Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.
Spring. Betty Canada
Hen Sparrowhawk in my garden. Mick
Heron looking at my pond. Mick
Orchids in the meadow at Sandhurst. Mick
Roe Deer also in the meadow at Sandhurst. Mick (Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire border)
I managed to find time to cut back the bramble so that it was not in the way of the camera focused on the bird feeding table. I must admit for the first time in six years the feeders have been neglected so it is liable to take a week or so for the birds to start using it again.
The Badgers are not coming to the feed area a lot a the moment. They do get quite this time of year. With the ground being very soft with the rain we have been getting it is very easy for the Badgers to dig for worms, their favorite food.
We have had to take the Bagot Goats out of the Rhea Field as the Rhea are not getting enough feed that they need because the Goat go to the Rhea feed rather than their own. Since the Goats have been at Denbury we have had to wait over half an hour every morning and evening to keep the Goats away from the Rhea Feed, and we really cant afford to waste over an hour every day. We tried fencing off with gates a feeding area for the Goats. It worked for one day but after that a few would go into the gated area and a couple would not, and they seemed to take it in turns so we had to move them. They are in a double stable at the moment.I will probably put stock fencing around the main Horse Field so that the Sheep and Goats can share it with the Horses. Sheep will eat what the Horses wont, and Goats will eat anything, so it should work well. It will also stop our Sheep from going into our neighbour’s fields.
It should have been an easy job to move the Goats, but they had a different idea. We fenced off a large area and eventually coaxed them in but one of them managed to find a small gap under the gate and off it went with another two in tow up the drive. We could not chase after them or they would have gone farther away so a long detour was needed to cut them off and get them back into the fenced area so we could load them into the horsebox. Getting them from the horsebox to the stable went well until we went to close the stable door. A gated runway was used but one gate fell as we closed the stable door allowing one of the Goats to get out. After a bit of a run about we eventually got it back with the others. I always swore that I would never have goats. I know why now.