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Contains forums, wildlife live webcams, diary, blog, artciles and pictures of farm animals.

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There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting from number one. The first photograph is from Anjela with a long writeup. After just getting back from Fish and Chips at Minehead Harbour, it will save me from writing a Diary.

This picture was taken by me, at Ding Darling Wildlife reserve in Sanibel Island, Florida. It is a lone crocodile. Crocodiles were once seen as far north as Sarasota County, those populations are almost completely gone — with the exception of the lone female on Sanibel Island and the occasional crocodile that travels north in the summer.

Jeff Combs, a park ranger at Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge, believes the crocodile was born on Pine Island, where she was first found in 1980, and has never left the area.

“Females stay in their spot for their lives,” Combs said “This is home to her.”

Once abundant in Florida, crocodiles were hunted for their hide and much of their habitat was destroyed before they were put on the endangered species list in 1975. Much of their habitat was lost to a combination of urban development and the conversion of wetlands to agriculture.

“Crocodiles aren’t really found up north much,” Klett said. “On the Atlantic side, all possible habitat has been developed.”

The saltwater creatures tend to nest in areas where there is more brackish and freshwater, because it takes hatchlings some time to adapt to their saltwater environments.

Today they are rarely seen outside of the protected areas of the Everglades, Key Largo and around the canals at Turkey Point Nuclear Power plant near Biscayne National Park.

Florida Power and Light has developed a crocodile management plan to promote and protect the species there. The man-made area around the nuclear power plant is considered to have the fastest-growing population of crocodiles.

The federal government began buying land for Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge in 1980 and today it provides 5,000 acres of nesting and nursery habitat for the American crocodile. The refuge, which also provides habitat to five other endangered species, is closed to all but researchers partly because female crocodiles are known to abandon their nests after even one disturbance. Also the above crocodile has been taken back twice to the Everglades but amazingly has found her way home to Sanibel. Anjela.

2. Sunset from our balcony in Toronto.

3. Our balcony facing North in Troonto

4. Winter from our balcony facing North in Toronto

5. Balcony facing North in the summer

Rosie’s Mum in Toronto.

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There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting from number eleven sent in by Clive.

1/ Wild Buddleia growing in Sandford lane. Clive.

2/ Narrow boats in Sandford Lock, the deepest lock on the Thames. Clive.

3/ The Kings Arms Pub on the Thames at Sandford. Clive.

4/ Narrow boat going under the “Iron Bridge” at Kennington. Clive.

5/ Hinksey Lake, a mile outside Oxford was dug out to supply gravel when the railway was built, then used as a reservoir for the old water-works. Now just used for leisure. Clive.

At last after nearly two years this morning we managed to get Ewy captured in a stable to check her over and give her a pedicure. It was very easy, she went into the stable on her own. We had got Arnie and Breeze in for their morning feed. Ewy decided that she would follow Breeze but she stopped short of following her into the stable. Instead when we got Lady, Emmi and the two Foals in for their feed Ewy walked by their side to their stables. There are three stables in a row where Lady and Emmi are stabled, they are stabled either end with the middle stable empty but left open of a nighttime for Branston to use if it is raining. We usually close it when the Mares and Foal come in for their feed, this morning we forgot and as Lady and Emmi went to their stables with their Foals Ewy went into the middle stable. I quickly closed the door, and did she protest, kicking the floor and bleating out. We went back to the Farm House for a cup of coffee and to allow Ewy to settle before we handled her.

It was time for Ewys pedicure. Walking back to the stables we could still hear Ewy protesting and she didn’t look happy when we looked over the stable door. I was going to take a photograph of Ewy over the stable door for the Photo page, but decided that I would get one as she was having a pedicure. As we entered the stable Ewy was at the back still protesting. Without warning at full speed Ewy charged at the stable door that was showing a little light through the opened door of no more than a few inches, she pushed her way through with such force that she nearly knocked me off of my feet and through the door she went to freedom. There was no stopping her, somehow she managed to get through a gap in the fencing that none the other Ewes have managed.

It was never our intention not to let Ewy back with the Horses once we had checked her over. As far as Ewy is concerned she is a Horse. She grazes with the Horses, roams around the fields with them and eats out of the same bowl of food as Gypsy and Willow. The other Ewes and Lambs have been grazing in the Horse field for the past week or so. Ewy doesn’t want to socialize with them and Willow and Gypsy get quite annoyed and kick out to stop the Sheep other than Ewy from eating with them. I wasn’t best pleased when Ewy made her escape, there will be another day.

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There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting from number six. All we have left are some really good photographs that Lynne has sent in, and that is all we have.

Picky One is a chipmunk taken at Edwards Gardens in Toronto.

Raccoons is Mum and her bagies, in Edwards Gardens in Toronto.

Rosalee the cat. Rosie’s Mum in Toronto.

I have two lots of lilies left this beautiful white one, is one of them. Karen Stoke.

The Border under my front window. Karen Stoke.

It is getting near the time when Sox needs to be weaned off of Emmi. We cant make the mistake as we did last year by leaving Willow with Lady. That was an experience that we don’t want again. The trouble is that Lady’s Foal, that we have decided to name Solo, is not yet ready to be weaned. We need to keep him with Lady for at least another six weeks. But they will have to be weaned together to keep each other company. Weaning two Foals together makes it a lot less stressful for them.

Both Sox and Solo are already very independent, probably Solo more so than Sox. Solo is very often at the far end of the field when the other Horses are waiting at the gate to be let in for the feeds. Going back out after their feed is a bit different, for Sox is always laying down in the stable not wanting to get up until the very last moment, just when Emmi is out of the stable. Just like a lot of human teenagers. Both a very kind Colts and easy to do. Unlike Willow and Gypsy there seems to be very little bickering between them. It looks as if neither will be dominant when they are put together on their own. Gypsy is a bit of a bully with Willow and was from day one, she would have Willow on the run around going from one feed bowl to the other when we fed them. Poor Willow just had to put up with it. We would put their feed bowls at each end of the stable area in the Barn, far away from each other you would think to stop Gypsy from going from one bowl to the other, but she did.

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There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting from number one.

SWAN AT WELSH WILDLIFE CENTRE LYNNE.

MALLARD, LYNNE.

DUCKS RUSHING FOR SOME BREAD, LYNNE.

ROSE AFTER A RAINSHOWER, LYNNE.

I WANT …..THAT NUT THERE !!! LYNNE.

We took a bit of a fly-er on making our hay last month. There was only a four to five day gap in between forecasted rain. It turned out to be the correct decision for since then we have not had any four to five day rainless periods. I would now be worrying that we would not have made any hay at all this year. After being made hay takes around six weeks to show how good it is, and our is looking very good, with a nice smell. We only made just over a hundred large round bales, a good third less than we made last year in large bales. We also made over a hundred small bales last year, so this years crop has been small. With the rain and warmth that we have had over the past month the grass is still growing very well and if we have an Indian summer we may well take another cut. I could have made more hay in the first field that we cut but I promised our Contractor that he could have it for haylage. Haylage is made by baling and wrapping the hay just before it is completely dry. If made well haylage has a very sweet smell and is a favorite for livestock, including Horses, If we get the Indian summer I may just try to make a little haylage in one of our other fields. The trouble is that if it is made badly it goes mouldy and feisty and can be bad for Horses.

This year is the worse Summer that we have had for making hay since we moved to Denbury fifteen years ago. Unfortunately the weather has been like it for most of the Country. I cant imagine what it must be like for the people that have taken their Children to seaside resorts, the Children must be so disappointed. We don’t get any moaning about the weather from our Holiday Guests. Of course the weather is important but there are other things that can be done on a Farm. Mind you I make up for every one else when the Forecasters get it wrong. We never did get a call from the Met Office, as they said they would, I suppose there wasn’t a lot that they could say. Our Contractor didn’t make haylage in the field that we let him use. He used it for grazing his Cattle, but it hasn’t lasted very long as with this rain the cattle have poached the land and I have had to ask him to move his Cattle to a different part of the field that is higher. I only realised at the weekend that another field that we have allowed him to used is quite badly poached. I don’t like poached fields as they are uncomfortable to walk as well as being very muddy. This year is the first since I had Cattle, that we have had Cattle at Denbury nearly ten years ago. We wont be having them here again.

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There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting from number eleven.

My mum,s catfish she has had it from a baby and has had to change the tank once because of its size.Eventually it will get bigger and the tank will need changing again.In most cases people will take them back to a pet shop as they are getting bigger or sell them on but my mum likes it that much she would never part with her catfish. Tina,Stoke.

Here is a photo I took on my ‘phone the other morning. It was just after sunrise and the sky was glowing while the edges of the cloud were golden. I was driving down the A38 towards Bristol to collect a passenger for the airport but had to stop to try to get a picture. The photo doesn’t do justice to the real beauty of that morning. Julia.

Thought you might like to see what I had in my garden tonight. We did try to catch it as it was being mobbed by a couple of Magpies. Elaine.

Buzzard. Karen, Stoke.

This is a red squirrel taken in Edwards Gardens in Toronto. You can see the difference between this squirrel and a grey squirrel/ Rosie’s Mum in Toronto

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There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting from number six.

GJ and B wedding cake. PM.

I thought the ladies would like to see Robin in his bridesmaid dress!! PM.

I had to put this email on. Not to get you to holiday here.(hope you don’t mind Jenny) We thought it was very funny. The photograph of the Reindeer is of two that are coming to Denbury taken when Jenny and her family visited Cricket St Thomas.

Thankyou again for the brilliant week we had at the farm. We are determined to return next year even if we have to sell one of Jasmines kidneys!
I know the weather is plotting another wet week and sincerely wish you a drier week sometime very soon.
Noah has decided that he is going to move to the farm so watch out for any suspicious large unplanned parcels (the clue will be the address written in crayon).
As promised I have attached the pictures of the Reindeer herd I am sorry they aren’t brilliant but I only had the digital camera with me. Jenny, Gareth, Jasmine and Noah.

I took this photo on the way up the lane to the stables, of some ducks, my sister threw out most of a loaf so i could get a good photo, only managed this the others turned out blurred. Karen Stoke.

We just had a real nasty storm in Florida today and after the storm, a double rainbow. You can just make out the 2nd rainbow, but the other rainbow was real bright. Karen, Florida (USA).

Unfortunately the Green Woodpecker cant be enticed onto our bird feeders, their diet consists of Insects that they eat from the crevices in the trees and Ants that they eat from the ground, so what is on offer on the feeders is not what they would want. We hear their chattering laugh every year close to the Farm House. This year we have heard them a little more than other years and a couple of days ago the chattering laugh seemed to be all around us. Sitting in our lounge yesterday evening we realised why, for sitting on the garden wall were a couple of fledglings with one of the parent birds in a branch overhanging the wall, with an insect in it beak. Today as many as five have been flying around. They must have nested close to the Farm House. Next year we will watch to see if we can find where they are nesting. We wouldn’t be able to put a camera in the nest, but we could put a camera so that we are able to watch them entering and leaving the nest.

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There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from…

There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from number one. We need some photographs.

Thornton part of his hop, skip and jump taken by Peter from the Lock whilst on a walk down the Valley.

Deer at Wollaton Park in Nottinghamshire. Vicky.

Piglet taken at Sherwood Forest farm park. Vicky.

Peacock Butterfly taken in my garden. Vicky.

The Hermit Butterfly taken at Wollaton Park. Vicky.

Vicky now has her own website
http://www.victoriasphotogallery.co.uk’ next week you will be able to link to Vicky’s website from the Photo Gallery page.

We have had a Sparrow Hawk hunting on the Farm for a couple of weeks, probably a bit longer but we haven’t seen the feathers from what he has caught. Just lately it seems to be getting quite successful in getting Blue Tits and Green Finches as for the past two days we have found feathers in a number of various places. This morning when we went down the Valley we found the feathers of a Greater Spotted Woodpecker that the Sparrow Hawk must have caught.

A couple of years ago we had a Sparrow Hawk that for over three weeks was taking a Dove nearly every day. We regularly use to see it taking the Doves in flight. Some years back we had a very friendly Robin. It seemed that no matter where we were the Robin was always very close by. One day I was talking to some people in the Farm Yard, our Robin was within a couple feet from us hopping around on the ground, without any warning or noise the Sparrow Hawk swooped down and flew off with the Robin.

When one of our cottages was tenanted to two nurses, a Sparrow Hawk entered the loft through an Owl hole and nested. I did warn the nurses that it wasn’t a good idea and that it would be better if they blocked the hole that the Sparrow Hawk had entered. They didn’t take any notice and allowed the Bird to nest, they even unbeknown to me sourced Rats and Mice and fed the Sparrow Hawk through the loft hatch. The eggs hatched and it was all OK for a few weeks until the fledglings left the nest and walked about the loft above the cottage bedrooms. By all accounts the noise of them walking about woke them all through the night every night until the fledglings left the loft.

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We have had a few problems with the Photo page…

We have had a few problems with the Photo page, Forum and Diary that needed the servers to be changed. In changing over to the new server some entries have been lost. Last night I thought that the loss may have been worse than it was. The Forum and Diary has become good references that I regularly go back to check the date of things that have happened in previous years. It could be that what seems to have been lost maybe in different files and can be found over the next few days.

Tomorrow I will restart the Photo page and put on the photograph of Thornton, as requested by Elaine.

We are going to try to feed the Badgers earlier tomorrow. I should think that it will be about 8.35pm. Part of the reason is so that our Holiday Guests are able to see the Badgers from the hide. It looks as if the area that the Badgers feed from is well lite. It is not, to the human eye it is as black as the ace of spades, it is only the infra-red lamps that make it possible for the cameras to see the Badger.

Speaking about the Badgers, one Family of this weeks Holiday Guests had the Husband drive here without telling him where he was going. I met them when they arrived and I must admit that he did look a bit surprised. He soon bucked up when he knew that he would be able to see the Badgers live, for he has been a Badger enthusiast for most of his life.

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There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from…

There are five photographs on the Photo page starting from number six, sent in by Vicky.

Baby Great Tit that had to be rescued after it flew into a neighbours window, after it had a drink and a rest it flew off to join his friends again. Vicky.

Red-Crested Pochard taken at Attenborough Nature Reserve in Nottinghamshire. Vicky.

Cornflower in my garden. Vicky.

Goose as the sun was going down taken at Attenborough Nature Reserve in Nottinghamshire. Vicky.

Moorhen was taken at a local park in derby. Vicky.

We have fitted a camera on a new Swallows nest that we found this morning in the same barn that we have shown previous Swallows nests. There are three eggs in the nest that are now being incubated.

Last Monday I received an email from a European Nature Conservation body asking if we would broadcast a Barn Owl Nest Cam for them. With the Owlets ready to leave the Barn Owl Trusts Nest over the coming weeks we emailed back accepting the invitation. Unfortunately since then I have not had a reply back. That is not to say that we wont, but being that the Owls are incubating the eggs it would be good to start from the beginning of the nesting. This is the second nesting this year of these Barn Owls. As soon as I hear back from the body I will let you know. UPDATE. We have received the reply and we will be broadcasting the new Barn Owl Nest Cam with sound by tomorrow. Watch out for the new Thumbnail.

The Nature Conservation Body have a close relationship with The Barn Owl Trust, who next year will also have sound and hopefully a day and night camera so that the Barn Owls Nest Cam can be seen in colour in the daylight hours.

A few weeks back I told you about the underwater webcam in the US Virgin Islands that we have been asked to do. All the equipment has been sent to the Island. Michael the person who has asked us to broadcast for them had a meeting with the Port Authority and Pier Manager at the site. They are going to recommend to the Board, full approval of the project at the August 6th meeting. The webcam will be sited at a different location than we first were told, and it will be under a different US department who have other sites that they would consider webcams including a beach that the Turtles nest at.

There has been mentioned that the quality of the Red Squirrel and Pine Martin Camera is not a clear as it might be. The Broadband connection at the Lock of the Lowe’s is quite low. To get a good picture from the Osprey nest it mean using a lot of the available bandwidth on that webcam causing the other webcams to use a very low bandwidth. When the Osprey nesting finishes the bandwidths will be adjusted so that both webcams at the Lock have good images.

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Sorry that there has not been any new photographs or…

Sorry that there has not been any new photographs or a Diary for the past couple of days. We have been extremely busy with finishing the kitchen and cottage, getting the hay in and getting ready for our holiday guests. We also have friends staying.

We will get back over the next couple of days when I will also tell you about our new photograph Galleries that some of you may want to be involved in.