Month: January 2009

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webcams

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Kestrel Chicks from last year. This is a possible webcam that we may do this year. I will keep you up to date on how we progress.

Here are a few photos of The Valley of Rocks, just outside of Lynton – taken the day after the “Big Blow” in 1987 – blue skies conceal what had happened overnight!

1) The helicopter we saw as we pulled into the car park;

2) The rocky outcrop where the video was shot – just visible is the helicopter filming the video – the man was videoing the events with a MASSIVE camcorder. How things have changed now you can record video on mobile phones!!!;

3) Far right – Macca, just to his left, hidden by other people you can just make out Linda’s blond hair(!) and her turquoise top!;

4) Probably the worst photo of P.M. ever taken – don’t know who the other bloke is!

The photograph of the Kestrel Chicks is from a site in Shropshire that we have been asked to broadcast this year as. The location at a private property that has a haunted 1300 Farm House that we may also broadcast from.

We are still waiting for the US Virgin Island under water webcam to start. I sent the equipment over some months back. We have been promised February as a start date, but I do have my doubts about if it will ever happen.

There is also outstanding an answer about the Meerkat webcam. We have been talking to the people for a few months. It would be a very popular webcam if we get it. There will be two views. One outside and one under ground. Hopefully we will hear soon.

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webcams

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

White peacocks that we saw while at St. Augustine, Florida. Karen, Florida (USA)

These were all taken 2

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webcams

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Only five photographs left to put on to the Photo Page.

Swans on the river in Peterborough. Merrilyn.

Horse Guard in London. The horse doesn’t look best pleased. The horse in the next one wasn’t best pleased because the poor guard sat on top of it had a tickly cough. Merrilyn.

We were lucky enough to see Tower Bridge go up to let a boat through. Merrilyn.

This is the same sunrise that Jill sent in, I live about 20 or so miles north of her. I took this on the Sunday morning then later read on the forum Jill had also taken a photo that morning of the beautiful sunrise. Jan (herts).

Fungus on a chestnut tree, can anyone tell me what type it is? Jan (Herts)

When I went to feed the Horses this morning a flock of Canada Geese flew over the Farm. The pair that visited the Lake a few days ago must have been on the Lake at the time and they called to the flock as they flew over. The flock of over twenty Geese flew back to the call and circled the Lake a couple of times and attempted to land. I could hear that some had landed on their first attempt. The others must have misjudged and made an other attempt. Again a few landed. Those that did not gave up and flew north down the Valley.

I don’t know why the first pair on the Lake had bothered calling out for as soon as the flock of about ten Geese had settled the first pair started to harass those in the flock. Within half an hour the flock flew off in the same direction of those that could not land on the Lake.

The first pair stayed longer and seemed to be inspecting the Island. I still think that this pair are the last of the two that had nested on the Lake last year and that they had flown off when their Goslings had been attacked.

The Ducks that someone asked about are Little Grebe. They are diving for small Fish. They swim under the water looking for the Fish. Swimming for quite a long time and travelling many metres in search of the Fish.

There were also a number of Mallards on the Lake this morning. One Female was being mated by a number of the Drakes so I should think that she will be nesting. It seems a little early.

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webcams

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

2 photos of a sunset in the Summer. They were unbelievable. Possibly made so colourful by the moor fires we had had all day. All you could smell and see was the smoke. Merrilyn.

Next doors cat ‘Pusscat’. Merrilyn.

Some sort of bee ? on a daisy. Merrilyn.

This is from my friend in Marseille – it has never snowed this much in her lifetime – I think it’s a record fall for the South of France!!
Janie (Leeds)

It may be wishful thinking, but I am sure that the shape of the Reindeer is changing. All three have got fatter where I would expect them to if they were in Calf. As I say it could be wishful thinking for although I had seen Padfoot cover all of the Female Reindeer I don’t know if he was fertile with the illness that he eventually died of. I also did not see any of the Females return to Padfoot after he had covered them the first time. I put the dates that I had seen Padfoot mate with the Females on a calender in the Kitchen and without think I threw the calender away when I changed it for a 2009 calender. I believe that I mentioned two of the matings in the Diary some time in October, I will try to find time to go back and check.

The rat trap was set off when I checked it as I went to put the Badger feed down. It was empty, I never have caught any in a trap. I don’t think that I have any alternative but to try to poison the rats now. There are to many for me not to. I spoke to both the rat poison suppliers and a Veterinary to make sure that there was no chance of killing the Badgers if they eat any poisoned rats. The Badger would need to eat at least 10% of their body weight of the poison granules before it would have any effect on them, meaning that they would need to eat an awful lot of the poisoned rats to cause them to die. With the Badgers they may well dig them up if they smell the dead rats. I have only ever seen to two poisoned rats, most of them die where they live and all of those on the webcams live under ground, so the chances of any Owls taking a poisoned rat is unlikely. Our other concerns about putting poison down id for the Birds. We have an old wire Magpie trap to which we put a box in with the ends cut out. We also cover the box with grass. This stops any birds from getting to the poison.

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webcams

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

Only enough photographs left for one more change.

1/ Hinksey railway sidings near Oxford, it used to be a large freight depot in the days of steam, now just a ballast store. Clive.

2/ Hinksey lake frozen over in the last cold spell in January. Clive.

3/ The weir stream at Donnington, Oxford. Clive.

4/ Narrow boats moared above the weir at Donnington, Oxford. Clive.

5/ The river Thames near Donnington, Oxford. Clive.

We had a few very big gusts of wind in the gales last night. On checking around the Farm locally other than a few buckets, bags and plastic containers there no other damage. I have not had a chance to go to the far end of the Farm or in the Wood that we have just purchased, so there may be some fallen trees their. Very close to the Farm entrance there was a fallen tree in the road.

Again when I checked the feed that I put in to the rat trap was taken. I reckon that a mouse may be the culprit being light enough to take the food but not to trip the trap. I have adjusted the trip bar to the maximum before it will close by even a mouse. Not that I would want to catch a mouse.

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webcams

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

I cant see that I have missed any photographs but it looks that all we have left are five for tomorrow night.

Sunday morning sunrise from my kitchen window…..Jill, Epping.

Here are four pics I took last Saturday,, have never seen it like this in the last 28 years,, to see it so frozen over was sad,, but beautiful in its own way,, naturally lots of us are feeding the birds there. Sarah (surrey)

I put a rat trap out last night to try to catch one. It is positioned covered under where you can see what looks like two flowers blowing in the wind just before the dark area at the back behind the Horse jump. I didn’t look at until I put the Badgers food out this evening. All the food that I had put in the trap had gone but the trap had not been set off. I must have set it a little to high. I have readjusted it, so hopefully we may catch one. Mind you I have never trapped one before. To be honest I don’t know what I would do if I do catch one. Just looking at a rat me feel bad, so I try not to look.

We have been promised gales tonight. Looking at the way that the tower is shaking that the main Badger camera is on, it looks as if the weather people got it right for a change. The wind is coming from the Southwest the only direction that we lack a bit of cover. The Farm House, Cottages and Farm Buildings are a bit lower than the surrounding ground but not enough to stop getting some of the battering. The main Badger camera on the tower has no protection from Southwest Gales at all. Being in a valley most winds and gales from the other directions tend to pass above the Farm House and we also have protection of the trees in the woods that box us in other than from the Southwest.

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webcams

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

We spent the Saturday after Christmas at St. Augustine, Florida. At the Fountain of Youth, a wedding was going to take place. The bride and groom arrived in the carriage shaped like Cinderella’s pumpkin pulled by a pair of black horses. They were beautiful and so very gentle. Karen, Florida (USA)

Isn’t this so cute, just shows what animal life can be like. Elsie.

Thought the one with Camilla and the horse so funny. As for the others, well every picture tells a story, and he deserved what he got.
Elsie.

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webcams

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number six there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

For the first time for over six week we have started to get low on photographs.

Silver birch trees.

Looking at the sky through the branches.

Exmoor ponies grazing.

A newly dug bog with bullrushes.

Birch bracket fungi on tree stump. Jill xx

Karen the Geese have not been back since the pair returned. I am sue that a pair will nest. As soon as any show any signs I will increase the height of the electric fence.

The rats around the Badgers feeding areas are now becoming a major problem. Part of the problem is that the Badgers are not feeding all together at the same time as they do for most of the year, causing the feed that I put out to be available all through the night. It has given the rats the opportunity to have plenty of food through the colds spell where without the food and extreme cold many would have died.

I cant put poison down as I have seen both the Tawny and Little Owls take a rat. And of course if they catch a rat that has been poisoned they will also die.

We have tried trapping the rats with very little success. We have considered using an air rifle to shoot them, but on trying that around the Lake when we had a problem the rats were so fast it was difficult to hit them. We were able to poison the rats in that area and we got most of them with only a few days of baiting the area with the poison. Also the lighting at the feeding area is infra-red so it is pitch black. It is a problem that we really need to find an answer for.

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webcams

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

The Sulphur Tufts photograph that I took in Ash Wood while I was holidaying at Denbury. As you can see it is published in the February Edition of Countryfile Magazine with a small article. Vicky.

The original photograph of the Sulphur Tufts. Vicky.

Derby Cathedral. Vicky.

Kane and Abel my Driving Horses were originally purchased to do Pairs Competition Driving, but being stabled in the London Docklands there wasn’t a lot of places to train them. That was part of the reason for them being sent to Seven Oaks in Kent. The idea was to get them ready to compete in trails driving. That idea changed when one of my Carriages, a Hotel Omnibus was completed being renovated and we decided that we should enter a Showing Class at the British Driving Societies annual show at Smith Lawn, Windsor.

Kane and Abel were taken out every day to get them ready for the Show. I had decided that the Coachman and his Wife who were training them should drive the Horses and Carriage in the Show. The Coachman was a big man, so it was decided that a friend of mine would make the Coachman’s outfits. New Collar Harness was purchased and every thing possible was done to give us a good chance of going to the Show to win the class we were entered in. But the Coachman’s outfit had not turned up on the day they were promised. The night before the Show my friend who was making the outfits turned up with two period Policeman’s Capes that he had hired as he had not had time to make the outfits. They were as much good as nothing and after frantic phone calls all over the Country we were eventually promised two outfits would be waiting at the Show Ground for us.

We arrived at the Show Ground. I just knew the day was going to be a disaster. The outfits were there as promised, trouble was they did not fit the Coachman. It was decided that I would have to Drive. I must admit the the Horses and Carriage when ready they were by far the best display in the whole Show. The only hat that I had was the Top Hat that I wore on Halloween. Then it was miles to big for me, if it hadn’t been for my ears being in the way the Top Hat would have fell all over my head.

I cant remember the year but it was a very long hot Summer and this day as no exception. With the Coachman’s Wife by my side we drove Kane and Abel to the Show Ring. The looks and comments that we got on the way made us more than confident that we had all but won our class. The Horses were sweating quite a lot not only from the heat but they had never pulled a carriage of this size before. We also realised that they had never been driven in Collar Harness, only ever driving in a Breast Harness, pulling from their breast rather than their neck, that they were now doing. Kane and Abel weren’t that put out and once in the Show Ring with the other Horses and Carriages they livened up. So much so that when we had to drive them to show what they were capable of they were a bit of a handful and quite hard to stop. Concentrating on stopping the Horses I allowed the driving whip to gently touch the rear end of Kane. It made him more than ready to bolt, but some how I managed to stop him, but he wasn’t forgiving and and double barreled kicked back hitting the board that our feet rested on. I heard the wood crack where Kane had kicked it so hard. We really should have left the ring in disgrace but the Coachman’s Wife insisted that we should continue. Needless to say we were last.

It didn’t help when the Class Judge who unbeknown to us had seen the Horses and Carriage before we went into the Show Ring whilst we were getting ready, he came as we were unharnessing the Horses, telling us that before we even had entered the Show Ring we had won the Class and it was only the kick that spoilt it. Just as bad my elder Son was to film the Show. He forgot to push the record button.

Categories
webcams

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

The Sulphur Tufts photograph that I took in Ash Wood while I was holidaying at Denbury. As you can see it is published in the February Edition of Countryfile Magazine with a small article. Vicky.

The original photograph of the Sulphur Tufts. Vicky.

Derby Cathedral. Vicky.

Kane and Abel my Driving Horses were originally purchased to do Pairs Competition Driving, but being stabled in the London Docklands there wasn’t a lot of places to train them. That was part of the reason for them being sent to Seven Oaks in Kent. The idea was to get them ready to compete in trails driving. That idea changed when one of my Carriages, a Hotel Omnibus was completed being renovated and we decided that we should enter a Showing Class at the British Driving Societies annual show at Smith Lawn, Windsor.

Kane and Abel were taken out every day to get them ready for the Show. I had decided that the Coachman and his Wife who were training them should drive the Horses and Carriage in the Show. The Coachman was a big man, so it was decided that a friend of mine would make the Coachman’s outfits. New Collar Harness was purchased and every thing possible was done to give us a good chance of going to the Show to win the class we were entered in. But the Coachman’s outfit had not turned up on the day they were promised. The night before the Show my friend who was making the outfits turned up with two period Policeman’s Capes that he had hired as he had not had time to make the outfits. They were as much good as nothing and after frantic phone calls all over the Country we were eventually promised two outfits would be waiting at the Show Ground for us.

We arrived at the Show Ground. I just knew the day was going to be a disaster. The outfits were there as promised, trouble was they did not fit the Coachman. It was decided that I would have to Drive. I must admit the the Horses and Carriage when ready they were by far the best display in the whole Show. The only hat that I had was the Top Hat that I wore on Halloween. Then it was miles to big for me, if it hadn’t been for my ears being in the way the Top Hat would have fell all over my head.

I cant remember the year but it was a very long hot Summer and this day as no exception. With the Coachman’s Wife by my side we drove Kane and Abel to the Show Ring. The looks and comments that we got on the way made us more than confident that we had all but won our class. The Horses were sweating quite a lot not only from the heat but they had never pulled a carriage of this size before. We also realised that they had never been driven in Collar Harness, only ever driving in a Breast Harness, pulling from their breast rather than their neck, that they were now doing. Kane and Abel weren’t that put out and once in the Show Ring with the other Horses and Carriages they livened up. So much so that when we had to drive them to show what they were capable of they were a bit of a handful and quite hard to stop. Concentrating on stopping the Horses I allowed the driving whip to gently touch the rear end of Kane. It made him more than ready to bolt, but some how I managed to stop him, but he wasn’t forgiving and and double barreled kicked back hitting the board that our feet rested on. I heard the wood crack where Kane had kicked it so hard. We really should have left the ring in disgrace but the Coachman’s Wife insisted that we should continue. Needless to say we were last.

It didn’t help when the Class Judge who unbeknown to us had seen the Horses and Carriage before we went into the Show Ring whilst we were getting ready, he came as we were unharnessing the Horses, telling us that before we even had entered the Show Ring we had won the Class and it was only the kick that spoilt it. Just as bad my elder Son was to film the Show. He forgot to push the record button.