Tennis and stuff in the gardens
So I've been to the gym and done some DIY that has been on the to do list for about as long as to do lists ever existed and now I can sit back (until the next coat of paint is ready to be applied...) and watch a little Tennis.
Well, I am but next to the ridiculously oversized TV, so over sized it feels more like being at Wimbledon than *actually being at Wimbledon and as I have been at the finals more than five times (I can't be bothered to add them all up but five or more...) I know what I'm talking about, which is rare so make the most of it. Oh yes, there was a point. Next to the TV (the big one...) is a large set of windows onto one of the several garden areas surrounding the house. What I can see is the many different birds that come to visit but today they appear to be acting more like invading hordes!
I put up feeders for them and today they are starting on the feeders but then they are hopping down to various shrubs to clear off insects for which I am grateful. But a number of differing types of tits; great tits, green tits, coal tits, have managed to break some of the lavender new growth right in front of my eyes. Guess there has to be some quid pro quo but why then is the Greater Spotted Woodpecker first taking some peanuts and then popping down to right outside the window and hammering into the perfectly healthy Acer, as in the tree not a laptop lying discarded in the garden, not even I am that untidy!
As an aside, the bird feeders, well, there used to be about seven of them dotted about but between the damned grey squirrels that tear holes in the plastic to get at the bird feed and the crows that fly into them to dislodge feed so they can pick it up from the ground, I have been forced to rethink my bird feeding strategy. I had to buy some galvanised wire grille and then cut it out to fit inside the feeders. The mesh is just big enough for the birds to get their beaks through but strong enough to resist the squirrels very sharp teeth. Oh, and I forget to mention, the bird feeders had to be re-sited further from the house as the bits that drop out attract the mice. I have only ever seen one rat, which bizarrely was climbing trellis to find a way to get to the bird feeders, and failed! I have no doubt there are some around, after all I live next to farmland but there are no signs of them and I'm pretty sure I;d find some teeth marks in the composters if there were any as they'd smell the rotting waste inside, but nope, no sign. There are signs of foxes but not rats, that might be cause and effect right there... maybe, or maybe they are just better at hiding!
Then there are a mix of blackbirds and thrush that are systematically hopping into the edges of the beds and throwing the accumulated leaves and detritus onto the lawn while they search for juicy morsels hiding beneath. Oh and the crows or rooks have decided that if they hit the bird feeders hard enough they will knock some food out. They won't and they are slowly learning this. I'm actually not sure what type of crow they are but they are very clean looking with a grey head but I don't think they are hooded crows, I'll have to research.
On top of that the rapidly increasing population of rabbits has now reached such proportions that they are in every part of all the gardens. There is a baby rabbit, a kit, looking straight at me as it munches down on some grass. I have no problem with that but when I turn my back I know that they'll start on some of the new growth leaves on some of the shrubs. Every time I look out of any given window I am reminded of the Fibonacci sequence. My rabbits, as in the exist on my land, seem to be exceeding the levels expected!
In addition to the rabbits there is a rather alarming number of mice inhabiting the gardens. They live alongside moles apparently quite happily but they irk me a little when I see them also just outside the window as they dart from one hidey hole to another. Oh, and why do they dart and not amble, because flying overhead or sitting on a bough of one of the trees are a number of rather majestic Buzzards. There are currently two mating pairs of Buzzards in the area and I could do with some more to be honest. At night I sometimes hear some owls as well, in fact one woke me up a couple of weeks ago as it landed on the balcony and hooted to its mate!
One of the more curious incidents was the wasp nest. A week ago I was moving some loose turf and branches from one place to another to tidy things up when I uncovered the unmistakable sight of a wasps nest in a void between some dried up clumps of turf. At least it is unmistakable to me because I have seen them up close and personal more than once and my instinct this time was based on past experience... I ran as fast as I could to a safe distance!
Having uncovered the nest I was in two minds as to what to do about it. It happens to be next to one of my jam doughnut eating places which would be impossible while they remained. But, I don't like needlessly killing anything, not even wasps. So I mulled it over for several days observing the uncovered nest and watching with interest, from a safe distance as the wasps rebuilt a nest but below the one I had uncovered (and partially destroyed!) All very interesting but not solving my doughnut eating conundrum! Then, yesterday I went to check what was happening and was a little surprised because the old nest was completely gone and there were no wasps coming and going from the hole where the new nest, presumably, was. In addition there was a small stick in the hole, and I sure as hell did not put it there. Nor do I think anybody else would have as it is a slightly insane thing to do. I just wonder whether some bird or mammal has actually eaten the nest and the inhabitants. I know that badgers sometimes eat wasp nests but I haven't seen any burrows around here. Regardless, the nest appears to have gone, entirely, spookily, gone!
Lastly, I have been trying to develop a small mix of apple and pear trees but this too appears to be more challenging than it should be. Not only is the weather around these parts disinclined to assist with growing much more than weeds but the scrub brush on the farmland next to my property hides a number of Deer. Which is nice, except if I don't cover up the saplings then the Deer pop into the garden at night and nip off all the tasty young growth. And the rabbits do their bit too. So all the pretty little saplings are covered with unsightly plastic bags as if in their own private greenhouses. At some point I have to release them and hope they can exist without such protection but I suspect that it will be a few years off yet!
So... back to the tennis then!
Well, I am but next to the ridiculously oversized TV, so over sized it feels more like being at Wimbledon than *actually being at Wimbledon and as I have been at the finals more than five times (I can't be bothered to add them all up but five or more...) I know what I'm talking about, which is rare so make the most of it. Oh yes, there was a point. Next to the TV (the big one...) is a large set of windows onto one of the several garden areas surrounding the house. What I can see is the many different birds that come to visit but today they appear to be acting more like invading hordes!
I put up feeders for them and today they are starting on the feeders but then they are hopping down to various shrubs to clear off insects for which I am grateful. But a number of differing types of tits; great tits, green tits, coal tits, have managed to break some of the lavender new growth right in front of my eyes. Guess there has to be some quid pro quo but why then is the Greater Spotted Woodpecker first taking some peanuts and then popping down to right outside the window and hammering into the perfectly healthy Acer, as in the tree not a laptop lying discarded in the garden, not even I am that untidy!
As an aside, the bird feeders, well, there used to be about seven of them dotted about but between the damned grey squirrels that tear holes in the plastic to get at the bird feed and the crows that fly into them to dislodge feed so they can pick it up from the ground, I have been forced to rethink my bird feeding strategy. I had to buy some galvanised wire grille and then cut it out to fit inside the feeders. The mesh is just big enough for the birds to get their beaks through but strong enough to resist the squirrels very sharp teeth. Oh, and I forget to mention, the bird feeders had to be re-sited further from the house as the bits that drop out attract the mice. I have only ever seen one rat, which bizarrely was climbing trellis to find a way to get to the bird feeders, and failed! I have no doubt there are some around, after all I live next to farmland but there are no signs of them and I'm pretty sure I;d find some teeth marks in the composters if there were any as they'd smell the rotting waste inside, but nope, no sign. There are signs of foxes but not rats, that might be cause and effect right there... maybe, or maybe they are just better at hiding!
Then there are a mix of blackbirds and thrush that are systematically hopping into the edges of the beds and throwing the accumulated leaves and detritus onto the lawn while they search for juicy morsels hiding beneath. Oh and the crows or rooks have decided that if they hit the bird feeders hard enough they will knock some food out. They won't and they are slowly learning this. I'm actually not sure what type of crow they are but they are very clean looking with a grey head but I don't think they are hooded crows, I'll have to research.
On top of that the rapidly increasing population of rabbits has now reached such proportions that they are in every part of all the gardens. There is a baby rabbit, a kit, looking straight at me as it munches down on some grass. I have no problem with that but when I turn my back I know that they'll start on some of the new growth leaves on some of the shrubs. Every time I look out of any given window I am reminded of the Fibonacci sequence. My rabbits, as in the exist on my land, seem to be exceeding the levels expected!
In addition to the rabbits there is a rather alarming number of mice inhabiting the gardens. They live alongside moles apparently quite happily but they irk me a little when I see them also just outside the window as they dart from one hidey hole to another. Oh, and why do they dart and not amble, because flying overhead or sitting on a bough of one of the trees are a number of rather majestic Buzzards. There are currently two mating pairs of Buzzards in the area and I could do with some more to be honest. At night I sometimes hear some owls as well, in fact one woke me up a couple of weeks ago as it landed on the balcony and hooted to its mate!
One of the more curious incidents was the wasp nest. A week ago I was moving some loose turf and branches from one place to another to tidy things up when I uncovered the unmistakable sight of a wasps nest in a void between some dried up clumps of turf. At least it is unmistakable to me because I have seen them up close and personal more than once and my instinct this time was based on past experience... I ran as fast as I could to a safe distance!
Having uncovered the nest I was in two minds as to what to do about it. It happens to be next to one of my jam doughnut eating places which would be impossible while they remained. But, I don't like needlessly killing anything, not even wasps. So I mulled it over for several days observing the uncovered nest and watching with interest, from a safe distance as the wasps rebuilt a nest but below the one I had uncovered (and partially destroyed!) All very interesting but not solving my doughnut eating conundrum! Then, yesterday I went to check what was happening and was a little surprised because the old nest was completely gone and there were no wasps coming and going from the hole where the new nest, presumably, was. In addition there was a small stick in the hole, and I sure as hell did not put it there. Nor do I think anybody else would have as it is a slightly insane thing to do. I just wonder whether some bird or mammal has actually eaten the nest and the inhabitants. I know that badgers sometimes eat wasp nests but I haven't seen any burrows around here. Regardless, the nest appears to have gone, entirely, spookily, gone!
Lastly, I have been trying to develop a small mix of apple and pear trees but this too appears to be more challenging than it should be. Not only is the weather around these parts disinclined to assist with growing much more than weeds but the scrub brush on the farmland next to my property hides a number of Deer. Which is nice, except if I don't cover up the saplings then the Deer pop into the garden at night and nip off all the tasty young growth. And the rabbits do their bit too. So all the pretty little saplings are covered with unsightly plastic bags as if in their own private greenhouses. At some point I have to release them and hope they can exist without such protection but I suspect that it will be a few years off yet!
So... back to the tennis then!
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