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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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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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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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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My House Blessing.

It has been just over a week since my dedication- so my first thoughts of where to begin were at home. Today was a fabulous drying day- Warm Sun and a brisk breeze. So it was of with the bed sheets to wash & then dry in the wind. Opening of all windows to let the stale winter air out and the fresh spring air in. Then we cleaned the windows inside & out- what a differance. I then went round room by room with a lavender incense stick and a bowl of salt water, blessing and cleansing each room as I went. When I got up to the 1st landing there was a tiny little bird hopping around on the floor. He must have been after the spider egg nests in the outside window corners and took a wrong turn. I got down to his level to not frighten him too much- he flew onto my orchid windowsill where I gently caught him & let him out. I’m not quite sure what bird tho- nearly as small as a wren- but very good at hovering- like hummingbirds and a good wall/ tree creeper. He had yellow feathers in his tail. Anyway- I finished all the rooms and then repotted a large spikey cactus and placed him by the front door and popped a black obsidian stone in the top- all for protection and obsorbtion of negativity. That done it was time to plant Basil seeds ready to go on the front doorstep later on in the spring. Brightest Blessings.

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