Gardens.

Sending you my very best wishes.

x x x

Oh!  Just a thought...what happened with Blogger Reader?  My list still seems to be there - did I miss an important announcement or was it all just hype?  Anyway, I registered with Bloglovin' too!

New additions

Hi folks, once again I apologise for my lack of posts.  Last time I mentioned that I was going to release another two hedgehogs from the local hedgehog rescue centre.   

You probably know that I have already built and installed three hedgehog houses into the garden, but because two of them were already inhabited I'd decided to build a fourth one :o)

(I really should make a plan of them in case any of you would like to make one too.)

Anyway, here is the completed house.

It has been placed at the side of the conservatory (as this is the only place left to fit one in!)

Joan arrived with two boxes of precious cargo on the 6th May, and I transferred the two ladies into my own (cat) carriers so that they were secure until darkness fell.  They were then put into the darkened laundry until the evening came and I could release them into the world.  They had both been hand reared and didn't really have much knowledge of the outside world.  As you know I name all the hogs I release and of course these little girls have names to, so may I introduce the two little wrigglers:

Mavis

(who now sports a white spot on each side)

and her buddy

Myrtle
(who has an inverted 'T' on her behind)

Little Myrtle again.

Once darkness came I placed each one into a new home, and waited for them to pluck up the courage to come out and investigate.  Mavis was the bravest, and was out and about devouring food within five minutes, Myrtle however was a little more shy and it was around 30 minutes before she came out to investigate.

Here's Mavis

Just about to hoover up the pile of mealworms.

(Sorry the shot is out of focus)

Since then Mavis has been a regular in the garden, either by over-nighting and also feeding.

Myrtle must have ranged further away as I've only seen her twice since release.

Archie is also a regular, and likes the ladies ;o)

You can probably, just make out his stripe - he's the hog on the left, the other one I've called Spotty as he has a lighter spot on his right bum cheek.  They met up in the feeding box.

I've started to keep a log of each hog I see, and also the over-nighters sleeping in the boxes.

It appears we have a neon 'Travelhog' sign placed by the gate, visible to hedgehogs only!  They seem to spend a night or two in one box, then disappear for another couple of nights when another moves in, in it's place.  Some nights, like last night all the boxes were empty.  It's amusing me no-end :o)

Here's another few visitors...I wonder if Wilfrid, Winifrid or May (some of last years releases) are amongst them?  I'm afraid I no longer have any way of knowing as their paint marks would have long since rubbed off.

Who ever they are, they're in good condition :o)

* * *

I have been amusing myself this afternoon trying to get shots of Mommy and Daddy Robin as they frantically flit in and out of the nest feeding their brood.  We have no idea how many little ones there are as the ivy has now covered the hole completely.   Here are the better shots.

I was trying to get an 'action' in flight shot, sadly this is the best I could do:

and if you think that's bad, this was the worst!

So, help need please.  Some of you have the MOST astounding photographs of animals in action shots, come on - HOW DO YOU DO IT?  I use a Panasonic FZ38 set onto outdoor sport mode.  I've tried other settings but to no avail, can anybody point me in the right direction please?

Well, I truly hope I'm not boring you to death with my very own 'Nature Watching'.

I'll be back again as soon as I'm able, again please forgive me not visiting and commenting too often   I'm really missing visiting you, but some days I don't even get around to switching on the laptop at all.

Sending my very best wishes to you all.

x x