Just watching us........

to come out of our back door.  Right at the bottom of the garden on next doors shed roof.  You can wave your hands about, you can talk to them, you can even creep up to them as long as you duck down so they can't see you.

The one on the left mimicks you. You stand up, he raises his head, you crouch down, my husband tells me he crouches down too. So obviously likes a little game.

This picture was taken some yards away, not a brilliant picture because I just can't hold a camera steady these days.  This was taken in the middle of the day - it is chilly outside and not much sun.

Unfortunately, we have a den at the bottom of the garden.  We have been told we are lucky.  Not so lucky when they do dig up the potatoes whilst burrowing into the ground.  Those holes are deep and big. You have to be so careful when walking through the vegetable patch that the ground does not collapse under you and you are knee deep in one of the holes.  Luckily we haven't landed on a sleeping fox under the ground!

On occasions a fox or two have sat watching my husband tending to his vegetables in the early evening.  As long as they are in that part of the garden and happy, then they can continue to live there.  I am sure they do come up to the house during the night, as there is evidence they have been about.

Generations have come and gone over the last twenty years....no doubt they will continue to do so.

A stroll in the garden this morning...

Earley this morning I was thinking that I hadn't even walked up to the top of the drive for almost a week.  That means no real exercise, unless you can call ironing, or washing or even tidying the house is exercise.

Well I suddenly wanted to wander to the back of the garden - in the snow - in my dressing gown - I did wear some shoes though! 

 

The patio.....after yesterdays snow it had started to thaw  and this morning we had another snow fall.  It is strange how the snow has "held" in between the joints of the paving stones.  Mmmm.....Lets see what else we find.

 

Not a lot here...just snow....

 

 

 

 

Wait!  Whats this?  I know it isn't our dogs prints as she doesn't come into this part of the garden.  Foxes....thats what it is and only going one way, there are no return paw prints.

 



 



Not sure what they have been up to here, but in a place just off from this picture was a small circle with no snow - the foxes obviously found something there.

Almost at the bottom of this part of the garden, just near the log pile.  Time to turn round and walk back again.



 

Our resident foxes live in another part of the garden - under the vegetable patch.  There are loads of tunnels and they are forever making new ones.    Although I would rather they didn't live with us, I have no idea how to get rid of them.  

 

We usually have a family - a male, female and cubs.  Fun to see them play on the lawn in the sunshine in Summer.  I am not sure if we have all the generations, or whether they do move on and another sets up "home".  .

 

There is one old chap who sits on top of next doors garden shed in the Summer and watches us in our garden.  He is facinated by the dog - and I wonder if it is because they are both the same colour.  We have seen him for two years now. 

 

I haven't seen any foxes this Winter yet, although there are signs in the snow that they are about. No doubt we will see the young ones playing in the garden this Spring.  

 

 

Now where did she go?

I was in the garden this evening just as it got dark and our two black cats were playing with a mouse in the grass.  I wanted to take a photo with the flash, so rushed indoors to get the camera, only to find that the cat who caught the mouse was watching the other cat eat it.  Ugh....there was nothing left to photograph...

Once she had had her hearty meal she disappeared into the long grass, supposedly for her desert.....so with camera in hand I used the flash to look for her.

I can't find her.....

Not there either

Nor there....

Aaah there she is!  You need good eyesight to see anything from up there.....

Nature can be cruel sometimes....

This month has gone quick....

but we achieved lots.  The house is still upside down with having the radiators put in for the central heating, but we have come to a standstill as we can't find an electrician who will connect the boilers to the electricity supply.  "Oh come on guys this looks like a straightforward task!  And I am not even an electrician". 

The living room carpet is back in place - we thought about changing it as it has been down for almost 30 years, but still in good condition.  "Star Wars" this pattern is - not sure how they come to that - very 1970s, but maybe it will do for a few more years yet.

The walls were very 1980s -

Rather than removing the paper and putting up lining paper, we gave it several coats of magnolia emulsion and I put up another pair of curtains, and it is amazing how much lighter the room has become.

We never got around to too much decorating over the years as our jobs and children took up a lot of time, but now we are heading for retirement, its time the house got its own make over.  I never imagined we would be in so much mess. 

The vege garden is taking its time.  In the meantime Mr Fox has dug out another den right beside the potatoes.  I am almost certain our vegetable patch is over a number of tunnels and holes, as everytime they dig they create another mound of earth, and it is very much like growing your veg on top of a hill!

Look at all those weeds - nettles too, knee deep all around the apple tree - days and days of work there.  Mr Fox does not take too kindly to us moving about, but he is determined to stay put!  Often sits on next door's shed roof during the day to watch us busy working in the garden.

Look at this too - more shrubbery to clear.  Wouldn't believe how much we have cleared this month and still all this to do. 

You might ask me what I am going to do with these!  These are two drums from old washing machines, and the casing of one of them.  The idea is to fill with earth and grow some flowers.  Since I got hundreds of flower seeds, I want to find out if I can grow them, having never had flowers in my garden, just shrubs, vegetables and weeds!


I was given two large pots by a neighbour and he said I should grow carrots in them.  So I am going to have a go. 

OK some of you and probably all of you have a garden and you grow lots of nice things.  Well I have the garden, but never had the time to do anything with it.  Mainly because I don't like gardening, but I don't like to see it like it is now.  So rules have been laid that within six months, we are going to clear this garden as it was 30 years ago!  That is certainly a challenge, because I have only given you part pictures - too embarrassed to show all!  Yes we have grass, and we have trees, but we have lots of other things that shouldn't even be here.  Its called "junk".  And I mean J-U-N-K....and I am not the hoarder. Although I do like to recycle, if I can find another use for it.

I am also trying to do some things I personally want to do.  And this month has been so busy that I haven't made one cake, nor pudding, and barely have had time to cook a meal each evening.  But I have sold lots of stuff from the loft on ebay, and feel pretty good about it.  I have space and I am saving for a trip to Australia.  Another story, another day.

Not yet given up work - if there is work - I will work - if there isn't then I will stick to home things.  Working from home can be an advantage - but sometimes you may not leave the house for days.

So - thats it for this month - now I can look forward to other things to do next month.  I have so much to do, I know I won't ever be bored on my road to retirement.....

Red Kites......

Lots of them - flying overhead - swooping down and up again.  What a beautiful sight.  Funny I had my camera with me, and was able to take a few shots.  Unfortunately I haven't the most brilliant camera, so all you get is birds flying about.



The photos do not show how spectacular they were - I was busy clicking away and most times all I had was "sky"!! 

I was told after about 30 shots - "Give up - you would be better off taking that pigeon sitting in the tree!!!"

 So I did!  Can you see him at the top of the branch!  Success at last!

Baby Squirrels

I used to think squirrels were adorable, but no more, since they ate through the electric cables in the loft a couple years ago which meant I had to have the house re-wired.  No idea how they got in the roof, had it checked and there does not seem an opening.  A friend told me that squirrels can collapse their heads and squeeze into a very small gap - not sure if this is true or not.

Anyway this morning I was looking out the window and there scampering up and down the branches of our huge apple tree were two baby squirrels.  I rushed outside with the intention of chasing them off the tree and into the neighbours garden, but no, they thought I was playing games, and continued running up and down the branches and one was just above my head, I feared he may just jump down onto my shoulder, so I walked away. 

I had my camera with me and here is one that found something to eat.  Immediately after taking the photograph, the squirrel had dropped his food and there was loud clang on the wooden fence below.  He promptly swung from the apple tree branch across the fence and grabbed a pine tree branch on the other side and was swinging there for a few seconds before he dropped to the ground.  Little does he know that the food item actually fell on my side of the fence.  The other one had already swung from the apple tree across to the silver birch and into the neighbours garden.  Oh well at least he has gone - for now at least.