Blog - Page 75 of 109 - Farm Holiday Cottages - Fishing and Wildlife Holidays

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

Hello Mr Farmer, Elephant Hawk moth caterpillar, taken in my South Wales garden. Peacock, taken in the churchyard of the tiny church [St. David’s I think] on Caldey Island. Best wishes
Gillian.

Seagull taken from the boat on Lake Windemere it was flying alongside. Duck at Ladybower reservoir Lynne.

Mr Farmer, i caught this delightful scene of the swans on the Taunton Canal 2 yrs ago but on my camcorder, i have paused the tape and retook the photograph with a screen capture, but cant get them any clearer which is a shame . !!!! Marie.

Tonight looks the first time for a long while that the sky is clear. Depending on what time that we can see the Moon here, will make me decide if I will put the Astro webcams on. If it is much later than 8.30 it will not be worth it. I would have tried to look at Mars but I need to put another lens on the Telescope. Unfortunately I have not had the time to find it.

It is unbelievable how few clear nights that we have had over the past few months. A few late afternoons have looked promising, but soon turned into cloudy and rainy nights. At the moment there is not a cloud in the Sky. The clear sky has kept it quite light. When I went to feed the Badgers at 5.30pm I was able to see my way without a torch. I will from next week start to feed them 10 minutes later.
There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number eleven

Hello Mr Farmer, Elephant Hawk moth caterpillar, taken in my South Wales garden. Peacock, taken in the churchyard of the tiny church [St. David’s I think] on Caldey Island. Best wishes
Gillian.

Seagull taken from the boat on Lake Windemere it was flying alongside. Duck at Ladybower reservoir Lynne.

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

Don’t know if this will show up very well. It was sent by friend in Australia and it is a Butcher Bird and it comes down 2 to three times a day for a bit of mince. Apparently they will attack birds in cages if they are not protected. Elsie.

Hello Mr & Mrs Farmer. I have attached some pics for the forum if you approve them. The first pic is a little bird I found at the bottom of our drive last year, I brought it inside whilst the rain subsided and then put it back out, don’t know if it made it but like to think it did. A capture from our Blue Tit nest box camera. You can just about make out 5 little beaks. Sadly none of the chicks went on to fledge but hoping for better things this year. Liz

Newspaper cutting from Elsie.

White Peacock at Arlington Court in Devon, Lynne.

Lynne’s White Peacock photograph reminded us of a White Peahen that we once had. The Peahen was offered free in one of these freebie advertising papers. We had to drive over a hundred miles to get the Bird down in Devon. We told the people when we would arrive. When we got to the place, the owners had let the Peahen out in the morning and did not expect it to return for a few hours. I wasn’t best pleased and although we would have liked the Bird, we had to tell the owners that we would have to leave it as we had to get home to do feed our animals.

A few minute after leaving we saw the Peahen in a field. We chased back to the owners who managed to coax it back to the Peahens house. The Peahen must have been the daftest Peahen ever. We kept her locked in with our Peacock for a few weeks, so that she got use to the noises and surroundings. When we let her out she decided that she liked the pond area in front of the Farm House, and there she would stay. To keep out of danger all of our other Peafowl would roost in a high tree of a night. Not this one. Within a few weeks the Fox had got her. We found her remains in the Horse field.

A quick update on what is happening with the new webcams that we hope will be on very soon. The camera is installed at the site in the USA. I showed it on the Photo page a little while back. I spoke to Peter in the US this evening. Over the past few days he has seen a couple of Bald Eagles and a Brown Eagle, they are quite rare. Peter hopes to get the computer setup for the broadcasting at the weekend. We will have to monitor it for a few weeks to make sure that there is nothing that is liable to offend people before we start broadcasting the site.

All of the equipment that we are supplying for the Griffon Vulture site in Andalucia, will be sent out there next week. Because of the site being very remote, and to far for cables to be run, the signal will have be sent from the nest site to the computer by wireless transmission. The power for the equipment will be generated by battery and a solar panel. It will take a few weeks to be set up. Again we will have to monitor the site before broadcasting.

The Barn Owls have not started to use the new nest box yet. As soon as they are seen, we will start broadcasting the nest.

I am waiting for the site that I am unable to tell you about to get back to me. I sent them the equipment to try in November. I will try to speak to them later on this week.

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

This swan hatched 11 eggs last spring but had lost 1 before i took this photo of her and her brood she became well known locally on the river Tone and was well fed by onlookers she had a large audience that included the local press and tv . The two house lizards photo was taken in Spain at our friends house, by hubby they were walking across the ceiling, shortly after he caught this snap they went into an embrace and fell to the floor!!!! usually just one has a walk round the ceiling and tops of the walls of an evening looking for insects. this was the first time two had been seen together. Marie.

Hello Mr Farmer, This is a picture of the Kingfisher that I see most days fishing on the riverbank, the little devil darted into the back of the bushes today. Normally he sits on the closer branches fishing. I

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

I hope these snowdrops in my garden in Wales today mean that Spring is on its way. GJ

THIS IS A PHOTO OF STRUMBLE HEAD LIGHTHOUSE VISIBLE TO PASSENGERS ON THE FERRY FROM ROSSLARE TO FISHGUARD. Marie.

This is photo of our village Church in Co Durham. It holds many memories for me both happy and sad. It is a Norman Church over 900 years old. Elsie.

Photographs of Arnie and Breeze. Arnie looks a right scruff. The photograph was taken today in his Winter coat. In the Summer Arnie’s coat shines like the Queens Guards Boots. We could have him clipped out, but he doesn’t do enough work to justify clipping. Clipping is to shave his coat nearly to his skin. All Race Horses are clipped otherwise they would sweat. In the Winter there coats would take a long while to dry. The photograph of Breeze was taken in the Summer when we had to fence her in a separate area to stop her from chasing Lady and Willow around the field. In the background you can see Bliss and Misty. By the gate is Woody.

Val suggested that we should try to separate Willow and Bliss behind a wall. We did try in the next stable to Lady. Willow tried to jump the wall. It was only by luck that she didn’t get to far, or she could well have got stuck halfway across. What we are putting on Lady’s udder is stopping Willow from suckling. It does wear off after a while, so we need to put more on. We do forget at times.

I spoke to the Trainer this evening about Bliss and Misty. Both are training very well. Bliss is back to her old self and is showing potential. The Trainer feels that she could do well in her racing career. Misty had a bit of a cough last week. She didn’t have a temperature and got over it within a week. I was trying to go to France to see them this week. Unfortunately I am so busy on the Farm I wont be able to make it.

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

Hello Mr. Farmer, Karen in Stoke asked if I went into the little church on the beach – here are more photos. Looks as though some one’s been hitting the mead!! Beautiful ceiling, Julia

Steam Train leaving Kingsway station Devon. A lovely sight. Elsie

THE PHOTO OF THE MARE AND FOAL WAS TAKEN AT A LOCAL BEAUTY SPOT, IT WAS A VERY HOT DAY , BUT THE FOAL FOUND SOME SHADE!!! MARIE.

When I checked the webcams at about 8.pm last night I saw what looked like the last moments of a pair of Fox mating, they were on both webcam one and two. Did any one see any more than the last moments. It was just before they went out of view. I heard the Fox calling as I went to feed the Badgers this evening. There is a chance that it may happen again tonight.

Of an evening for the past few weeks we have had a lot of Starlings above the Farm. I should reckon there has been a thousand or maybe a little more. Don’t get to excited, it is pretty insignificant to a roost, but it is the first time that we have noticed them. So there must be more than there would normally be. I had a quick read on Starling this afternoon. Starlings do like woods, and will roost in them. We do have forty acres of wood surrounding the Farm. It is more likely that they have flown in for food, and return to a large roost. They will travel as far as twenty miles. I shouldn’t think that as the crow flies, the West Hay Starling Roost wouldn’t be much further. West Hay has a very large roost. Mind you I wouldn’t want a roost here. Neither would the local Farmer. And could you imagine how much Bird droppings there would be. I reckon it would be better to site a webcam in some one else’s back yard.

The first Snowdrops flowered here today, and the Daffodils along are driveway are coming up very fast. With the Horses being turned out until after Christmas, it seems a lot earlier. We are normally getting really fed up mucking the Horses out by this time of the year. With a bit of luck we have only a couple of months left.

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

Sorry Sue, forgot to put your word about the Greyhound. They are on now.

Hello Mr. Farmer, Here are three photos from my holiday in Cornwall in 2006. Sun setting over West Penwith. As you can see, it was quite stunning, looking almost like a fireball! Not very clear, but is in fact an owl carrying some prey – possibly a vole of mouse. Karen in Stoke asked if I went into the little church on the beach – here are some photos. 18th & 19th century graffiti? Beautiful ceiling. Looks as though some one’s been hitting the mead!! Julia.

I decided to go for a walk this morning while it was fine and I took my camera with me. The first photo is of my local church which is just 5 minutes walk from my home and the second one is of the river which is in heavy flood at the moment as you can see. The river is just across the road from the church and when it flooded last summer it actually went into the churchyard. Hope you find them interesting. Sue.

I don’t show the Doves nesting as much as maybe I should. In one place or another on the Farm you can guarantee there is a Dove nest with Chicks in. I put the webcam on that is in one of the stable blocks this afternoon, just as the Dove was moving about on the nest, revealing a newly hatched Chick.

With the Horses being stabled because of the fields being very wet, Ewy has been on her own for a week. She is normally in the Horse field, but for the past couple of days we have not seen her at all until a caught her on the webcam this afternoon. I should think that she spends a lot of her time in the woods. She knows where the Horses are as she sometimes would follow them in at feed time. When I get a bit of time I may try to catch her and put her with the rest of the Sheep in the barn.

Now that the Horses are stabled I cant see them getting turned out in to the field until the Spring. The ground is very waterlogged, not so much with heavy rain, but it is continuous drizzle, that is not giving the ground time to dry. It is also very mild. I cant remember this time of year being as mild as it is now. The way up to the Badgers feeding area are very slippery. I finished up on the ground twice tonight. The steps that my Lads dug into the very steep climb helps me a bit from slipping going to that feeding area. I don’t know if the steps will last in this weather.

There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number eleven. We are getting short of new photographs to put up.

This is Ellie when she has not been on the beach !! a little more presentable i think you will agree. Lynne.

Another Shire Horse, both photos taken at The Yorkshire Show, and some frogs for a change, Elsie.

Mr Farmer.

Here is a photo my daughter e-mailed me of her very laid back rescue Greyhound. He was a racer but after a fall broke his leg he was thrown on the scrap heap My daughter and son in law saw him at the local R.S.P.C.A. And fell in love with him . He is the biggest wimp you have ever come across. He was 18 months old when they got him. Sue.

Hello Mr. Farmer, Here is a photo from my holiday in Cornwall in 2006. A tiny church on the beach in Church Cove, near Mullion on the Lizard peninsula, Julia.

There is not a lot to tell in a Diary tonight. I have just had a quick look on the valley camera. It looks like it is chucking it down. I fact it is only a drizzle. We have not had the rain that was forecast over the past few day. Last night we had a forecast of heavy rain. When I went to check on the animals at about 9.pm the sky was completely clear. I could see every Star and the Moon. If I had realised earlier I would have put the Astro webcams on. By the time I had spent half an hour setting the telescope up, it would have been time to turn it off again.

Karen asked about Tass and Kye with the Peacock. Tass’s Mother Cass use to chase the Peacock, she was never able to get near it. I reckon that it use to torment Cass on purpose, for as soon as she got within striking distance, the Peacock would take off vertically leaving Cass within fractions of an inch from its tail.

I was the cause of Cass trying to get the Peacock. When ever I had got the Peacock a new mate I would try to catch him, to lock them in a barn together for a couple of weeks. He use to have games with me, allowing me to get within a very short distance before having it away. The only way I could catch him was to leave the dining room french doors open. The Peacock for some reason couldn’t resist going into the dining room, I was always able to catch him in there. Catching the Peacock is always a painful experience. His claws always managed to give me nasty scratches on my arms and face.

Tass from an early age use to chase the Peacock with Cass. It was probably being chased that made him stay away longer when he went on his travels. Last November he was coming back to the Farm most days. As soon as I saw him I would throw a handful of Bird seed on the ground. Most nights he is either in the tree by the Farm House, or in the Barn, roosting on the barns beams or gates. It is the weather or food that’s keeping him here. There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number eleven. We are getting short of new photographs to put up.

This is Ellie when she has not been on the beach !! a little more presentable i think you will agree. Lynne.

Another Shire Horse, both photos taken at The Yorkshire Show, and some frogs for a change, Elsie.

Hello Mr. Farmer, Here is a photo from my holiday in Cornwall in 2006. A tiny church on the beach in Church Cove, near Mullion on the Lizard peninsula, Julia.

Tass from an early age use to chase the Peacock with Cass. It was probably being chased that made him stay away longer when he went on his travels. Last November he was coming back to the Farm most days. As soon as I saw him I would throw a handful of Bird seed on the ground. Most nights he is either in the tree by the Farm House, or in the Barn, roosting on the barns beams or gates. It is the weather or food that’s keeping him here. It also helps that both Tass and Kye ignore him, so he feel safe. I should think that as soon as the weather breaks, he will be on his travels again. Unless I find him a Hen.

I have got the posts and all that is needed to start the Squirrel obstacle course. What I haven’t got at the moment is the time. I will try.

There are five new photographs on the Photo page, starting from number eleven. We are getting short of new photographs to put up.

This is Ellie when she has not been on the beach !! a little more presentable i think you will agree. Lynne.

Another Shire Horse, both photos taken at The Yorkshire Show, and some frogs for a change, Elsie.

Hello Mr. Farmer, Here is a photo from my holiday in Cornwall in 2006. A tiny church on the beach in Church Cove, near Mullion on the Lizard peninsula, Julia.

Tass from an early age use to chase the Peacock with Cass. It was probably being chased that made him stay away longer when he went on his travels. Last November he was coming back to the Farm most days. As soon as I saw him I would throw a handful of Bird seed on the ground. Most nights he is either in the tree by the Farm House, or in the Barn, roosting on the barns beams or gates. It is the weather or food that’s keeping him here. I should think that as soon as the weather breaks, he will be on his travels again. Unless I find him a Hen.

I have got the posts and all that is needed to start the Squirrel obstacle course. What I haven’t got at the moment is the time. I will try.

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

Frenchman called Christian Moullec who trained Geese to follow his microlite in order to fly South for the winter. Julia.

This is my big lump of a cat Smudge laid on my son’s knee. She loves him to bits.
Lynne.

Olden day Horse Drawn Bus advertising Morrisons. Morrisons started up their first shop in Bradford.
Shire horse displaying how they move the tree trunks in the forest. Elsie.

Evening Mr Farmer, Hope you are not too wet on the farm today, I attach (hopefully) a picture from last summer of a Hummingbird Hawk moth, it was fascinating watch it at the time, it was the first time I had ever seen one. Jan.

The area that you may have seen Lady and Willow in is the area we made for Gypsy and Willow when willow is weaned. It is about 35 feet long by fifteen feet wide, a good area for two youngsters to be together in. It is always best to let youngsters be together in the same enclosure. It teaches them to accept other Horses in confined areas, as well as sharing feed. A lot of Horses can be real mean a feeding times with both humans and other Horses. Youngsters being together learn that there is no risk to their feed from other Horses.

We have had to put Lady and Willow in the area for Gypsy and Willow as the fields are very wet, and are being poached. Other than Smuggler and Sonny all of the Horses are stabled or exercising in the corral in front of one of the stable blocks. It has meant moving Horses about during the day so that they all get time to exercise. By the middle of next week the stable that we are enlarging and the corral in front will be finished. All of the Horses will then be able to choose if they go into the stable or stay out. This is the first year that we have let them be free range in the corral in front of the stables. Even in the rain they choose to be outside. We are not complaining as the stables are easier to muck out.

I like you, enjoyed Lynne’s Squiggle story. It must have made me remember about a Jackdaw that my Cousin Desmond raised, for I woke up this morning with it on my mind. I don’t know how Desmond got the Jackdaw. Being a bit of a scaly, he could well had raided the nest that it came from. I was a school boy at the time and would visit Desmond’s Family in a small village not far from Didcot in Berkshire in the school summer holidays. Although I lived in the countryside at a very young age, my visits to my relations in Berkshire were my earliest memories of the freedom of the countryside. With living in London they were wonderful times. I should think that my memories of the visits stayed with me, and were the reason for me wanting to live in the countryside.

Desmond’s Jackdaw was meant to be kept outside in a ram shackled aviary that he had made, but he always left the aviary door open allowing the Jackdaw to get into the house. Many a morning we would be woken by the Jackdaw sitting at the end of our bed. Would Aunt Flo would let Desmond know what for. Nothing shiny could be left out in the house, for as soon as the Jackdaw caught a glance of it, it was gone, never to be seen again.

Where ever we went on our adventures, the Jackdaw would be on Desmond shoulder or flying above us. I went to a different type of school than my Cousins in Berkshire, that meant that I was still on holiday when they returned to school. The Jackdaw would always fly to school with Desmond, disappearing until home time, when he would be found waiting on the school gate to accompany Desmond home. Lynne’s story has helped to bring back very happy memories.

Tonight Diary is Lynne’s story of Squiggle the Squirrel that she raised. The first four photographs on the Photo page are of Squiggle.

Squiggle as I called him was not the first squirrel I had raised. The first lot of 5 came out of my neighbour

Farm Holiday Cottages – Fishing and Wildlife Holidays

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

There are five new photographs on the Photo page starting…

Tonight Diary is Lynne s story of Squiggle the Squirrel…