Rain And Floods

It was rather a dull day yesterday. I worked and caught up with lots I had to do, the dogs slept and slept, exhausted after their weekend. While I worked the fox cub slept on the path in the garden too. Youngest son has built such a rapport with it while we have been away, it comes and sits by the fence and he opens his window and chats to it.

When I went out to feed the birds, it had moved to the side of the garden and was sitting watching me. I put some dog biscuits down for it and it sat munching on them while I was round and about. When I walked up to the aviary I was really surprised to see another cub sitting looking at me. It was about the same size as the cub that was in the garden eating the biscuits. I have never seen two cubs together this year, I really wonder if it could be a sibling I have just not seen or maybe a cub from another nearby pair of foxes. It was quite an exciting discovery.

While I was out in the garden the sky was getting darker and darker and I could hear plops of rain starting on the aviary roof. I had to dash in as it was getting heavier and within a few minutes it was absolutely pouring. It poured and poured, thunder and lightning, it was relentless. For the first time I was worried we were going to flood. There was a small river running down the path by our back door that was getting deeper and deeper. Since our neighbours have had their extension built the water really rises on our terrace with no where to drain to in heavy rain, it is quite a worry. 

I had some shopping to do at our local shops and I waited and waited but in the end decided I would just have to get on with it. All the shops were in chaos. Every shop I went in was mopping up from flood water that had come in through the back doors and one had water pouring in through the roof as well. I felt really sorry for them all. As the woman who works in the chemist said to me "This is all we need on a Monday!" I think the problem is our little area is on quite a steep hill and it just seems to rush downwards to the shops, the more houses and extensions that are built and the more front gardens that are paved over just seem to be making the problem worse and worse. 

At least the forecast is better today, but I hate to complain when I see the terribly high temperatures and wild fires some people in the world are having to deal with. I'm off to see my Dad today, hopefully I won't get soaked again, but I'm definitely not forgetting my umbrella. Have a lovely day everyone what ever the weather. xx

A Lost Family

 I went to The Royal Marsden Hospital to have my routine six monthly blood test first thing yesterday morning. It is such a wonderful place and so perfectly run. When I first got my Royal Marsden letter three and a half years ago I left it on the coffee table unopened all day. I didn't want to open it, I didn't want to go there at all. When I finally did open it and of course go to my appointment I was so surprised at how different it was to what I expected. It almost didn't feel like a hospital it's so friendly. It's not just the feel of the place though, they dealt with each problem in such a matter of fact way and organised way. I really trust them and as soon as I walk in I feel as though I am among friends. Hopefully I will be told my blood results are fine when I have my appointment next week, but if they aren't I'm sure any problems will be dealt with in their usual professional way. 

It was quite a coincidence, as I mentioned a while ago a young woman had contacted me to say some family had found two large framed photos from around the 1920s in their loft when they moved into a house in Shirley near Croydon. They contacted the previous owners who weren't interested in them and a local history society who didn't want them either. After an internet search this young woman found my Photo Archive website and asked if I would like them. Of course I was thrilled, it is just the sort of thing I put on the website all the time, forgotten photos that no one knows what to do with. She emailed me this week to say she had an appointment nearby and would drop them off yesterday. When she arrived with them she told me she was on her way to The Royal Marsden, which is just up the road, to have chemotherapy which she was receiving for cancer she was diagnosed with last November. I told her I had been there that morning and we had a little chat about it all, she was so young and kind and I couldn't get over she was taking the trouble to bring these photos round while she was in the middle of her treatment. I wished her all the best with her treatment but told her in my experience she was being treated in the best place in the world. Sometimes fate can make you meet someone in your life, just fleetingly, but you feel all the better for having met them.

I spent an hour yesterday taking the backs of the photos and giving them a good clean. They are enormous! Sadly there is no way yet to identify the photos but the photographer was in Peckham. I love them! I think the family look almost theatrical, definitely different with lots of character. I copied them while they were out of their frames so I can add them to the website. 

It turned into such a lovely afternoon, I managed to get a few jobs done in the garden. The little fox cub was round and about again. It seems rather sad to see him on his own all the time, with no siblings. In the evening when I was putting things away, he (or she) was asleep on our neighbours shed, no doubt sleeping off his evening meal we had put out earlier.  

Of course there's another big game tonight. Poor Tom is on a late duty and will miss it all, driving an empty bus around all evening, in the rain apparently, while everyone else is watching it. Have a lovely day everyone what ever your plans and I hope you manage to avoid the rain. xx

Getting Ready To Go Out Into The World

 I had a really busy day yesterday, catching up with work, giving the house a clean up and the garden a tidy up. It is lovely to be away but there is a lot to do when you return. Youngest son has been feeding the fox family and he really enjoys doing this. He is getting to know the different personalities as much as Tom and I do now. He says the cub has really been gaining in confidence while the dogs have been away and had been sitting near to the house too. I noticed while I was out in the garden yesterday it was getting closer and closer to me, looking really inquisitively to try and see what I was doing. It is a lovely little animal, just like a puppy with so many mannerisms the same. It certainly looks very healthy and I hope it's good food has given it the best start for it's life.

He has also been on baby pigeon duties and has obviously been doing such a good job, as little Todd has really grown and even learnt how to sit on the perch. I'm not going to bother weighing him again as I can see how much he has grown now. It's now the best way to get some safe flying practice for him before we set him free, that won't be for a few weeks. Youngest son walked the five miles home from work yesterday as he fancied the exercise, but stopped in the local park to have a breather. While he was sitting on the bench he noticed that while lots of people were feeding the ducks, lots of the pigeons were being fed too and that reminded me that when Scarlett and I go down to feed the ducks we always feed the flock of pigeons too, so maybe it would be a good place to set him free. Hopefully he could just follow the flock and with a bit of luck it won't be a place were someone will come along and decide a pigeon cull is a good idea. We want to give him the best chance possible.

Scarlett really enjoyed her half day at school yesterday. A few friends from her nursery were there which gave her more confidence. She's such a kind, sociable little girl I know she will be fine, but I feel quite nervous for her out in the big world now. In September I will be on picking up duties sometimes and it will be ever so strange to be standing at the school gates again. It really is standing at the gates as well as because of coronavirus no parents or carers are allowed in, they have to drop off and pick up all the children, even the tiny ones, at the gate. There has been no showing round the school for eldest daughter and her partner, everything has been done online, even the guided tour and meet the teacher. It has certainly been challenging for the school but I suppose Scarlett doesn't know anything different so will adapt fine.

I'm going to The Marsden this morning for a blood test, then on to Lidl do do some shopping for the weekend. I'm leaving early as there is rain forecast later and I've been soaked through enough this week! Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx 

Welsh Roots and Curtain Planning

 When Tom got in from work yesterday we went straight to The British Heart Foundation shop and sadly they didn't have a single washing machine in stock. We were really surprised as we used to be spoilt for choice but one of the men who works there says they sell as soon as they come in now. I suppose it must be a sign of the times at the moment, everyone is looking for a bargain. There was a really lovely selection of fridges and freezers though, maybe as appliances they last longer. We went on to Emmaus and there was not a single one there either! Luckily though, a man who worked there showed us a Bosch machine in excellent condition at the back that had just arrived. It has to be checked by an electrician on Monday and then we can buy it. Our name has been put on it so at least if all goes well we will have a washing machine then. I don't know about other areas but we don't have a single Launderette left in this area. It's hand washing for me today!

After we left Emmaus we went to the garden centre to buy a hanging basket. I normally make up my own but this year my little plants I have grown from seed are very behind and there I don't think there is going to be much of a display, so with the money left over from the lights I bought with my Christmas gift voucher, I bought a really beautiful one. It is the largest hanging basket we have had for years and I'm really looking forward to it at it's best. "I may even paint the front door!" I told Tom. 

Another really exciting thing for Tom that happened yesterday was his Dad's birth certificate arrived. It meant I could fill in the first part of his family tree on Ancestry and all sorts of surprises have turned up already. His Dad was born in a place that despite my ongoing Welsh lessons I wouldn't even try to pronounce, called Mynyddislwyn  in Monmouthshire. His Grandmother was a widow, who's first husband was a soldier in The Monmouthshire Regiment killed on the Somme in the First World War. She had four children when she was widowed, three girls and one boy. Tom remembers visiting an Auntie when he was a child who was much older than his Dad but had no idea she was his half sister. He also knew his Dad had more sisters but had never met them. The surprise that  Tom had no idea at all about was his Dad had a half brother, 14 years older than his Dad. A sailor in the Second World War he was sadly killed in 1941 when HMS Bonaventure was sunk in enemy action. Tom has his same full names, so must have been named after him. His Grandmother was widowed again when Tom's Dad was a young child and she moved to Yorkshire to live near her eldest daughter, the one Tom remembers. It is so easy to see how family's can drift apart, particularly in times of war. We're looking forward to finding out more. 

Despite all Tom's enthusiastic support, Wales lost 4-0 last night and are sadly out of the Euros, so onward to look forward to the England match. A new curtain rail I ordered has arrived for the bedroom and today I'm really looking forward to sorting out some new curtains for in there. I have some old curtains that I may alter or I may just buy some material and make some. Decisions! I do love planning.

Little pigeon Todd is continuing to do quite well. I weighed him last night and he was 170g! He has put on 8g but also he is definitely more active and a bit brighter. He is practicing flapping his wings ready for what would be his fledging time. I think some safe flying lessons will have to be planned soon. Have a lovely Sunday everyone what ever you are doing. xx

A Busy Day Of Rescuing Birds And Neighbours

 Yesterday I  proved to myself exactly what I had written about yesterday. It's very hard to work from home without being distracted, at least it is in our house! I settled myself down at my desk to work.  I was slightly distracted as a friend of mine and his wife were hiking Helvellyn and along Striding Edge in the Lake District and he kept sharing the most stunning photos in our Whats App group, but as he seemed to only stop about every half an hour to send a photo for us to comment on and encourage him to keep going I kept quite focussed all morning. I caught up with a lot and was feeling very productive and pleased with myself by lunch time. A young woman in Croydon has contacted me asking if I would like some photos her parents have found in the loft of a house they have moved into in. Apparently the previous owners had lived there for decades and decades and although they have contacted them they are not interested in collecting the framed photos (can you imagine!) so the new owners have been trying to find a home for them. The local museum aren't interested either so after an internet search they have found my website and asked if I would like them. I'm not getting my hopes up too much as often people contact me and then nothing materialises, but I have offered to go and collect them so hopefully I will have a few more interesting photos to research soon. 

While I was sitting eating my sandwich and watching the news, Tom phoned and said he was on the way home with a baby pigeon he had found. His work garage had brought in pest control people over the weekend to kill all the pigeons who were roosting in the eaves. Tom had found this little pigeon sitting all alone under a bus which was parked in the corner of the garage. While he was finding a box so the office staff could keep an eye on it during the day until he came back to the garage one of the other drivers said "Just stamp on it, it's only a pigeon." The whole story made me feel so sad, as human beings why we feel we are so superior to animals and why some animals seem to be right at the bottom of the line of caring. The long suffering office staff, they are used to looking after waifs and strays for Tom, looked after the pigeon all morning, and then Tom bought him home on the bus. "How is the dove we looked after?" they asked. Tom promised to send them a photo of her living happily in our aviary. When Tom arrived home I had sorted the cage out and set it up for the poor little chap. He had called him Todd as he found him all alone. That's Todd Sloan which means alone for anyone not familiar with cockney rhyming slang!

I sent this photo of him to eldest daughter who before she became a police officer worked in the, now closed down, London Wildlife Hospital for two years so is quite an expert with this sort of thing. She says it is very borderline whether he will be able to feed himself as he still has some of his yellow baby feathers and will still have been fed by his mother but just learning to feed himself. I tried syringe feeding him as I have had lots of practice with hand rearing baby cockatiels but he just refused to open his beak, hand rearing really needs to start before about three weeks old to be successful, although I have had some successes older. In the end I tried him with softened oatmeal biscuit and later some warm scrambled egg which he did pick at a bit. He's still alive and picking at his food again this morning so I hope he will survive. He spent the evening sitting on my knee on an old towel watching the first half of the England match, so at least even if he doesn't survive he is warm and cared for, which is more than all his poor family. 

In between all this pigeon drama, our lovely jazz pianist neighbour came round as he had accidentally locked himself out of his house and asked if we could help him get in. His house is completely double glazed and it seemed like an impossible task, what an earth do people do in this situation, I had never really thought. In the end he asked Tom to smash the tiny little window in his front door and as Tom has long arms he managed to reach in and open the lock, of course then a glazier has to be found to make his house secure again and between all this and baby pigeon feeding the rest of the day passed by and I didn't get any more work done. While all this was going on my friend made it to the top of Striding Edge and I missed commenting on the dramatic photo of them posing with their dog in triumph! 

With baby pigeon Todd safely back in his cage, I was recounting all the days dramas to youngest daughter, who was sitting watching the second half with us. It was a nice end to the day even if not at all as I had planned. I suppose a life has been saved, our lovely neighbour was safely in his house and England won. I just had to share this photo of Tess and Layla watching youngest daughter eating crisps during the football match. You can see who gives the dogs unhealthy snacks in our house!

I'm off to my Dad's this morning. My sister is taking him for a blood test first thing this morning and then I am going round a little later and we will do his shopping and have lunch with him and then all the other little jobs we have to do. My six monthly blood test at the Royal Marsden is due this week so I will have to try and fit that it too at some point. At least the sun is shining. Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

The Special Days Are Today

 The rain stayed off most of yesterday and I met my sister and we popped into Marks & Spencer's to buy lunch for my Dad and we had a really nice few hours chatting and catching up over it. Dad had found an old bottle of really Armagnac brandy from 1931 which is his year of birth. One of his work colleagues had given it to him as a present years ago and he had put it away to open on a special birthday and forgotten about it. "We should have opened it on your 90th." my sister and I joked. "Oh well" he replied "We'll open it on my 100th, and if I don't make it, you can sell it and buy a house!" All joking apart, not quite a house but it is very valuable and another lesson learned not to put things away for best or special occasions as the special days are today.

It was one of the topics of conversation Tom and I had while we were away. It is so easy to always be planning for the future and missing "the now" . We are guilty of it, Tom often says "We'll do that when I retire."  It is nice to think about these things but I think every day I mustn't forget how much pleasure there is in now. You hear it all the time at the moment "I can't wait till this is all over." "I can't wait until next year when I can have a holiday abroad." My friend's husband died very suddenly aged only 58 a few years ago. He was a cheerful chap and the day before he died he visited the boat yard where they kept their little boat. His last Facebook entry on that day was a post saying. "It's a beautiful day here, the sort of day that makes you feel glad to be alive." While it is so poignant to see it, what a wonderful epitaph in another way. Tom and I have both said we are going to try and enjoy every day. I know it is harder for Tom driving round in the London traffic all day, but he says it could be much worse, most of the people he works with are really nice and 90% of the passengers are lovely. I am going to find time today sit down and make a few notes about ways to simplify our lives and enjoy it more. I try to do this sort of thing all the time and then somehow slip back into those days worrying about how I will get everything done I need to to. 

Eldest daughter and Scarlett came round yesterday and I wish I could simplify her life for her! We had a really nice family day though. A perfect day to finish off Tom's holiday and although he was up early today and left the house before 5am, he was definitely rested and refreshed after his break. I've just got to work out a way of keeping that for us!

Even though youngest son has been feeding the foxes, since we have been home the male fox has taken to standing looking in at us reproachfully all the time. Where have you been? I'm sure he is saying! Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

Relaxing Off Grid And Bats

We arrived back from the caravan yesterday afternoon for a couple of days. We felt rested, tanned and ready for anything! Our enthusiasm was slightly  dampened when we arrived home to discover the foxes had ripped the lid right off our food waste bin and rubbish was strewn every where. Youngest son and daughter hadn't had time to clear it up before they left for work (or so they said!) so I had to start sweeping the path as soon as I returned. When I got inside the house though my spirits were soon lifted by a wonderful chatty letter from my lovely cousin waiting for me. What is it about letters that are so special now? Reading her chatty letter with all her news felt so exciting. Technology has taken over our lives and although there is a lot of good in technology, I have definitely realised this past week there is a lot not so good. We had virtually no internet access at the caravan. I managed to post a few photos on Instagram but just had to post them and leave my phone and they could take hours uploading. A lot of the time we had no mobile signal either, I started by feeling a bit anxious about it but then kept reminding myself that before all this technology most of us were completely uncontactable on holiday. As an older teenager, at home with my sister when my Mum and Dad started to take some holidays on their own, we heard nothing from them for two weeks, the only contact we had was a postcard that usually arrived on the day they arrived home! We survived fine so how have we become so obsessed with keeping in contact all the time. 

The day before we left yesterday we went for another long walk with the dogs to Bewl Water. We went really early just after nine as it was so warm and walked all morning. When we arrived back at the caravan and I was getting lunch ready, the dogs were all so relaxed and tired, it made me realise that everyday life takes it toll on animals too. They have loved this caravan life.

After lunch I settled my self down on the sun lounger with my book for a guilt free afternoon doing nothing! There is something about that just sitting, on holiday that I could never do at home, there always seems to be so much to catch up with. A new couple in a very smart campervan arrived at the site and Tom turned his chair round so he could watch all the shenanagans! They spent a long time setting up all their electronic devices and a satellite dish but then realised they couldn't get any internet access. The owners of the site were summoned and after much discussion the van was all packed up again and the owners of another campervan who were parked closer to the house kindly swapped with them. Apparently if you are close to the owners house you can get get access to the internet. Tom gave me a running commentary of the entire proceedings, while I lay on the sun lounger reading and feigning interest. By the time they had set up again they were practically in the toilet block but they seemed happy and they both spent the rest of the afternoon sitting looking at their mobile phones. When I walked over to the toilet that evening, they were in the middle of loudly face timing someone and showing them round their campervan. They were so jolly and friendly stopping their phone conversation to chat to me, with their large glasses of red wine, I couldn't help but warm to them, but it did seem a bit of a shame they weren't really enjoying their beautiful surroundings more.

There is a lot of good on the internet, but I can't help but think life was simpler and less stressful without it, or was it because I was younger then so of course life was less stressful. Tom and I have talked a lot about simplifying our life and our plans for the future, but I also am not going to fall into the trap of not enjoying today. Even on the busiest of days there always seems to be something to enjoy. Youngest daughter couldn't wait to tell me, that over the last few evenings, she has seen bats flying around some large trees near our garden. she said as she was looking out, with her window open around nine o'clock she spotted them. Her old school, just down the road is a listed old building and they often had bats flying around if we went to events on summer evenings so I suppose it is not to far for them to travel. We can't wait to try and film them. 

I have just about forgiven the foxes for all the mayhem they caused. Youngest son is convinced it was not our pair, as they would be too discerning after the wonderful diet they normally get to raid mouldy old food waste bins. I'm having a garden day today, youngest daughter has been religiously watering it while we have been away and left unchecked everything has got really wild, so I better have a bit of a tidy up. That's before I even start on the house! Sigh, I miss my sun lounger! Have a lovely day everyone, what ever you are doing. xx

A Bird Of Prey

 Although it was lovely and warm yesterday, it wasn't as sunny as the day before. I spent a lot of the afternoon, replanting seedlings and the free plug plants that were delivered a while ago. I mentioned that I had been sent an offer for twenty free Geranium plug plants, I only had to pay postage. Well they arrived and they were so tiny I'm not sure if they will ever grow enough this year to flower. I have re potted them all so only time will tell. I also potted a tiny little azalea that has grown from a seed I collected from my Dad's beautiful orange azalea last year. I really want this to survive so will be giving it extra special care.

When I was out in the garden I was talking to my next door neighbour. Strangely after writing yesterday about wildlife declining, he was telling me a bird of prey landed in his garden a few days earlier. I had seen a bird hovering in the air a few weeks ago and it crossed my mind it looked like a bird of prey but I dismissed it as not possible. He wasn't sure what it was and hadn't been able to get a photo but from his description we decided it may have been a sparrow hawk. Although I'm a bit worried for our small birds, it is something quite exciting to look out for. This beautiful photo of a Sparrow Hawk with it's prey was taken by Pierre Dalous and shared on Wikipedia.

Tom finished his shift yesterday and is now off for 17 days. He is so excited to not be going out every morning and crawling through traffic all day. Although we will be driving backwards and forwards to the caravan quite a bit at least we can mostly choose the times we travel to avoid the traffic. I have a feeling it may be quite busy everywhere but if needs be we'll just sit by the caravan and admire the view! Scarlett is coming this morning and we will be out and about in this lovely sunshine. I hope everyone has a really nice day what ever you are doing. xx

Caravan Tales and Toys For Fox Cubs

 We had such a busy day yesterday I was exhausted by the evening. Tom and I went to B&Q first thing in the morning and bought lots of things we need for the caravan. All rather boring things like, grease and silicone spray but there is so much maintenance to do on caravans after the winter, especially this prolonged winter we have had. We arrived at the storage yard, which is an hours drive away and we got the caravan hitched up fine which was a relief as Tom has been really worried about the jockey wheel at the front as it was playing up last year. He wanted to order a new one but I persuaded him that it was nicer to keep  the original one if we could. All seemed fine through on the journey to my Dad's house and it felt so wonderful to being seeing our lovely caravan in the wing mirror again as we drove along. 

We arrived at my Dad's house at about 12.30 and my sister was already there. We parked outside next door to unhitch the caravan and that is when the problems started! The jockey wheel wouldn't raise enough to lift the caravan off the tow bar. The thread seemed to have gone on the winder and after an age of trying the bottom of the jockey wheel dropped off into the road. There was a fraught time while my sister and I held up what felt like 3 tonnes of caravan while Tom struggled to try and re assemble it. A helpful delivery driver slowed down and shouted "Do you need a hand?" "No we're fine thanks mate!" Tom shouted back as my sister and I continued to hold up the caravan like contestants from "Britain's Strongest Man" In the end we decided we would have to guide the caravan back into the drive, whilst holding up the front of it. To cut a very long story short, we finally got the caravan into place, the legs were put down and apart from aching shoulders and backs and one damaged shrub there seemed to be no harm done. We had planned to try to check all the water pipes yesterday, but after doing my Dad's shopping and all the other little jobs we have to get done while we were there it was 5 o'clock and we were too exhausted to start anything else. I couldn't resist trying out the flags on the front though. 

After we got home, fed all the animals and birds and had eaten our evening meal I ordered a new jockey wheel. Tom to his eternal credit didn't say "I told you so" once. I had been looking forward to Springwatch but fell asleep and missed most of it. Oh well, it's another day today, the sun is shining and we have to go back to my Dad's to start work on the water pipes. I'm going to write a list of all we have to do and just try and work our way through it. 

I was so tired yesterday I forgot to set up the wildlife camera but youngest son was up early at 5 o'clock and he sat by his window watching the fox club playing in the garden. He said it was having a fine old time running about and rolling on the ground. It it's a shame it doesn't seem to have any brothers and sisters to play with, I may buy it a couple of toys! Have a lovely day everyone, the weather is set to get a bit better which is really something to look forward to. xx

Getting The Caravan Ready And Mice

 I spent yesterday getting things ready to take to the caravan at eldest son's yard today. We are then going to take the caravan to my Dad's house so it can stay on his drive for 10 days before, to do some work on it before we take it to the caravan site. As Tom is working such long hours at the moment we have really limited time to get much of it done and of course this weather is going to make it so much worse. We're having an early breakfast then off to B&Q to get some items we need. What a rush.

I set our wildlife camera up in the garden last night and can still see only one fox cub, but what a lovely little cub it is. Tonight I'm going to move the camera further down the garden and see if I can see a bit more of it.

I also caught on camera these cute little mice. Cleo is always hanging around up there so I really hope they manage to stay safe. 

I'll have lots to write about tomorrow, hopefully of how well the day went and how the sun shone at times. I'm sure I've jinxed it now! Have a lovely day everyone what ever you have planned xx

Snails And Fox Cubs

 All this wet weather is causing one type of wildlife in our garden to increase dramatically. Slugs and snails. Last year we had a thrush nesting in the hedge at the end of the garden and the parent thrush nearly cleared our garden of snails. It was like a snail graveyard, literally hundreds of empty snail shells that she had discarded were covering the garden. I could really do with her this year and if ever there is an example of natural pest control being the best it was this thrush. My one tree peony that has grown from seed in the greenhouse has been eaten by a snail and the culprit was even still sitting on the seed tray looking very pleased with itself. I have one cosmos left and only a few sun flowers, I have decided that dumping them all in the hedge at the end of the garden isn't far enough! The garden at the end of our garden is really overgrown but I can't quite bring myself to chuck them over the fence into someone else's garden so I'll have to think of somewhere else. It may have to be a car ride to the local woods for them!

After Tom had seen a fox cub looking through the fence the other evening, yesterday evening when I put some food out for them I set my camera up to see if I could catch anything. I was thrilled to see this short clip of one cub. 

 It seems quite big, so must have been hiding away for a while. I'm not sure if there is only one as youngest daughter was woken last night by fox cub noises in the garden and she said it sounded as if it was playing. I had hoped to set up my wildlife camera but the rain was so heavy yesterday evening I didn't fancy going out in it, hopefully I'll be able to today although there is more rain on the way.

I'm hoping I manage to get a bit of tidying up done in the garden before more rain arrives later. I will definitely be finding time for a some more Welsh lessons on my app. I have worked so hard all week, I'm top of the bronze leader board. If I stay near the top I will be promoted to the silver league tomorrow. We talk in Welsh so much at home now I nearly made a mistake and thanked the waiter the other day in Welsh! I hope it's improving and awakening little brain connectors that had long gone to sleep. It's definitely giving me a sense of achievement. Have a lovely Sunday everyone and I hope you manage to see some sunshine. xx

Out And About In The Rain

 It poured and was so windy yesterday my sister, my Dad and I abandoned our plan to search the local graveyard for our ancestors and went to the garden centre instead. The cafe opened again on Monday and we were looking forward to going back there. It felt so nice sitting with a pot of tea and a piece of cake looking out at the rain pouring down. The system seemed a bit of a muddle though and my sister and I ordered carrot cake and got toffee cake but the waiter was so lovely we just went along with it and it was still very nice. It had almost stopped raining when we came out of the cafe so we had a look round all the plants. I was going home on the train so didn't buy anything, but had a good look around the trees they were selling and decided I would keep going with my plans for a tree business. I would never charge garden centre prices but I'm hoping may be able to make a bit of extra money into retirement doing something I really enjoy.

The board I ordered for the caravan to display the old caravan club badges we used to collect in the 1960s has arrived. When I was ordering a photo for my Dad on Photobox last week I noticed they had a 40% sale of all items until the 24th May. I chose a photo of the the caravan we used to holiday in when we collected the badges to make a small canvas and I'm going to stick the badges along the bottom of it. I feel it is a part of the history of my caravanning adventure displayed on one board and I love the way my Mum is looking out of the caravan window watching my sister and I play. 

When I arrived home yesterday evening Tom was already in from work and had fed all the birds which I was grateful for as it was still raining. He told me when he went up to the end of the garden a little fox cub was looking through the gap in the fence. How exciting. I have not been setting up my wildlife camera as much as I had planned as the weather had been so dreadful but will try to from now on and see if I can catch it on film. No matter how brave the parents are I have found the cubs always are really timid so it is not easy. The weather forecast is a little better today but there is more heavy rain on the way so I better get going with my plans. I hope everyone has a lovely day and manages to enjoy a little bit of sunshine. xx

Dancing And Poles

 Scarlett wasn't too well yesterday, she had a cold and a cough and was feeling a bit sorry for herself. Luckily I had found something to really brighten her up. She loves our oil painting of a ballerina and often says "I wish I was a ballerina." When my eldest daughter, her Mum, was just a little bit older than her she used to say exactly the same thing too so we enrolled her in little ones ballet classes. After about a year she lost interest and didn't want to go any more but it an enjoyable time she remembers fondly, even though the old lady who taught them was rather "old school". I often remember her and her massive old Victorian house with part of the downstairs converted into a dance studio as I walk by where it was. It was as if you had stepped back in time when you went in and is still firmly retained in my mind, even the smell of the polish. Sadly the whole house has gone now and a block of flats has replaced it and even though I remember the place I can't remember the old ladies name. That is going to irritate me until I do, I hate it when I forget names.

This week I searched out eldest daughters old ballet shoes and gave them to her. She was so excited. They just about fit, maybe a little big but they still have the pink elastic I sewed on to keep them on. She danced and pirouetted about the place all day. We weren't allowed to call her Scarlett we had to call her ballerina! It made her completely forget her cold. While she as practicing her ballet positions the fox came down and looked in at her. I said "Look even the fox is so impressed with your dancing he's coming down to watch!" I'm sure she believed it was true.

Tom is off work today and we are going over to my Dad's house to set up our caravan awning in the garden as the new poles have arrived. We bought the old 1970s awning without poles and thought it would be easy to find replacements but it has been a real struggle. We have searched and searched. Youngest daughter says for the last two months our main topic of conversation has been poles. Tom has even been texting me from work saying "Any news on the poles!" I think everyone is bored to death with the subject. Well the much anticipated poles have finally arrived and we have now got to double check they fit. We have decided the best place to do this is in my Dad's garden, where there is much more space than in ours, not to struggle in full view of other caravaners when we are away. If they don't fit after all this I give up!

It looks quite bright this morning but apparently showers may be coming later, hopefully they will hold off until after the great awning assessment! I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever your plans. xx 

The Young Have Arrived

 It was another lovely sunny day yesterday after another cold start. Poor Tom, leaving at 5am everyday at the moment has to wear a warm coat and then spends the rest of the day having to lug it about. I decided I would try and fix the Roberts Radio. In the end I used a plastic wire connector to connect the new battery terminal wires and it worked, the radio has power and it switches on! However very disappointingly I still can't get any sound. The must be something else wrong with it. I'm not giving up yet though, I'm going to do a google search to see if I can find out what else the problem may be and another search on trusty YouTube. 

In the afternoon I gardened and weeded and cut back. The garden waste bin is collected tomorrow and am I the only person who feels that because I have paid for it to be collected, it must be full! While I was "slaving away" as youngest daughter called it, she lay on the sun lounger working on her tan and giving me a running commentary of what the wildlife was doing. Our vixen has kept a very low profile in the last few days but the male fox has been up and down all the time. While we were out there she suddenly appeared. "Is that our vixen?" said youngest daughter. "She looks different" When I looked at her she stared back in the usual trusting way but she looked thinner and strangely dirty. She must have had her cubs. I wonder where they are they must be very close, probably just behind the fence I think. I set up my wildlife camera as really want to catch them on film as soon as they emerge out. Last year after the cubs were born the male fox disappeared completely for a few months so I'll be very interested to see if that happens again. Here is the male fox keeping an eye on us.

The other interesting observation youngest daughter noticed while she was lying there was the magpies are busy in and out of the nest now in the cherry tree so their eggs must have hatched. What I feared has happened and we appear to have no other small birds nesting in our garden this year because of them being there but I suppose they have a right to nest too. They have such a bossy way about them I do have to laugh.

It seems both sets of parents have had young over the weekend. It remains to be seen how well the next few months goes for them. I'm going to look into what food I can put out for the magpies to give to their young as if I can minimise the chance of them stealing young from other birds nests it must be for the good. 

It's quite overcast and chilly this morning and apparently we have more cold weather on the way. As my Mum used to say "Never cast a clout till May is out!" I'm going to be working this morning, then trying to fill the garden waste bin to capacity this afternoon. I hope everyone has a lovely day today what ever your plans. xx

New Garden Buys

 We took all the boxed figurines to the charity salesroom early yesterday and even though I felt guilty, once they were all gone I felt so much better. They may not be my taste but I know there will be someone out there who will like them. Then we went on to the garden centre. Other than going last December to buy our Christmas tree we haven't been for over a year. In that time, what was a family business has now been taken over by a large chain. Local facebook groups have not stopped complaining but I thought I would go in with an open mind. I must admit it has totally lost it's individuality and the farm shop has even become a Sainsburys Local. I was talking to one of the staff and she was telling me that every area has been franchised out to separate companies and so no one who works there has any idea where anything is. You couldn't fault the staff though, they were all really helpful and friendly. The home sections were nice with a big selection, but the plants seem to have doubled in price. I have become a bit stingy with growing so much from collected seeds and roses from cuttings so there is no way I would have paid the prices. I did buy a little Pieris for the rockery as it said it liked shade, for £4, but it was tiny. 

I bought this garden clock with a thermometer on the other side. It will be so useful so when I am working out there I can just glance up to see the time.

I bought some new solar lights for the aviary. Over the winter our last lights snapped on a windy night and I chose some really sweet ones in the shape of bees. You can't really see them in the first photo but I took another one of the detail of one. 

The other item I bought was a crystal wind spinner. It's so pretty in the sunshine. I may try and get another one for the end of the garden. It was only when we were on our way home in the car I realised I had completely forgotten the compost. How annoying. I'll have to check out the prices online.

One thing that happened yesterday was a total surprise. When I went up to the end of the garden to check the birds first thing in the morning the figure I had put in the rockery of a runner was missing an arm! The fox had bitten it off and carried it ten feet away to the other side of the garden. Well, I thought that figure certainly isn't bronze! I'm going to try and repair it but I can't help but wonder if anything at fox level may get chewed up. At least I didn't spend any money on it! Yesterday evening the new lights lit up beautifully. I suppose the fox will be able to see what it's chewing now!

Scarlett is coming today and I'm looking forward to showing her what we have done in the garden. It's rather a shame I can't do any planting with her but I'm sure we'll find something to do. I hope everyone has a lovely day and has time to enjoy some of this lovely sunshine. xx

Cheap Upcycling And Growing

 What a lovely sunny day it was yesterday. Youngest daughter finally got to sunbathe on the sun lounger. It was really cold first thing though and I stayed inside finishing off the step for the caravan. It looks much nicer now and I won't be embarrassed to have it at the caravan door any more. After I had sanded it down I painted it with black metal polish and covered the step with a piece of oil cloth that was for a tablecloth. The whole large piece only cost £4 and I have lots left over to replace if it gets tatty and the black metal paint was in the shed from when I painted the garden railings so it was a really cheap upcycle.

I planted some Cosmos seeds in the greenhouse after lunch and repotted all my little echinops plants that I have grown from seeds I collected in my Dad's garden. I love growing things from seeds I have collected and am already planning what to collect and try later this year. I love the fact it is totally free and it almost seems like magic when they grow from just little seeds collected. It also saves a fortune! More sun like this will bring everything on very quickly. 

I still have several trays of collected seeds that have done nothing yet. I check them every day and today I was really pleased to see that one of my Tree Peony seeds has started to grow. We have a beautiful yellow Tree Peony that was in place when we moved into the house, it never flowers very well though. I have tried to take cuttings from it but that hasn't worked and last year I saved some seeds. I would love to plant one somewhere in the garden a bit sunnier so it would do a bit better. I'm hoping it does well and I may even get a few more. I've run out of compost now so until Tom is off and we get some more on Tuesday or Wednesday there will be no more planting for a day or two. 

 

Now the weather has improved Cleo our cat has changed her busy day time schedule from sleeping on our bed or youngest daughter's bed to sleeping in the garden. I can always tell when spring is finally here! Yesterday I could see her all day stretched out by the aviary in a little piece of sunlight. When I was in the kitchen I looked out and the male fox walked next to her and stood having a drink from one of the bird baths. They were inches apart and he stood and drank and drank. Cleo just watched him, then stretched and yawned in a very relaxed way. He finished drinking and carried on his journey into next door's garden. So many people worry about foxes attacking cats, but over the years it has not been our experience at all. If anything the foxes are more wary of the cats and it is only because our foxes have worked out Cleo is too lazy to move they are relaxed with her. Even our old male cat Archie who loved a good punch up when ever possible would sleep on the shed roof next to them as they slept in the sun too. I find it fascinating watching the interaction between all the animals. I'm going to set up my wildlife camera and see if I can catch some of it. This however is my usual kind of photo of Cleo!

It's another sunny day today and youngest son and daughter are both back at work. Tom is on his final late shift before his days off and I am going to see my Dad to do his shopping. I have got to get on with some work before I go but it will be nice to be out and about on such a sunny day. Dad has been working hard in his garden in this nice weather and my sister is coming too so we will be able to sit in the garden and admire it all. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you plans. xx

Seed Planting And Funeral Thoughts

 I had quite a busy day around the garden yesterday. One job I started on was the step for the caravan. I had stupidly imagined that it would be a really quick job however it took me a long time to rub all the rust off, but the worst was scraping off the old brittle rubber mat on the top. It took me over an hour of scraping with an old knife and  rubbing it down with sand paper in between. The vixen came out from behind the shed to see what was going on and sat watching me, about ten feet away, for a while. I chatted to her while I worked and she stared at me, sitting there like a dog. I did notice while she was sitting her stomach looked really big. I wondered where she will be giving birth as since a house is being built in the garden but one from us I think their territory has shrunk in the last year, one of the reasons they spend so much time in our garden. By the evening I had painted the stand, so just the top to cover now and it will be ready.

I spent a while planting some more seeds in the greenhouse. I planted some sunflowers and some hollyhocks. I have lots of hollyhock plants from seeds my sister gave me last autumn, to plant out when the risk of frost has passed and these will all probably be red, we think. The variety I planted today are called Good Golly Miss Holly and are a mix of "vibrant colours" so they should add some more colour to the border, if they flower this year. If not it will be something to look forward to next year. The sun flowers are a giant variety which can grow up to 9 feet! I doubt very much these will do that well but I'm still looking forward to seeing how they grow. 

After I had finished and was inside having a cup of tea with youngest daughter, our eldest daughter phoned to say Scarlett had got into their first choice of Primary school for September and then the doctor's surgery phoned to book my second coronavirus jab for next Saturday. It was a coincidence as I had just been saying I was looking forward to having it done, and with the news the figures of coronavirus positive tests are at their lowest since September it felt like a really cheerful day. When I went down to the shops yesterday evening I saw our lovely local florist had decorated their shop for spring. All our local shops have worked so hard keeping their windows looking pretty despite being closed and it is really nice to see them open again. 

I was thinking a lot about the Queen and the royal family last night. That terrible night before a family funeral, they must be heartbroken, particularly the poor Queen . They are no different than the rest of us, they have lost a loved one and must be dreading today and the whole thing is going to be in front of the world's media, who will be looking for any look or sign of a drama to make a big thing of. I really feel for them and even though I have a lot to catch up with today, I intend to watch the funeral. It is a moment in our history. It's a lovely morning so I better get going with all the things I want to get finished. I hope everyone has a lovely Saturday and enjoys some of this lovely sunshine. xx

Recycling, Upcycling And Turf Wars

 I've realised I get much less done when Tom is on a late shift. For seven days he is leaving for work just after an early lunch and getting back in at 11pm. I don't seem to get much started in the morning on these days, especially as youngest son and daughter are both still home from work for the Easter holidays. By the time I had tidied up and had a chat over a cup of coffee, most of the morning had gone and I had missed the sunshine as it went in and became quite cold again. One thing Tom and I were chatting about was something we saw on Breakfast Television about charity shops. Apparently they have been inundated with donations that they can barely cope with. They haven't the space for all the stuff people have been clearing out during lockdown and as was our experience, they have been turning people away. On Monday, so many people visited them across the country they took more money than any other day in their history. A reporter visited a massive charity shop in Bristol that even had a cafe on it's premises, it looked like my idea of a good afternoon out and I usually hate going to shops! Shame Bristol is so far away.

I love buying second hand. I love the feeling something has a history and while there are perfectly good second hand items I can't bring myself to buy new.  It's not just buying second hand, I'm an obsessional fixer. I really enjoy making old things work again. I get much more pleasure from fixing an old broken item than I ever could from spending lots of money on a new one. The lampshade I ordered arrived today for the 1970s lamp I rewired a while ago. Handmade from 1970s material I thought it would be perfect for it. All totally recycled.

Another item I started repairing today was a step for the caravan. I feel embarrassed to admit we put this tatty old thing outside our caravan door last year. Tom wanted to throw it out and buy a new one but I am determined to do it up. It's an original old feature of the caravan, probably from when the caravan was new, and because of that I want to try and keep it. I'm hoping in a few days no one will recognise it, I have big plans!

A strange thing that happened yesterday was some sort of territorial fox war is going on. Everything has been so calm in the garden for months, with our foxes plodding about, that it all came as a bit of a shock.  I was standing in the kitchen at about eight o'clock, just as it was starting to go dark, when I saw something moving in the flower bed, one of our foxes ran down the garden so fast it frightened me. I never see them run like that. There was the sound of crashing into fences and loud fox howling that went on and on. I ran out to see what was happening and the male fox was standing in next doors garden looking ruffled to say the least. There is definitely some sort of turf war going on. I'm not sure if an outsider is trying to move in on the territory or if the vixen is getting close to giving birth and the balance is upset. I'm going to keep a very close eye on them to see if I can work it out but it seems rather strange to be watching events in the garden that we have no way of influencing. It makes you realise nature is so much bigger than we are.

Scarlett is coming today and I'm sure will be delighted with our new dove, who is much more vocal than Dottie to put it mildly! Tom is here this morning so she will be thrilled to spend some time with her Grandad. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Our Old Stomping Ground

 It turned out a much nicer day yesterday than the weather forecasters predicted. The afternoon was warm and sunny and I was out gardening all afternoon. I'm trying to redo the part at the end by the aviary but can't quite make up my mind how to do it. I want to keep the seating area as Scarlett loves to sit there and watch the cockatiels but also want it to encourage wildlife. The trouble is although I want a wildlife area and I love the whole garden to look as natural as possible, it has become just a mess down at the end. I enjoy planning though and may have a walk down to a local ecology centre this week (if it is open) to get some ideas. The foxes live in the part at the side of the aviary, so I'll leave that completely alone for them to have their own space but the rest is going to be sorted out a bit. I'm really hoping we may get a repeat of last year with fox cubs living there too.

My little trees are doing well I have three little plum trees now in pots, lots of apple trees, crab apples and hawthorn trees all grown from collected seeds. I have no idea how they will do and what sort of trees will grow from them but I love the experiment of finding out. I'm going to sort them out and photograph them so I can watch them grow this year.

I'm really enjoying these lighter evenings and walked yesterday evening until 7.45 and it was still just about light. I took Tess all the way up round the road we used to live in and that area, where we lived when Tom and I were first married almost 39 years ago. All those roads I used to walk around with different dogs over the years, it was very nostalgic. Neighbours long gone or even long dead. I really enjoyed it and if the weather doesn't get too cold I'm going to explore a few more of the roads on my "old stomping ground" this weekend.

When I got home it was nearly dark. I popped out into the garden as I remembered I had left the fleece I wear while I am gardening, on the bench at the end of the garden. It had been so warm I had taken it off while I was working. When I got up there I realised the fox had dragged it off the bench and up the garden, and even worse had weed on it! Well there's gratitude for you!

Tom is off today so we are off to Lidl now to buy some food for the weekend. I hope everyone has a wonderful and restful Easter and manages to get to see some loved ones. xx

Hip Hip Hooray!

I caught the train into Sutton to go to Morrisons yesterday morning to buy a few bits I was running low on. It was nice and warm but cloudy not clear blue skies like the day before. I bought two new plants a Clematis Aotearo and a little rockery plant Mossy Saxifrage. I have never had any luck with Clematis but I thought for £2 I'd give it one more go this year. The Mossy Saxifrage is a new one for me but I'm trying to build a little rockery from all the big stones I have dug up in the garden from the old farm buildings that used to be here. The only trouble is it is in a shady spot and I didn't have my glasses with me to read it likes sun or part shade and I think it may not be quite suitable but I really liked the look of it so will give it a go.

I was working away in the greenhouse and it was only when I stepped outside I thought I could feel something watching me. There it was, the male fox who is usually so shy, just standing there watching my every move. He often comes down the garden to look in at us when we are sitting inside but never outside before. I talked to him for a while and got my phone to take a few photos of him. He just stood there looking rather sad I thought, so I went inside and got a few dog biscuits. He was still waiting when I walked up to the end of the garden and I put them in the bowl. While I carried on working in the garden I could hear him crunching his way through them.

After we had eaten in the evening I took Tess out again for a long walk. I walked three miles around the roads, not to the park, and everything felt so relaxed. There was almost a party atmosphere, everyone was sitting out in front gardens with their front doors open chatting to people. The tennis courts at the local club were open and it was wonderful to hear people laughing and shouting to each other again as they played. I also noticed people seemed to be smiling a lot more. As I walked past the house with the light box in the window it said "Hip Hip Hooray" and I couldn't agree more. Things are starting to feel much more cheerful. 

Scarlett is coming this morning so it will be nice to have a walk with her today. The weather is cooling down but still quite nice today so hopefully time spent outside. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever your plans. xx