end of shooting season 30th jan
jeff banks
Barn owl trust
There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…
There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number eleven.
This is a photo of a cow peeping over the wall, i took near dove dale in the peak district about a week ago. Vicky, Derb
A nesting swan at Bosherton lakes in Pembrokeshire. Fir cones in a tree at Ladybower reservoir. Lynne.
Here’s a photo of Brimham Rocks. GJ.
The last photograph is what I thought was a Mill Stone that I wrote about in last nights Diary. On looking at it today, the first time in a few years, I am not to sure if it is a Mill Stone. I have only ever seen one Mill Stone, that was in a working Mill. If it is not I cant imagine what it is. Going by the Rabbit dropping in the middle it could be a soap box for the Rabbits, or maybe a wheel off of Fred Flintstones car.
There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…
There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number six.
A photo of the cliffs in West Bay, Dorset that was taken last august. Vicky, Derby
A cheeky squirrel in my garden its hangs like this ages at a time. Our resident robin when we were clearing the garden up a few weeks ago it was hopping around within a few feet of us. Lynne.
An article about the much talked about squirrel.
Sending you these from Australia, hope you can open them. Their Magpies look different to our but have the same colouring. Elsie.
When we first came to Denbury the grass area that you can see behind the Sheep pen was a concrete yard for cattle that were housed in the barn in the Winter. We had Cattle in the barn and yard for the first few years of coming here.
When we demolished the cow yard we found an old local stone foundation all along the side of the stream. We also found an areas of old walling partially demolished to the left of the barn, very close to the stream. Over the years I had forgot about them. They had been completely obscured with the over grown bramble. As we were clearing the bramble today, we came across another part of the walling and large pieces of the local stone that I had never seen before. It must be part of the the foundation that we previously found. We have yet to find the large piece of walling that I can remember. The bramble is so thick that it is going to take a day or so to clear it all. As you must be well aware, bramble especially years of over grown bramble wouldn’t be the kindest of vegetation to have to clear.
The reason that I have mentioned the walling is that the field that can also be seen behind the Sheep pen and the bank of the stream, was ploughed when we re-grassed it about six years ago. When the field was being ploughed a large piece of stone was hit by the plough. The Contractor who was doing the work was not a happy man. The stone damaged the plough. We dug what we thought was a stone up, revealing a Mill Stone. I left it in the field by the side of the Hedgerow and until today thought nothing more about it. Could it be that the old wall that we still have to reveal and the Mill Stone go together?
There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…
There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number one. There are not many more to put on the Photo page.
What about the colour of this pony. They must really interbreed. Hardware Department in an Old time Co-operative Store and I am sure it will bring memories for some of our older members.
Elsie
The Grand Canyon My son took this a couple of years ago. He went on a helicopter ride over it then landed and walked down into it . He said it was spectacular. Lynne.
Another Willow Tit from Mary.
These gorgeous blue flowers cover a wall and fence im not sure what they are called but may be of the Columbine family they spread rapidly Marie.
Willow and Gypsy have been together all day. When we put Willow and Lady in the area Willow went straight to Gypsy’s stable and didn’t move until we let Gypsy out. They followed each other every where, it was if they were joined together. As soon as we get time over the next couple of days we will put Willow and Gypsy in the large stable that we have just finished. It is in Lady’s stable block, so we will move Lady next to them. We will then put Emmi in Lady’s stable until we can move Willow and Gypsy into the area that we made for them in the Barn next to the Sheep. It is the area that you may have seen Breeze and Arnie in.
Today we have started to tidy up the area that you can see in the back ground, when we put the Sheep webcam on. The part that slopes down is part of the bank of the stream that runs through the Farm. It is one of those jobs that we have been getting round to do for years. The people who farmed Denbury before we move in widened the stream to make a lagoon. They did tell me for what, but I cant remember the reason now. Once we have got rid of the bramble and weed we will remove the six foot chain link fence that can be seen, put a low fence up and landscape the area.
It has been quite windy here today, a gust of wind caught the Telescope opening on the Observatory, blowing the door off. I must have left the catch that secures the opening door undone. We were fortunate that it was not raining at the time, or we could well have had a problem if the Telescope computer and electrics got wet.
There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…
There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number eleven.
Willow and Gypsy eating together.
A shetland pony and foal cant remember where it was took. A toad on the patio of our holiday cottage in Devon. Lynne.
No man has sculpted these rocks into this shape just the wind blowing against a soft cliff face!!!! John took this photo in Spain Marie.
A nice story in yesterdays Mirror. Elsie.
As you can see by the photograph that I have put on the Photo page Willow and Gypsy have been eating together from the same feed bowl. Within half an hour of taking Lady and Willow over to the area that Emmi and Gypsy are stabled, we let Gypsy out to be with Willow. Lady called out a little, but they soon settled down. We put two feed bowls out for the two youngsters as soon as we put them together. We had just as well have just put one out in the first place, as they shared both bowls. When keeping any Horses together it is important to make sure that they they are not over possessive about their feed, if they are you can guarantee that there will be a kicking session. If both the Horses are strong willed, one or both will get hurt, and they will not be able to be together at feed times.
I looked over the Ewe that I expected to Lamb a while back. After checking her teeth I realised that she was an old Ewe, and that her udder was large because of the amount of Lambs that she had previously given birth to. She is definitely in Lamb, but when she is going to give birth I am really not sure. Looking at the other Ewes all but one looks in Lamb. A couple of them are getting larger udders, but I don’t think that any are imminent. Last time I said that, one Lambed. I will leave the camera on them most nights so that you will be able to see a Lambing.
There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…
There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number six.
The first photograph is of Willow and Misty after they had settled down. The second is of Willow checking Lady.
Ladybower reservoir This is one of our favourite walking places it is only about 20 minutes from where we live. Heather on Ringinglow near Sheffield again one of our favorite places and very near to us. Lynne.
A pink big leaf lilly that just bloomed in my pond. Here it is January in Florida and we still have lovely flowers that bloom. Karen, Florida (USA)
We introduced Willow to Gypsy today. We put Willow and Lady in the Corral in front of Emmi and Gypsies stables, as we did yesterday. Willow had her head in Gypsy stable for most of the morning, so at midday we stable Lady and let Gypsy out with Willow in the corral. For the first fifteen to twenty minutes Willow would not move away from Lady’s stable. She was looking as if she may have tried to jump over the stable door to get to Lady. We closed the top half of the stable door just in case. This quietened Willow a lot, but it made Lady pace around the stable calling out. Every now and then she put her head out of the stable window. In between Lady putting her head out of the door Willow went to investigate Gypsy. Both Willow and Gypsy gave half hearted kicking threats at each other, but soon started to sniff and groom each other.
Lady quietened down and just watched the youngsters getting to know each other. She gave Willow a reassuring whinny every now and then. Willow really didn’t bother to much about Lady, and we were able to open the top of Lady’s stable door. For the rest of the afternoon Willow and Gypsy were grooming and playing together, trotting and bucking around the corral in excitement.
At feed time we let Willow go back into her stable with Lady. Tomorrow we will stable Lady very soon after moving them over to the corral letting Willow and Gypsy together for the whole day. We do this until we believe Willow can go on to the next stage of this weaning performance. We have a number of ideas but we will take it day by day. Today went better than we had hoped. Mind you it may not go as easy tomorrow.
There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…
There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number one.
Tired Foal at New Forest Hampshire. Someone wanted to see the Church taken in Summer. I am sending two so you can pick which one to show. Elsie.
Two damselflies mating on my garden pond. Lynne.
My two other dogs, the red one is Jagger and the black one is Rasta. These two are best buddies, as you can see. Karen, Florida (USA)
I’ve attached a pic my hubby took of some marsh tits. I reckon they can only be told from willow tits when close to, or they keep still – which they don’t for long on the cam feeder! You’ve certainly got a good selection at Denbury – Blue, Great, Coal and the Long-tailed which are gorgeous!Cheers Mary.
I reset the Telescope last night and tried to get a decent image of Mars. Unfortunately it wasn’t very good, and not worth putting on the webcam. There is only about two to three weeks left of Mars being worth looking at. I have ordered a lens to get it closer, but by the time it arrives it may be to late. Saturn can be seen at the moment, and it is closer to earth than Mars. The new lens will help to look at Saturn. It will also show even closer images on the Moon. No one is trying what we are doing with our Astro webcam, so every thing that we do is hit and miss.
We were going to wean Willow today or tomorrow. After talking about it last night we have decided to take a different approach. During the day we put Lady and Willow in the corral in front of the stable area that Emmi and Gypsy are stabled, leaving them both in their stables. This gave Willow the chance to feel secure but allowed her to investigate Gypsy across the stable door. When we first put Lady and Willow in the area they were very unsure of what was going on. I should think that they remembered the last time we tried to wean Willow. At first they paced around the corral snorting and showing that they didn’t like what was going on. Once they had settled Willow put her head into Gypsy’s stable across the door and has been doing it most of the day.
Tomorrow or Wednesday we will try to let Gypsy out and put Lady into her stable. I dont trust Lady not to give Gypsy a kick or I would let them all out together. Hopefully Willow will start to bond with Gypsy, making us able to part Lady and Willow. I have never had this trouble before with weaning. Any Horse person who has weaned would think we were mad. With Lady’s history of weaving, what we cant do is stress Willow out to a degree that she does the same. I believe that weaving is hereditary as well as a copy cat vice. If Willow started to weave, she would be no good to any one.
With putting Lady and Willow in the area with Emmi and Gypsy, we needed to put Breeze and Arnie into the area that we made for Willow and Gypsy in the barn next to the sheep. Some how some one forgot to tie the gate. When we went to make sure that the two of them were settled Arnie was found with his nose in one of the feed bins. He had pushed the gate open and had managed to eat a good seven kilo of feed. Needless to say he didn’t get this evening feed.
There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…
There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number eleven.
Rabbit decided to visit the garden last summer, and whilst he/she was eating the daisies, all was fine but I was not too pleased when it decided to sample the flowers. Liz.
Fuchsias in my garden. Lynne.
A Blackbird taken at one of the caravan sites we go to. Elsie.
Signet on the Taunton Canal. Marie.
Mr. Farmer, more pictures for the web site. The first picture: since several of you sent pictures of peacocks, thought I would submit picture of a peacock that visited my garden, except my peacock is a butterfly called White Peacock. Hope it shows up. Karen, Florida (USA)
Trying to put Mars on the webcam last night wasn’t very good. The Telescope went straight to Mars when I selected it, but the lens that I had was not powerful enough to get a good image. By the time that I was going to put the small image on, it clouded over. I went to put the Sun on the webcam this morning, but somehow I had lost the Telescope settings when I turned it off last night, so it would not have tracked it. Setting the Telescope needs to be set at night by selecting three stars. I will do that this evening. I will also try another camera that I have that may magnify Mars better than the camera that I used last night. I did put the Sun on the webcam this morning for a short time whilst I tried it. I was able to see a few flares. The only way that I could have kept it on was to move the Telescope manually. I didn’t have time for that. I will speak to the suppliers of the Telescope tomorrow to see what I can get to be able to show Mars closer.
We looked Emmi over today to see if her udder was starting to get larger. She is only a month away from Foaling so I would expect to see a change in her over the next two weeks. We need to get her over to Lady’s stable block where the camera is, but Willow still being with Lady is causing us a problem. We are going to try to wean Willow again on Tuesday or Wednesday. We have got a sedative from the Veterinary that we will give her for a few days. She is not getting a lot of milk from Lady now and her udder has nearly dried up. It is not going to be easy.
We fed the Badgers later tonight. I had hoped that the Fox would be waiting to feed, that I hoped would have stopped the Rats from coming out. I don’t like to put poison down because of the Owls and Buzzards. I have had to today or they will start to spread out and get to near to the Farm House. We rarely ever see Rats near the Farm Yard, thats the way I want to keep it. I have poisoned up on the lower Badger feeding place. Once we think that area has been cleared we will poison the main area. To stop the Bird getting the poison we have a baited box inside of a cage.
There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…
There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number six.
Disused wasps’ nest, taken on a walk in a nearby lane. GJ
Peacock posing in North Wales. Close up of a Dandelion. Lynne.
Pony and Foal New Forest Hampshire. One of the Pit Ponies that were used at our Colliery, what an awful life they had. Elsie.
I asked my Friends who host the Ghost Cam about the person that the other Elsie saw at I.30 pm today. There was no one in the House at that time of the day. My Friends went shopping this morning and didn’t return until this evening. On looking at the webcam this evening, I can see a shadow on the wall that I have not noticed before. I am told that there is nothing to cause a shadow on the wall. Strange.
I am not sure what the Bird was that Mary asked about on the Forum. It did look a first like a Willow Tit that we regularly get in little groups of, up to eight at a time. Then a group of Willow Tits started feeding and it was obviously not one of them. It was very similar but different markings on it head.
I looked in Bird Book to see what the Bird was but could not find it. Whilst looking I came across the Griffon Vulture. It is a very big Bird, standing about three and a half feet tall with a wing span of eight foot. Simon was telling me that when they fly towards him when he is on the rock faces they look enormous. Spain have the largest European population. They can also be found in Asia and the Middle East. They lay one Egg. I believe Simon told me every other year. Incubation is around fifty days and are able to fly after one hundred and ten days. As long as all goes well with the installation of the equipment it promises to be an exciting webcam.
Sorry i didn’t witness the outcome of the Fox mating session last night. The way the pair were acting it looked imminent. They may still be together tonight, or a least another Dog Fox may be with the Vixen. I was a bit surprised that there were not more than one Dog, so it could well be the beginning of the mating. Although I suppose it could even be the end. What ever there are no Fox feeding as they would normally be when I put the feed out, so something is going on to keep the Fox away from food. I will put the Valley camera on again tonight.
I did see a Stag as I was panning the camera around to try to see the Fox. It was the far end of the valley. It kept to the edge of the wood and I only just managed to get sight of it.
At 6.pm the sky is quite clear, a few small clouds. I don’t know if it is going to stay like it. The forecast is for cloud. Mars comes in sight at about 8.pm in the southern sky. If it stays like it is a the moment, I will put the Telescope on. The cloud last night cleared but it was to late to start setting the Telescope up. As I said last night, this is the first time that I have tried to show a Planet, so I really don’t know how it will look on the webcam.
There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…
There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number one.
The sunset pic was taken from our B&B when we visited Oban a couple of years ago. Oban bay is in the foreground, and in the distance, you are looking towards the Isle of Mull. It truly is a beautiful place and well worth a visit. Some of the many Gold Finches that visit the garden daily. they are such colourful little birds. Liz.
Ponies in the New Forest. Dad took this picture of a cow in Mid Wales. Lynne.
This is Peters House in the USA, overlooking the Lake where the Ospreys nest.
Tonight when I went to feed the Badgers I could hear two Tawney Owls calling to each other in the valley. We often hear Owls, tonight it was more pronounced as it is so very still here tonight. When I returned after feeding, I panned the valley cameras around the field hoping that I would see at least one of them perched in a tree. I will leave the valley camera on just i case one comes in view.
There is a chance that the Deer that were in the valley last night, may return tonight. The Deer were seen yesterday afternoon when Tass and Kye were taken for their walk. Kye was the first to see them. There were five Red Deer, they were in the small field that you get to through the gateway, that you can see in the far left hand corner of the valley. She went to start to chase them. She soon stopped when called back. They probably didn’t see the Dogs as they ambled across the field into the wood.
The two Fox that I turned the camera onto are ready to mate. That is another good reason to leave the valley camera on tonight. It depends where they go in the valley if will will see it.
I set the Telescope to look at Mars tonight. The forecast was clear skies. Unfortunately with the cloud there is not a Star in sight at the moment. If it clears, up to 9ish or maybe a little later I will put the camera on. It will only be on the Moon thumbnail. As soon as we get a clear night I will put it on. It is also a good time to see Saturn, although at this time of year you may not be able to see the rings very clearly. This will be the first time that we have tried to show one of the Planets, so I am not sure how it will turn out.