Hobbies and Crafts

Oh even more keen to visit now Jane. Hopefully won't be too long before we get there.

Ann the South Bound Gloucester Services are much nicer than Northbound.MUCH BIGGER Butchers dept..Huge in fact :-D.My Sister who is in Tewkesbury has been there a few times.I wish I was heading south again as I would certainly be stopping off there again :-D.Love the design of the place too.No KFC,Burge* Kin*s,or tat.Up market services :-D :-DI wish more were like that..Plus the loos were fantastic.There was even a shower !!.All clean as a whistle.
Yes I love the Barbican too.I spent many an evening down there back in my nursing days.My friend's parents had a very modern flat in Sutton Harbour there so I would stay there and we would often roll in in the early hours :-D..Happy Days :-D ;-)

Glad you had a good time Jane and I hope Maryanna has a safe journey back.

I have only seen firecrests on that one occasion and OH and I spent a long time with the books deciding whether they were firecrests or goldcrests. I remember being surprised at how tiny they were.

If you are interested there is quite a good little video of both birds on

www.bto.org/about birds/bird-id

EDIT. Mistyped web address. Now corrected

Jane I envy you your trip, love the Barbican, we were last there about three years ago and saw a change in it then, a bit more touristy but very attractive and seemed to be thriving.

The Motorway services are great for the butchers, lovely sausages if you don't mind paying a bit more and traceable meat sources. Haven't been to the Southbound one yet as it has only just opened, want to call in there though as they have a fishmonger. We pass them when we go to one of the garden centres which is off junction 12 just after the services heading south. We join the M5 at J 11a

Maryanna, hope you had a good journey, we can tell you enjoyed your break, soon goes doesn't it?

Kandj Aaw poor little bird. I usually put on gardening gloves and then have no trouble picking them up, but a shovel, if you don't like it, is fine as is the dustbin which is where I would deposit any bodies.

Vera I have never seen a firecrest either, must look them up.

I expect Maryanna will be on her way home now.Hope she has a safe journey.It sounds as though she has had a lovely holiday.

Oh dear Kandj.I hate it when the birds fly into the windows.I dread looking out to see what might be lying on the ground.They usually break their necks I think.But sometimes after just lying there they can recover and fly off.

I don't think I have seen Firecrests before Vera.Are they common birds?

Love Snow Angels.It describes the pattern left on the windows perfectly.Usually ours will be Woodpidgeon.

Ann we stayed in the chalet over looking Bovisand,just around the headland from my home village of Wembury.
One of the reasons for going was to have a clean and tidy of my my parents grave .I haven't been down there for about 7 years as it is so far and I have no family left in Plymouth now.But I did go and see an old family friend who had been my `Primary school teacher.She is now aged 96 and is housebound.Her sight is almost gone now and she is quite frail (has cares 3 times a day).But my goodness her memory is amazing.It was a lovely visit ,but rather sad leaving as I doubt very much I will get to see her again.I always visited a good old friend who used to be the Cook (at the big house) when I was a Childrens Nanny back in the 70's.She is 78 now and as lively as a kitten lol.She is a scream .I always say she is a female equivalent of Paul O'Grady :-D.
He has his liverpool accent likes a swear word or two loves his animals and says just what he thinks.My friend Margaret has her Cornish accent ,swears,loves her dog etc etc :-D.We keep in touch regularly on the phone.
I didn't go into Plymouth City Centre (the shops) but we did go down to the Barbican for a potter about and some lovely Fish and Chips.My Daughter (32) wanted to go back the The Shell Shop where she loved to go when she was little .But shock ,horror it has now shut and is going to be a restaurant.The Barbican has changed a fair bit over the last few years with lots more eateries and little shops.I think now Plymouth has a University ,this has made a huge difference.
It was just so nice to be by the sea .I miss it so much .I live about as far away as you can be now from the coast :-S

Ann I stopped off at that new Services on the M5(Gloucester )..What an amazing place !!!.I spent a fair bit on the Butchers Dept,some nice bread,and some fancy drizzle oils :-D.

I feel for you kandj. I am a wuss as well where birds are concerned. I once stood guard over an injured thrush for nearly two hours till OH arrived home because I couldn't handle it but I couldn't leave it to be mauled by cats.

I've never heard the expression Snow Angels before. Does it refer to the outline left when a bird flies into glass? It always amazes me how big the outline looks and how detailed the markings are.

We once came home to find two tiny, colourful dead birds under the window. I had to look in the bird book to find out what they were. They were firecrests. I wish I could have seen them alive.

was sort of listening to a radio program yesterday,

started off somewhere in Bedfordshire a group of "mature women" formed a birdwatching / outdoor group, and called themselves "The Old Birds"

Interesting what they got up to.........where they went.........what they saw/ heard......

Bob

I guess that pigeons and the like are slower moving(for their size) and can take some kind of avoiding action at the last moment............we often have "SNOW ANGELS " on our patio doors......but the smaller ones DO seem to come off worst...

Sadly not the case here today Bob. Not a stunned sparrow, but very definitely a very dead bird poor thing.

Sad we get that happening with pigeons, and collared doves........... sometimes they are just a bit stunned......

.Glad that you enjoyed special time with your daughter Jane, nice to have you back.

This morning I was in the kitchen and hubby sat in the lounge. We heard a loud bang and both wondered what was the cause??? I went outside and sadly I spotted a dead sparrow laying on the drive underneath the kitchen window. It had obviously flown into our kitchen window, poor thing. I cringed when I saw this bird laying there!

Being the wuss that I am, and hubby not able to sort the poor thing, it was left to me to get rid of this little dead creature. As it was dustbin day I had thought that I could ask the man to pick up the dead bird and dispose if of it but they were very late today and I needed to get the courage to deal with this situation myself............. HELP!!!!!
I plucked up the courage and unlocked the garage and got the long garden shovel and garden brush......... with almost closed eyes...... I brushed the poor adult sparrow onto the long handled garden shovel and put the dead bird in the dustbin which was emptied by the Council workers within the hour. It is not something that I would chose to do but sometimes needs must!! I just hope and pray that no other poor birds will fly into our kitchen window and need me to remove their remains!!!
This is not something that I would choose to do, but I have no choice right now.

Just packing our bags ready to leave in the morning.

Spent today in Glasgow, an interesting city, we loved the Peoples Palace in the Winter Gardens, my idea of a proper conservatory !!! We also had a look round the Council building, absolutely amazing mosaic ceiling and huge wooden and marble pillars and statues, extremely grand and impressive.

It has been a day of contrast, either very warm or bucketing down, it is clearing at the moment and the peak opposite, that has been hidden most of the day is starting to appear again although at present it is wearing a scarf of cloud. Can't get over how light it still is at gone 10pm, it's going to seem so dark when we get home to the Deep South !!!

We saw some Roe deer earlier and there were some feral goats on the loch shore.
We also seem to have Swallows nesting in the eaves above us.

M.

Hi Jane, so pleased you enjoyed the break with your daughter. where was the chalet situated. did you get to visit relatives or friends there. The trouble with that is it seems to take all your time running around seeing people so I hope you were also able to get around to see places that you like. Did you go to Plymouth? Last time we went we hadn't been for a while and we saw a lot of changes. I can remember the first time I saw Plymouth, 1957, so still bomb damage, certainly changed since then. Although we were regular visitors until 1981 when OH's Dad died, not had a lot of reason to visit since. Although we have been back. I love the city. :-)

Have you still got the cat? Hope it isn't a bird chaser. :-) :-)

Maryanna ,it sounds like you are having a wonderful time.
I had a lovely few days with my daughter in Plymouth.The views from the chalet were just stunning.Especially the sunsets.
Back home now to find we seem to have been adopted by a handsome little Black and white cat.Have taken it to the vet today to see if it is chipped.But it isn't.it is a neutered male 3-4 years old and really healthy.So we will look after it until we find out where it comes from .Failing that it will be my new pet :-D :-D
Just got to keep it from jumping on the kitchen worktops!! :-S

So pleased that the sun has shone on you today. Upside down world, it has been cloudy all day here. We went to an enormous flea fair, had fun looking round but all we bought were some bean plants, three petunias, a pork pie for OH and a pill box to go in the drawer for daughter's Christmas present bag. She collects them. Only a cheap one but quite pretty.

Changed the pic as the sun has been out all day.

Just came back from a tour of the loch, stopped at Loch Lomond Shores, a shopping complex right on the loch with all sorts of water sports going on and a Sealife Centre.

Lovely, didn't see much wildlife, some Buzzards a fox and a Hare.

M.

Maryanna, hope your time in Scotland is a good one for you and your OH. Yes, an awful shock for us all reading about lovely Dizzi. She will certainly be missed on Genes

Hope also that Jane and daughter are having a nice little break in Devon.

Vera, I agree that the Starlings are very greedy, they are also very aggressive too.

Lovely to see all the young birds now. Just had to sweep up bird seeds yet again.
Not sure who is guilty of throwing the seeds out of the window feeder...I am not amused.

Maryanna, how lovely, have a great time and I hope the weather improves/stays dry for you. We did a distillery trip in that area, good for me as I drink whisky but not for OH as he doesn't, he enjoyed the trip round though as it was interesting. Enjoy yourself and I hope the foos is good. :-) :-)

Well, we are here, hotel is right on the shore of Loch Lomond.

Weather is not too bad although it did decide to rain when we went for an explore earlier. I didn't bring my GHDs either. Hair will look like a haystack by tomorrow.

Hotel is fine, could do with a lick of paint and an update but our room is huge and we have a lovely view of the loch.

Have some nice trips planned including a cruise, a distillery trip ( of course ) and a day in Glasgow.

The trees and plants are a good few weeks behind us.

Haven't seen much in the way of wildlife apart from a few gulls and geese.

Was so sad to log in last night and read the sad news about Dizzi.

Bob, I've just opened up GR to post that I had at long last discovered the way to see your pictures without signing in between each one, and there is your post telling me how to do it. Thanks for taking the time to tell me. I don't know why I didn't discover it earlier - I guess I'm just a bit thick.

Lovely to see how the little birds have developed from hatching to fledging. Thanks for posting the pics.

There was such a racket in the garden just now. When I looked out there were loads of starlings all trying to get at the home made fat cake. A few adults and lots of young birds. Most of the youngsters were picking up bits from the grass under the feeder but one little fluffy one was perched very precariously on the top of the feeder and mum was picking bits out and feeding them to the babe. I watched them for a few minutes and it was lovely to see, even though starlings drive me mad.

Just looked out of the window again and the fat cake has completely gone!! The ones I make are about 6 inches square and a couple of inches deep and they fit perfectly into a wire mesh feeder we have. I have two more in the freezer but I am not sure I can afford to give them a couple of cakes a day. Sometimes I think I am spending more on the cat and the birds than on us but it's worth it for their entertainment value :-D