The female osprey who has successfully reared chicks in the nest overlooking Bass Lake for the last few years has not arrived this year. It is thought that she may have perished over winter or during the long journey back from Africa this spring - she was 12 years old. Mr Osprey (called No-ring because [...]
The male osprey is now back beside Bassenthwaite Lake, about 2 weeks later than usual. The late arrival is reported to be due to adverse headwinds en-route. We now await the return of the female bird.
Stephen and Susan, who come to stay with us twice a year, were in the hide beside Bass Lake yesterday and were priviledged to see three otters, two adults and a juvenile playing and feeding. Although the otters are becoming well established there, not many people are lucky enough to see them!
We are now awaiting [...]
We now have some new furntiture in the dining room, but as usual, a couple of the items we would like are “out of stock”. Our new chairs are very comfortable, though.
Saw a red squirrel in the garden again today. It looked a bit disheveled, probably because it has not hibernated. One of our woodpeckers has been at the peanut feeder some 4-5 times every day. At this time last year the fat seed balls were being consumed at great speed, but this year the rate [...]
We have just returned from a family break in Egypt, enjoying some warm weather and visiting some tombs and temples, and have some great memories. Hopefully, also some good photos.
The pic is of us outside the Temple of Hatshepsut.
The weather is still relatively mild and it looks like the grass is growing!
It is now the end of January and the weather has been unseasonably mild. There has been some good rainfall, though, and Thirlmere reservoir is full.
We are still seeing one of our squirrels on the feeder several times a day. I guess it is not cold enough for hibernation yet.
At long last the dining room has been redecorated. With new wallpaper and shiny clean paintwork we can now think about which pictures to put in the room. It is time to change things around, but the decisions are not easy to make.
Outside, the new paved areas look really good - but the pond is [...]
Yes, the pond is still not right although it is looking good. We found a stone “ball” in a garden pot shop near Penrith which is now the centrepiece of the pool. There is a problem with the pipe feeding water to the spout - it is leaking. Nick returns to try to repair it.
The [...]
We spent over an hour today watching two squirrels helping themselves to hazelnuts from our feeder - and trying to bury them in the lawn. They soon gave up on that and have buried countless nuts in the flower borders! It is good to see them back again, and no doubt they will be regular [...]