Equinox Dawn Chorus

I got up just before Sunrise- to light the equinox black & white candles- we kept them going all day and night- right through to the following dawn.

I stood in the outdoor circle that my partner created for me a few years back, barefoot in the dew and watched and listened. As the Sun was slowly rising and the birds merrily singing- I could here the newly arrived lambs bleeting in the nearby field and the water rushing over the weir at the Canal further in the distance.

Blackbirds, Thrushes, Robins, Wrens, Crows, Magpies, Coal Tits, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Green Finch, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Linnets, Starlings, Sparrows and Gold Crests- could be seen and heard- what a wonderful Dawn Chorus they made.

A wonderful beginning to the Vernal Equinox- only marred by the fact I had to work- but returned home before Sunset to carry on with the celebrations. Hope you all enjoyed the Equinox. XxX Brightest Blessings.

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Third time lucky

Well, what joy- my first 2 days of 2010 were initialy spent at work and nature decided to show its wondrous self to me. So today Sunday3rd as the family and I went for an afternoon stroll in the bright sunlit frosty air- a young adult fox appeared on the grassy path in front of us- stopped to take a sniff- then ambled off into the undergrowth. Further along on the canal siding- suddenly a Heron flew up from the bank a mere 10 feet in front of us. Very slow purposeful flight off to another less disturbed part of the canal- to carry on fishing.

I realise that we are lucky to live in this quiet rural area and should take more time to stop look and appreciate the joys of nature all around me. So much time is spent rushing from A to B- Workday/eve spent in an airconditioned stale air environment- getting stressed over trivial matters. What really matters is just being happy. My family make me happy- nature makes me happy- friends make me happy. We all need to make time to be happy.

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Magical scene on the second day of 2010.

On my journey to work just as the day was dawning- a Brindle Goat trotted along the verge- stopping every now and then to munch on the frosty grass- The God in disguise. These past 2 days have indeed been magical as nature and all its wonders are revealed. Happy Happy New year- keep looking for the magic.

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Wonderful first day of 2010.

Taken as a wonderful omen for the New Year- The Goddess showed herself to me this morning, just after sunrise. As I arrived into work- just looked out of the floor to ceiling reception window and about 3 feet in front of me was a gorgeous Hare. She looked around- stared at me for a while- twitched her nose, then hopped off across the grass- then ran at top speed back to the oak forest on the estate. It was a wonderful sight- magical indeed.

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Who needs a Chimney Sweep.

We seem to have our own natural chimney sweep- it’s called Starlings?  We have blocked the 2 fireplaces at the front of the house- only as a temporary measure as we will use them again in the winter. So they each have a huge piece of polystyrene in the main hole- which I then covered with a matching the room decor sheet of wrapping paper. So now the starlings have decided to get themselves stuck in the chimney breast and beat madly on the polystyrene to be let out. It has happened in both rooms now- so I am going to have to wait until they have finished rearing their second family and hope the teach them where not to go- before I reseal the chimney’s. I really can’t understand why a dark dank smelly and deep hole holds such fascination to them? Still so far no casualties- they have survived to tell the tale. Brightest Blessings.

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Fun In The Sun

We had another fine day in the garden today. Plenty of planting and tending. The Honeysuckle is out and smells devine. My Iris’s are nearly there and the bee’s they are a buzzing. The Starlings on the other hand are completely bonkers- if they are not trying to break their necks flying into the windows they are flying down the blocked chimneys- which then have to be unblocked to reveal very sooty birds. Oh the fun we have. Brightest Blessings.

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Out in the mid day sun.

One of the things that amaze me in Ireland are the way dogs behave. They are mainly outdoor dogs over here-very few people have house dogs. They guard their home & gardens very well- but they also chase cars. The first time we holidayed over here- I was scared we would run them over- but no – they seemed to have a nack at chasing without getting hurt. You don’t see many people walk their dogs- because they all seem to walk- run- chase for themselves. We have decided not to have one of our own- as we would have to leave it at home alone when we are at work and because we have always had dogs as part of the family- indoors with us- we would probably be seen as mad or eccentric. Brightest Blessings.

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Good Deed for the Day

It has been very warm the last few days and at work most of the Spa is Glass- which while showing lovely views of the ancient woodland and rolling fields of green- it does reflect the heat somewhat. So I opened the doors for a breeze and in flew a swallow. He got very confused trying to fly back out threw the glass windows- so a rescue was needed. We got the leaf catcher net for the pool- caught him in it and carried back outside to recover. He was promptly joined by his twittering mates and I can just imagine what they were saying. ” Anything good to eat in there” ” Anywhere decent to nest?” Brightest Blessings.

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Battle of the Birds.

It can be quite scarey in our garden- if you are a bird that is! The Starlings are trying to evict the sparrows from their nest’s. The Mistle thrush doesnt want anyone in her tree- but its where the nut feeders are. The Magpies won’t let the crows roost in their tree. The Sparrows and Blackbirds are always picking on their own kind. Then there is this mad witch throwing soggy teabags at the Starlings who are ripping up her Chamomile & Parsley to line their nests. As I am very bad at aiming- The Starlings are winning and the Parsley & Chamomile reducing by the Hour. Hey Ho- I can always plant some more once they have finished nesting- and there is only so much tea one can drink in a day. Brightest Blessings.

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Swallows and Cuckoo’s

Well it’s a real sign that spring is here and summer just around the corner. Out in the garden this morning- marveling at the beautifull rainbow colours of the dew drops on the lawn- I heard the first Cuckoo call of the year.  I have also noticed the Swallows are returning after their epic journey form Africa. It’s always a wonderful sight- and a joy to hear them twittering on the telephone wire that leads from our bedroom to the telegraph pole out the front of house. Brightest Blessings.

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Mistle Thrush.

We are so blessed with allsorts of birds in our garden. This year we have a new comer- The mistle thrush- so much bigger than the song thrush with beautifull markings and they are very feisty too- seeing of the Magpies. We have Gold crest- Blue tits- Coal tits- Great tits- Sparrows- Starlings- Robins- Wrens- Magpies- Blackbirds- Song thrush- Mistle Thrush- Wood Pigeons- Crows. Then of course the ones that are not in the garden, but regularly fly by- Swans- Herons- Buzzards ( only a few) – Geese. Yes we are blessed indeed. Brightest Blessings.

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One at a time please

We have 3 differant kinds of bird baths in the garden- all in differant areas- for the differant birds. The tall one is under the tree with the nut feeders and fat balls. The smaller birds tend to use this one like the sparrows and tits. The shallow but very wide terracotta dish amid the herb patch is where the wrens & robins tend to go. Under the old twisted apple tree is an upsidedown bin lid- this is where the Blackbirds go- and they queue up in the tree above- it is quite amusing watching all the differant birds and their preferences. Brightest Blessings.

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Wagtail goes nuts at Red Squirrel

Why is it you never have your camera to hand when you need it. Today at work, I just glanced out of the the large floor to ceiling window of my reception area to see a Red squirrel running like crazy to get away from a mad wagtail- which seemed hell bent on chasing it around for whatever reason. I can only assume the squirrel must have been searching for food and strayed  too close to the Wagtails nest! We watched the chase for a good few minutes as the confused squirrel forgot how to get out of the courtyard and back to the woods. Eventually he found his way and shot of leaving the Wagtail- pipping & wagging furiously. It was all quite amusing. Brightest Blessings.

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The Evil Weevil

Well- here we are again- the battle of the Vine Weevil and my prized Heuchera’s. Last year it was 4-1 to me and it appears to be 4-2 to them this year. I decided to have a good look at my Heuchera’s- pull off the old leaves- change the soil and feed them up for a good show. Only to find the Weevil larvae have been happily munching thru them just below soil root & stem. I am livid and obviously need to take some drastic action. All the old soil has been deposited into the unused field next door and all plants inspected and broken down into smaller unaffected plants. Now I just need to get hold of some nematoads to organically sort these little critters out. Anyone else have any ideas to save this happening next year- other than no more heuchera’s? Brightest Blessings.

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Darling Starlings

Its the time of year for the Starlings to nest & nuzzle, You can tell by the bird poop all over the cars. We have the same thing every year and probably the same pairs too. They rustle about very early in the morning ( Waking us up). They rustle about at night (getting comfy for a snooze)and keeping me awake. But this year is the first time we have noticed them throwing out other Starlings eggs. Apparently this is quite normal behaviour for some females- They lay an egg in a hosts nest and take one of the hosts out. We have found 3 to date, which have been dropped on the lawn- unbroken. Seems sad but they are too cold for us to try to incubate though my little son wants to try. Such is nature. Brightest Blessings.

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