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Starting from number six there are five new photographs on…

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

A view of Toronto from a boat in the lake. Easily recognizable are the CN Tower and the dome where the Blue Jays play. Rosie’s Mum in Toronto

Oscar the Peregrine, Bubo the Owl, Eric a Red Tailed Hawk and Seamus, a Barn Owl. These great birds live at a Peregrine bird Federation sanctuary near Toronto. These birds are now used for educational purposes by the Federation. Rosie’s Mum in Toronto.

We saw our first Roe Deer in over a couple of Months this Morning. It was very close to the Reindeer Field behind where we make our Horse manure pile and the Quarry Face. There have been Deer foot prints down the Valley but we haven’t seen any on the webcams.

Ewy at last seems to have made her way back to the Flock. No Horses are fed in the Horse Field at this time of the year, so there wasn’t a lot for her to hang around for. Mind you we haven’t seen the Sheep for a couple of days, they could well have gone into the Field on the other side of the Wood on the right hand side of the Valley.

Karen caught sight of the new gates we have installed. They have got to be painted when we get time. We are very pleased with them and we have noticed a difference with no more uninvited visitors coming down the Drive. We are not unsociable people, but we were getting people driving down our 300m drive to ask the way. Even with a Denbury Farm sign at the top of the Drive people were coming down to a different Farm. There was also a concern of whom the people were coming to the Farm. Now only those people with the security code, or who have fobs can get in. The Gates make the Farm a little more secure for both the Animals and those living on or who are on Holiday at Denbury. When they are painted I will take a photograph for the Photo Page.

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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.

Here are a few pics from my collection.

A fallen silver birch tree in Epping forest. Jill.

A twisted truk of a beech tree. Jill.

The Harbour, Whitstable, with fishing boats. Jill.

Pooh’ Bear’s picnic. Jill.

Glistening Ink cap fungi. Jill.

As I was feeding the Horses this morning a pair of Geese flew in along the Valley and landed on the Lake. For over two weeks one Gander has been visiting on and off. We never did find any signs of the last pair of Geese who nested and disappeared without a trace, it could well be that this is that pair. This pair have also used the same places on the bank of the Lake, that could also be of course that they are the easiest places to land.

I had decided that I would try to stop any Geese from nesting on the Lake next year, but now that I have electric fenced to stop the Otter from taking the Fish from the Lake, it will quite easy to put extra strands of wire on the posts to stop the Fox that is of course if it was a Fox that had taken the Geese and Gosling’s. After seeing the Otter in the Valley making its way in the direction of the Lake, it could have been an Otter that had taken them.

It has been busy on the lake today, the sun seems to have brought life to it. As well as the Geese’s there were a pair of Little Grebe, a few pair of Mallards and Coot. But best of all and the first time that I have seen one in the Winter on the Lake was a Kingfisher. It was perched on a branch of a tree that we planted on the side of the Lake a few years back. As the tree has got bigger some the branches have started to hang over the Lake making them a good vantage spot for the Kingfisher to dive from. I cant imagine that it managed to catch any Fish today, most of the Fish will be at the bottom of the Lake as the water is so cold. Some Kingfishers do move to different locations during the Winter. Those on our Lake must still be here.

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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.

A few more of my cousins photos. One for Jordan. Lovely owl family and snow in her garden a few years ago. sue.

Also sending in a pic of the narrow boat I used to be the proud owner of – taken in a snowstorm -moored up near Northampton on the Grand Union Canal. Jill xxx

One of 4 photographs of the Reindeer taken by Vicky whilst on Holiday. I am going to use one of them on my website.

They were our antique gate that were on the webcam, earlier today. I didn’t realise that it was live I thought that it was on our private view. The gates are all that we expected of them and more. Finally after 15 years our driveway is private. There are a couple of ways to open them. We are able to use a remote button that when pushed from our vehicles opens automatically or the is a keypad option from either side of the gates. We are able to give people who use the keypads their own numbers. The gates open very quickly, a lot quicker than we expected. We have also installed wires under the driveway that when a vehicle crosses the wires the gates will open automatically to exit the Farm. We have not had time to completely finish that option yet. We have also got to paint the gates and posts, they will then look very good.

In last night Diary I mentioned the lack of seeing any Deer in the Valley. I believe that now it could be because the Sheep are using the Valley of a night time. We have had a Ram running with the Sheep for the past weeks, so we hope to have a few Lambs in the Spring. We will over next week house the Sheep in the barn for the Winter. The Ram went back to its owners today. He was very easy to catch. Unlike the Pennywell Reindeer that also went home this afternoon. The horse box that was seen on the webcam was Pennywell coming for them. What a performance that was. I will tell you about it tomorrow.

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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.

After reading about Penny Chicagox3’s sighting of sandhill cranes I thought I would send in a pic of the Common Cranes that visited Dungeness when I was there back in August.

Also sending in a pic of the narrow boat I used to be the proud owner of – taken in a snowstorm -moored up near Northampton on the Grand Union Canal.

Third pic is of a Rosy Underwing moth – a very rare visitor here – and one that I was credited on the mothsofdungeness website as finding with two of the male wardens. Jill xx.

The inside of Bradford Town Hall, it is very beautiful. Elsie.

How would you like this little pony for Arnie Elsie.

I cant believe that there have been so few Deer in the Valley this year especially after having the back end of the Rutting season last year. I can only put it down to the electric fencing that was used for the Cattle that we allowed our contractor have at the far end of the Valley. The area beyond the far left hand side. I cant imagine that no Deer use the Woodland that we have just acquired. As soon as I get time I will try to fix an ordinary camera up with an infra red beam so that if any thing breaks the beam it will take a photograph. Trouble is that we are so busy at the moment I am having trouble finding any spare time.

Hopefully next year when the ground dries out I will see if there are any areas in the wood that have a good size clearing to be able to put a small Lake in. There is only one are that the stream runs through that we will be able to put a small Lake, It is close to the Valley and will encourage more Wildlife including deer to the Valley. It is also very boggy that is a good sign that there are underground springs to fill the Lake with water. It would be preferable to use springs to fill a Lake or Pond rather than a stream, as stream fed Lakes and Pond tend to fill with sediments and need for the sediment to be taken out, some times as much as the soil that was taken out to make Lake. The Lake will also help drain the boggy area in the wood.

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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.

We had a couple more days of photographs emailed to us today, but we still need more to be able to continue with the Photo Page.

These are a few pictures from the back-streets of Oxford, I have lived in Oxford all my life and used to think the place was a tip, but now I have a bit of time on my hands I have found there are still some very nice bits left that haven’t been developed. Clive.

Going by last night and today’s entries on the Forum no one, even the regulars saw the Buck Roe Deer in the Valley last night. It was by far the best nighttime picture that we have ever had of Wildlife in the Valley. I was pleased to see a Deer as I have only seen a few in the past few months. No where near the amount that we saw earlier this year and last or since we allowed the Cattle into the Valley.

Over the past few days we have also seen quite a lot of Deer foot prints in the Valley, again the first for a good while. With a bit of luck they are starting to return. Now that we have managed to get the Vally Camera working properly we will be able to see the Deer and any other Wildlife a lot better. We are waiting for a couple of new infra-red lamps that are going to be donated by the camera manufacturer. They will we hope light up the far end of the Valley as it use to be, if not better.

The Valley Fields are over ten acres. The best way to light it is to cover all directions of the Valley with individual infra-red lamps, but unfortunately that would be mega money. Now that the days are getting shorter it is important to try to see more night time Wildlife.

We managed to get David to put up another small addition to the Squirrel obstacle course. My idea of putting a tunnel on the first pole was not as good as I expected it to be. By what I have seen some of the Squirrels don’t even bother going inside of it. They just scamper over the outside. It wouldn’t be easy as it has no grip. I havent had a lot of time to check it out, so I am not sure if it is spoiling the Squirrel activity. Let us know if you think it is. This is the last week that Vicky and her Family are with us. Unfortunately David is not coming down this week so I wont be able to get him to add anything this week. Somehow we will try to add something.

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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.

Thought I would share with you some forest ponds and autumn reflections, and some more Glistening Ink Caps – all taken in Epping Forest… Jill xx

Cricket Field Pond.

Middle Pond.

Middle Pond.

Third Pond.

Glissening Ink Cap. Jill xx.

It is not the telescope that is on camera 2 tonight, it is the Valley camera that we managed to get going today. To move the Valley camera we needed to control it from a computer, that was quite hard. We are now using a keyboard making it a lot easier. The Focus on the moon is not great, but we are seeing the moon as close as the small telescope in the observatory.

We disconnected the the infra-red lamps on the Valley camera and installed a different type believing that the Valley camera would have needed to be repaired. Now that we have got it working we will reconnect them.

The Wood we acquired yesterday borders the Valley and it is what you can see beyond the post and trees and far over to the right hand corner of the Valley. It then cover to the North and East to just under 18 acres. It needed to be under our control as although it belonged to Somerset County Council it was being used illegally for shooting. Why the Council sold it I will never understand. It was sold at the same auction as a Farm that borders it. I can understand the Farm being sold, but not the Wood.

Although I have lived at Denbury for fifteen years I have never been very far into the Wood. On Sunday we walked around a good part of the 18 acres. It was a lot nicer Wood than I had imagined. Over the years it has had very little work done to it. There are many fallen trees that will keep the Lads busy for the Winters for a few years cutting logs. There will also need to be a lot of thinning to open the canopy. I am making it sound not very nice, but it is a very beautiful wood, with a couple of streams, two small quarries and a restored Lime Kiln. It is a wonderful wildlife site that Red, Roes Deer, Fox and Badgers live or frequent.

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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.

The photographs are being put on the Photo Page by someone else, so they may not be on the website when the Diary comes up.

There are only a couple of photographs for tomorrow night Photo page.

Padfoot and one of the females at Denbury. Vicky.

Thornton taken today at Denbury. Vicky.

Fireworks, from my front window overlooking Jordan’s house. Karen Stoke.

Fireworks. Karen Stoke.

Fireworks. Karen Stoke.

I am trying to put some equipment together to try to get the Valley webcam working again. we are having to try a new system where we have a camera as the Badgers and most of the other cameras. With these type of camera we are unable to fix infra-red lamps to the sides so that as the camera moves the lamps show in the same direction. As the Valley is so big an area to light up we need a system where we are able to direct the lamps in the same direction as the camera, so it will need to be on a separate pan and tilting head. Tonight I am going to try to get the system working before it is installed down the Valley.

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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 photographs are being put on the Photo Page by someone else, so they may not be on the website when the Diary comes up.

There are only a couple of photographs for tomorrow night Photo page.

Some more fungi I found in the forest

Honey fungus growing on the base of a birch tree

Glistening inkcap (turns black if left when picked, and the ink that comes out of it used to be used for signing wills and important documents so it could never be forged)

Amanita muscaria is the latin name for the Fly Agaric
Boletus or Penny Bun – very tasty fried

Blushing bracket – similar to my last pic just smaller

Hope Jordan enjoys these pics too! Jill (Epping)

We have been working cutting logs from fallen trees at the end of the Valley this morning. Thornton decided that he was coming. Although he knows his way back to the Farm House from the Valley we would prefer not to have his company as he may wander off. As we set off on the quad bike he started to follow. He wasn’t very pleased to be chased back and you could tell by his actions and posture that he was determined that he was going to come with us. After three attempts of trying to make him stay in the Farm Yard we gave in because of the time it was taking.

As we set off Thornton walked by the side of the quad bike looking very pleased with himself. As we got into the Valley it was decided that we would speed the quad up and that with a bit of luck we would leave him behind and that he would make his way back home. No chance, the faster I went the faster he ran. I didn’t look at what speed we were doing until I was slowing down. Thornton was then doing 27 kilometers (17 MPH) an hour so he must have been doing well over 30 kilometers (18.3/4 MPH) at full speed and he would have done a good 100 metres at that speed. He was determined to keep up with the quad. He started to slow up and we slowed down in case he may have had a heart attack. When he had stopped he was steaming. How he managed the speed he was doing with such little legs I will never know.

Thornton stayed with us all of the time we were working, following and staying close until it was time to return, trotting by the side of the quad on the way home. We did speed up to 24 kilometers (15 1/2 MPH) on the way back and he was at a fast trot at that speed.

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Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on…

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

The Condor Ferry on its way into Weymouth. Sue.

Weymouth Harbour. Sue.

Nothe Fort. Sue.

This morning we looked out of our front window to see the most amazing rainbow! Because it was fairly early and the sun was still low in the sky, the rainbow was a very high arc – too big to photograph in one go! So I took several pics – here are the two which together best show the rainbow in its entirety. Julia.

For no apparent reason the camera that watches the valley we are unable to control. We are able to see a live picture, so as long as it switches to night time mode we will leave it on through the night in the hope that we may see some deer. We have another camera to replace it but it is a different type that will need a bracket, we will order it tomorrow. The camera that has gone wrong is a very expensive piece of equipment. We put it in the Valley in the hope that we may have been able to see the Buzzard hunting above the Farm, but for some reason after fifteen years the Buzzards decided to nest in the vicinity of the Reindeer Field. Unfortunately we have not had time to fit a camera in that field yet. I must admit that we have not been over impressed with the nighttime performance of the camera and had already decided that we would replace it when we could find the time. We are going to replace it the same type of camera that we mostly use around the Farm. The reason that we have not used this type in the valley before is as we are unable to fit infra-red lamps to them. Being down the Valley the lamps need to follow the camera, but we will need to use more infra-red lamps to compensate.

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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.

No more photographs left to go on the Photo page after today.

These were taken at my aunt