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Thornton has decided for a few weeks that he wants…

Thornton has decided for a few weeks that he wants to be a Sheep. It started over the Winter when he lived in the Farm House and decided that he would take control of his treats. He would head butt the kitchen cupboard door that his treats were behind. If whilst I was outside he fancied something he would head butt the door until it opened, pulling all of the cupboard contents out hoping he would find what he wanted. It happened so many times in the end Thornton had to be banished out into the Barn with the other Sheep. Not in the pen I should hasten to add, Thornton would have none of that, he had his freedom but would sleep next to the pen near the other Sheep. Come shearing time when the Sheep were let out into the Field Thornton followed and has stayed there ever since. He comes to the gate now and then but never wants to come out of the Field. How long that will last we will just have to wait and see.

The Sheep are in the Horse Field that we have now had fenced. They are now unable to free range and cause problems for neighbours, although Ewy and her followers have not been seen for a good while. We attempted to get them in to be sheared but Ewy has made them wild and they were not for catching.

The Cider Press arrived from France a few weeks ago. It would have been a duel purpose press for both apples and grapes for wine. It is an imposing piece of antique machinery, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was working through the French Revolution. I purchased it from Kevin an Englishman who live just outside Mayenne. He estimated it weight to be a quarter of a tonne. Did he get that wrong. A transit type vehicle collected the press and when it arrived at Denbury the wheel arches of the van were all but touching the wheels where it was so heavy. It had to be dismantled for transporting because of its size. The three main pieces weighed nearly a quarter of a tonne each. I reckon its weight to be over a tonne, and was it a struggle to get it unloaded from the van. On Monday it was reassembled and that was a major operation because of the weight of the press. It now stands in our Farm Yard. The intention is to put it into a Barn, but because of the construction of the press it wont go in without a wall being taken down and rebuilt. Not a major problem as the wall in question is in a scruffy state and needs desperately to be rebuilt and has been so before we moved into Denbury. I hope to be making Cider this year, but i will have to wait and see.

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There are 15 new photographs on the Gallery 1 Thornton…

There are 15 new photographs on the Gallery.

1. Thornton nephew or niece. Haven’t checked yet.

2. Thornton with the same neck markings. Vicky

3 to 7 Ducks. Lynne

8 to 10 Barn Owls. Simon

11 to 13 Our Geese on the Lake from last year. Vicky. Sent in so that I can see if they are last years. That your job on the 17th.

14 – 15 The Taunton Starling roost. Must admit although I promised I forgot. When I realised I asked a couple of Businesses that I know on the industrial estate if I could install a camera using there computer. They wouldn’t have none of it. There are flats that overlook the roost @I will knock and ask a couple of people. They may just think that I am not the ticket.

Also not done on purpose, all the photographs were sent in by people who have holidayed at Denbury other than Lynne. Lynne is coming this year as are the others on return visits.

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Some of you may have noticed that the Barn Owl…

Some of you may have noticed that the Barn Owl nest cam has sound. As soon as the Owls have laid their eggs we could see them in colour.

It was a bit of a surprise seeing a Lamb this morning, more so as I only mentioned in Tuesdays Diary that I did not expect any until Easter time. It was Thornton’s Sister who gave birth. The Lamb has the same markings as Thornton when he was born having a brown ring around his neck. I am sure Vicky will have a photograph of Thornton with the same marking. When she reads this she will send it in and I will take a photograph tomorrow and do a full page of new photographs including Thornton.

Ramsden nearly finished up the same way as our last Ram (Ramsden) did. We found him being mauled by Branston this morning. If we did not see him doing it when we did the Ram would have been dead. Branston had him on the ground and was stamping on him. After we got Branston away it took Ramsden a while to get up and he didn’t look to good. Eventually he managed to walk but he has hurt on of his back legs. Nothing to serious but giving him a limp. It must be something to do with Rams that Brandston does not like for we not realise that he must have killed our last Ram. The Ram is being a bit of a pain by getting out of the penned area by jumping over the top of the gates. He is getting very good at getting out. First he was head butting a tied up gate and breaking the hay ties that it was tied with. Not an easy thing to do. We used a much stronger cord to tie the gate, but that only made him more determined to get out and when the cord didn’t break over the gate he jumped. We raised the gates but he just jumped higher. He is back in the pen tonight. I shouldn’t think he will be able to jump much tonight.

The Canada Geese are on the Lake more than they are not, so it is looking promising. Our domestic Geese have started to lay so the Canada cant be far from laying.

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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.

Some fungi pictures for Jordan . Let me know what he identifies them as. All take next to the ranger station at Roche A Cri State Park , Adams-Friendship , Wisconsin , under some red pines. Penny, Chicago Chicago Chicago

I had hoped that the Northern Lights webcam would have been up and running by now. We are getting a very good picture from Iceland, but we are waiting for the Hotels web designer to send us a page of their website so that we can put the webcam screen into it and get the webcam on our servers. At the moment the webcam image is on the Hotels server, If more than a couple of viewer watch it the server will fail and stop the Hotels website from appearing. I spoke to Bjorn the Hotel Manager just before 7 pm this evening, he is going to try to hurry the page along.

There is still no positive news on the Black Swan Pen. It looks as if it is going to be a long time before she returns.

At last we have made our hay with no help at all from the Met Office. They must be crowing to themselves with getting the forecast right for the past week or so. Mind you it is not rocket science to see that there is clear skies from a satellite. That wouldn’t be a bad idea if we were able to see the live satellite images. They would be able to close the Met Office and sack all their employees.

The work is now finished in stopping the erosion that was threatening the Lake. The person who has been doing it has done a good and tidy job. Just after Christmas we will need to plant a lot of willow shoots in the the repaired bank. It wont take long for a good root structure to form and secure the bank for a long time.

Last night at about 8.pm I checked the Valley webcam and saw that Thornton was on his own without any signs of the other Sheep. He was heading down the Valley towards the Woods. Not a good place for Thornton to be going, as Thornton really hasn’t any Sheep sense. That is why he gets parted from the other Sheep. He has a habit of going into a deep sleep. Trouble was when he wakes he is on his own not knowing what way the Sheep have gone. We had no option but to go and get him. Thornton was having none of it, he had me running here there and everywhere. When I finally managed to get hold of him I was exhausted in pain after falling flat out and Thornton wasn’t helping. He wasn’t wanting to go the way I wanted him to go, so I needed to put him across my shoulders. I managed to get a couple of hundred yards but he was to heavy for me to go any further. With help including Jean one of last weeks Holiday Guests in holding him down I went and got our car and drove into the Valley Field to collect him. He soon settled down in the Farm House and has been about the Farm Yard all day. I should think that he will go back with the Sheep when they come back. Well at least until it starts raining.

Julia and Chris arrived for there Holiday this afternoon. They are still keen to feed the Badgers whilst they are here. I wont be complaining. I will show them what to do tonight and leave them to do the feeding for a whole week.

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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.

Barn owl with vole. Janette

Moss – the European Eagle Owl. We thought he looked like a samurai warrior! Janette

Moss in close-up. Janette

Chocolate

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Starting from number one there are five new photographs on…

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

Satara Dam at Sunset Kruger National Park

Spotted Eagle Owl we spotted on a night drive several years ago, just sat in the tree staring at us. Claire – Devon

This is a picture taken at Millennium Park , Chicago Illinois , where they have a garden with native Illinois prairie plants, and the buildings on Michigan Avenue in the background. The pedestrian bridge that is visible goes from the Park to the new Modern Wing of the Art Institute. Penny, Chicago Chicago Chicago.

Cardinal in Edwards Gardens – Rosie’s Mum

Old graveyard in Edwards Gardens now fenced off. This is a private graveyard and family still visit the graves. The family gave the land to the city and is a very popular park. – Rosie’s Mum

A couple of you have asked about Thornton. Just recently he has been staying in off a night. I think it may well be something to do with the weather we have been having. He went out early this morning knocking on the Cottages doors in the hope that he will get treats. He normally does. Thornton knocking on the doors does at times give us a problem. This afternoon I went to tell one of our Holiday Guests what time they should go the the Badger hide. I needed to knock a few times. When the door was eventually open our Guest hadn’t open the door as they believed it was Thornton.

We have repaired the Horse Field fence trying to keep the Sheep out. The Sheep worked out how to get in to the Field. As clever as Thornton is, he hasn’t. That may also be a reason for him coming in the Farm House of a night. He was in early this afternoon, probably as it was raining very hard. He doesn’t need to knock on the Farm House Kitchen door as he reaches up the door handle and pushes the door open.

Nearly finished getting the secret camera ready to send to ???????. This webcam only needs to be a static camera with a very wide lens. The housing it needs to be in also has to be heated. I am hoping to sent it before the end of the week to the location.

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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 Bantams in their new house deciding if they have the courage to come out.

Thornton trying to encourage them.

Thornton wondering in amazement whats that.

The Geese were even more amazed.

The Bantams finally picked up the courage.

I either was to late in taking photographs or didn’t have the camera when we put the Bantams into their new home. The Dogs could not believe their eyes, but by the time I had gone in the Farm House for the camera something else had attracted them. Thornton could not keep his eyes off of the Bantams and sat by the Ark for well over an hour as if he was guarding the Bantams. I missed a great photograph of the Leghorn Chicken inspecting her close relatives and although I got a camera to get a photograph of the Geese being nosey they were walking away as I photographed them.

Thornton may have decided that he has had enough of being a full time Sheep as for the past two nights he has knocked on the door to come in. Once in he make sure that he is in for the night by going down a dead end passage and hiding himself. As he hears us going up for the night he show himself so that he can sleep in the kitchen with the Dogs. We haven’t allowed that until the past two nights just in case the Dogs decide that Thornton would make a good meal but they have all been alright with no noise. In the morning as we come down the stairs the three heads are waiting for us. Last night Thornton didn’t come in until well past 10.pm after the door had been locked. We heard a knocking but have thought that the Dogs had knocked something. Did Thornton protest and bang to let us know he was waiting to come in.

Our Holiday guests have also started to have a morning visit from Thornton again. Since he has been hanging out all day and night with the Sheep he has only occasionally been visiting, but for the past two mornings he has been knocking at the cottage doors in the hope of a biscuit or two.

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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.

If it had not been for two of our Holiday Guests and Wendy having taken photographs whilst the Sheep were being sheared there would not have been a today Photograph of Thornton before shearing or the shearing in progress as I had lost the photographs that I had taken when I thought I had down loaded them.

Thornton before his hair cut. His long fleece was making him very uncomfortable. Lorraine.

Thornton’s turn, little undignified. Wendy.

Shock and horror. Is it Thornton.

Thornton going off with his mates.

Ewy with her two Lambs after the remainder of her fleece being removed. There wasn’t a lot left to take off.

After going through my previous years diaries I found the phone number of Alex the person who has done our Sheep Shearing in the past. He is very good and competes in shearing contests at County Shows. He came early this morning and with his Sheep dog got our Sheep into the holding pen we had put up. His dog soon rounded the Sheep up in the Horse Field and pushed them into the direction of the pen. The Sheep decided they were not going to go in the pen on the first try. Mind you that was my fault as I had decided to get my camera from the Farm House to get the photographs and there was no one to stop the Sheep from taking the only route to freedom. The second attempt with the help of a couple our Holidays Guests was successful. One of the Ewes made a dash for freedom, as she was loosing her fleece naturally it wasn’t that important that she was sheared. We also managed to get Ewy captured. Most of her fleece had naturally fallen but there was still a bit to come off. Thornton followed into the pen not knowing what was going to happen.

From the pen we had made the Sheep were put into the shearing holding trailer pen that Alex had come with. The Sheep were all cramped in tight so as to make it easier to catch them when it was their turn for shearing. Alex was very fast shearing. It took him less time to shear our eleven Sheep than it had taken to round them up. Thornton didn’t protest like we thought that he may have done, he was very good and I should think feels a lot cooler no that his fleece has gone. He looks a little flea bitten but should look better in a few weeks time.

Tass and Kye cant make out what has happened to Thornton. They are constantly going up to him and sniffing around him in amazement.

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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.

A footpath called the Devil’s Back-bone named by the shape of the path, linking South hinksey to New Hinsey near Oxford. Clive.

Grandpont nature reserve, this used to be the site of the old Oxford gas-works. Clive.

Railway bridge over the Thames at Osney with “boneys” footbridge in the back ground. Clive.

Narrow boat on the Thames at Osney with the old power station in the back ground. Clive.

Horse Chestnut Tree on the tow-path at Iffley. Clive.

As I was on my way to feed the Badgers last evening one of last years Cubs was walking towards me about 30 yards away. He was probably making his way back to the Sett in time for the food that I put down and would have turned onto the path towards the Sett before we go near to each other. It must have been in a world of its own as he was walking quite slowly. We both got to the path towards the Sett at the same time, and the youngster still had not seen me. Another youngster was also on the path at the turn, so it was a three way meeting with us all being within 4 feet of each other. The Badger on the path knew who I was there and unhurriedly knowing turned towards the Sett. It was then that the first Badger saw me. I have never seen a Badger move so fast. It spun around and was a distant blob in under 2 second.

The second Badger that was on the path is one that waits for me to feed them most evenings. As I climb over the gate it is waiting within a few feet of me and follows me just out of sight of the camera and appears close to the Sett entrance when I put the feed down.

Elsie want to know about Thornton. Thornton is spending some time with the Sheep. After breakfast Thornton goes to the Holiday Cottages on the scrounge. If he can scrounge enough he will hang around, if not he joins the Sheep in the Horse Field. He has a couple of favorites that he is with more than the others. He is fascinated with the Lambs and the Lambs with Thornton. The other evening whilst we were fencing to keep the Sheep in the Horse Field we saw Thornton laying with the Sheep surrounded by the Lambs. Thornton doesn’t want to be a Sheep full time. He can always be found of an evening close to the Field Gate waiting to be called for his dinner. After dinner he settle himself in his sleeping place.

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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.

DAVE LEFT THE DOOR OPEN ON THE GREENHOUSE AND THE SQUIRREL THOUGHT IF IT HID WE MIGHT LEAVE IT IN THERE WITH ALL THE BIRD FOOD !! LYNNE

ALL TAKEN IN MY GARDEN THIS WEEK. LYNNE.

Quite a lot of Swallows returned to Denbury on Thursday, going in and out of the Barns busily repairing their last years nests or making new ones.

I have been working around the Lake today increasing the height of the electric fence to protect the Geese from what ever has been killing them. If what I am doing this year does not protect them there will be nothing else that I can do other than put a six foot fence all around the Lake. Unfortunately that will cost to much. Whilst working around the Lake I have been watching the Swallows skimming the Lake to catch their food.

Thornton after visiting the Holiday Cottages to see what treats he can scrounge is spending most of the rest of the day in the Horse Field with the Sheep and Lambs, returning to the Farm House as the night draws in. He is not getting chased away as much as he was when he first started to mix with the Sheep. Just now and then a Ewe if one is about will give him a little nudge if she thinks Thornton is to near her Lambs. I think that the Lambs are what is fascinating Thornton, for he is always getting close to them. He may well decide that he want to be a Sheep, We cant see it as he likes his home comforts to much. Thornton does not like the rain, that will be when we will know if he want to be a Sheep if he stays out with them in the rain.

The Diary is late as Thornton had followed the Sheep into the Woods. We went to make sure that he was alright. If he had of been we would have left him. But he could not find his way out of the Woods. As soon as he heard us he called out and tried to get back into the Field. We needed to show him the way. As soon as he was in the Field he gave a skip and a jump and ran back as fast as he could to the Farm House. He does like his home comforts. Better than a dark cold Wood.