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I wonder why?

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First wonder why is “Why haven’t I been on here for so long”? I have been dipping in and reading various blogs and questions, trying to keep up with how people are getting on.
Goodness knows what I have been doing, hibernating perhaps?
The weather here has been so wet, the ground, which is clay, is water-logged and it’s a battle to keep on your feet when going down to see to Boris, his girls and the remaining chickens. Only Boris and the girls don’t seem to mind, the peacocks and chickens are so fed up with the rain and soggy conditions. Now we are due a week or so of freezing conditions and cold winds – will that be better? who knows.
At least I might get on with cutting down the Hawthorn trees to make them more of a hedge. The plan is is take the majority down to about 6-7ft with odd trees left as they look so good. The hedge had some fruit trees planted very close by the previous owner and these have grown straggly and mis-shapen trying to find some light and air. The theory is if I leave the tree Hawthorns between where the fruit trees are they will get the light. The hedge should thicken up and provide nesting for smaller birds and not just for the pigeons waving about up the tops. Best laid plans of mice and men as they say. Hopefully it will get done before they all start springing into leaf, when I think I will leave for for the flowers!
The main ‘wonder why’ was about indoors.
When we were young (1950’s/60’s) we lived in a house built at the turn of the 20th century which had some floors of flagstone laid onto sand, even the parquet floor only had earth underneath. Now you could understand how there were Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) in the house there but here? We had a new extension built which involved pile-driving to about 30 ft deep, inches of concrete on a float, damp-proofing and insulation then the final floor, goodness knows how deep that lot is! So… why I wonder do I have the odd Silverfish appearing in the downstairs (I live in a bungalow but it’s always called the downstairs loo!) toilet? How did it get in and why, they like dark, damp places, this is dry, warm and new. It’s a puzzle.
On a lighter note, looking out the kitchen window to the back of the pond area I saw a movement and there was the rabbit that keeps eating all the new shoots and digging holes.

“You can’t see me, I’m hiding behind this huge stick”!

“OK, perhaps you could, but not now”

Delightful things really, but they don’t do the garden a lot of good!
Thank you for reading this far, next time I will try to include some photo’s to make it more interesting!

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Next post: What a difference a day makes! (And a picture of Boris)



Comments

 

interesting as it is HSgold :o)
love the rabbit pictures and your commentary had me laughing out loud.
as for the silverfish is there an air brick where they can get in? the feed on decaying leaf matter or starch compounds. They don't carry disease so don't worry about them. we still get woodlice in and I find them upstairs dead in the corners. they too prefer dark damp conditions, not a characteristic of the upstairs. and we never got them in my childhood home with lino and no central heating. they obviously don't read the books.

23 Feb, 2018

 

Thanks Seaburn. It is a mystery, the airbricks are under floor level so that's not it, but I don't really mind them. they are quite fascinating prehistoric creatures dashing about as if completely mindless. I too don't mind woodlice, we used to play with them when we were children, pillbugs or pigwigs that roll into a ball. It wasn't until I was grown-up that I realised there was more than one type of them. Little things amused us country children!

24 Feb, 2018

 

it still does when kids tear themselves away from tv/phones/laptops haha [city kids too]

24 Feb, 2018

 

Funny about that, I also saw a silver fish a few days ago. I haven't seen one for years but in the old days they always seemed to be on the hearth.

Lovely bunny :) I haven't seen one of those for years too.

25 Feb, 2018

 

Not at all boring Honey, I like the way you write it makes me smile, I enjoy hearing about Boris and his girls, like you I too was fedup of the warmer but very wet weather, give me days like today anytime, okay the birds water needs thawing out and the bottom pond is frozen over but its so much nicer walking around with ones feet staying dry, it always seems more normal for me for February, sounds a good plan you have for the hedgerow, bit of a tough job I would imagine though...
We used to get the Silver fish but haven't seen any in long time now, in fact I'd forgotten about them until reading this, plenty of Woodlice in the garden though, yes we had loads of fun with them, liked the way they curled into a ball when we collected them, lol.
Silly rabbit, thinks you can't see him, our westie hides behind the plum and apple trees like that, peeps around the trunk at me if she's been getting a telling off for going amongst my flowers.....

26 Feb, 2018

 

Lovely bunny as you say Hywel, but preferably not in my front garden! We have them on our field at the back, not so many now we have a new fence, but they still get in, or are perhaps living somewhere I haven't found yet. They don't do much harm up there except for trimming small hedging plants - or perhaps that's the geese?
We have had one as a permanent resident or visitor in the front garden and see baby bunnies later in the year, more to scrape and nibble my plants.

27 Feb, 2018

 

I agree about the weather Lincslass, you expect February to be cold and frozen, it's only over the past decade or so that the weather had been so mild at the start of the year.
The hedge has been put on hold (again!) as it's really too cold for me to play out there, I suppose I ought to do the odd bit and then dash indoors again, but the time taken to get everything out - extension lead for the chainsaw, ladder, loppers etc., puts me off for just the short time I would be doing it. I need a run at it!
Today we have a sprinkling of snow, not the nice fluffy stuff but the hard ball/ice type stuff. At least with the softer stuff you can see what's been wandering about in the night by the tracks they leave. Looking out the window this morning I saw a pheasant wander in the front gate, he looked spectacular, bright and colourful against the white background. We have two or three cock birds who roost in the trees here, they make such a noise when they fly in to roost that you know where they are. Don't know if we have any hen birds, whether they roost too or if they are just quieter!

27 Feb, 2018

 

Hmmm ... pretty, but I wouldn't want them in my garden either. We have fields at the back but I haven't seen any.

27 Feb, 2018

 

I had bunnies in my city garden. It's odd that we don't see any around here. Plenty of foxes and owls...maybe that's why.
i was up the hill today for a walk. the weather has turned warm and today it was balmy. While up the hill I was looking at the deadfall and wind damage over the winter...was tempted to collect the chainsaw and do some cutting and clearing. the day was just toooo nice. I'm hoping for more warmth as the trees have started their sap run. I know how it goes... so much to do and sometimes it stops you in your tracks! ...have been advised numerous times by GoY friends that the secret is "little bites"...lol. We have wild turkeys and ruffled grouse on our hill. regards to Boris and his girls. Hope the chickens, bunnies and peacocks enjoy the snow and the snow will go away quickly.

28 Feb, 2018

 

Not sure what has happened to the rabbit population Hywel. Over the past decade or so they seem to have dropped in numbers. Apparently there is a new disease called rabbit haemorrhagic disease which is just as deadly as the old myxomatosis was in the 1950's so perhaps that's why there doesn't seem to be so many about.

1 Mar, 2018

 

Hi Lori, You would think your place would be ideal for rabbits, perhaps they are just keeping a low profile. Glad you had some sunny days to remind you (and us) that Spring really is on the way. Not today though, snowing again and GB is falling apart as usual when bad weather hits. Apparently it really is a case of 'the wrong sort of snow' which is the usual excuse. All the Scandinavian countries manage to keep their road and airports open as 'their' snow is dry and dusty, whereas ours if wet and claggy! So if you scrape our snow off it just leaves residue to freeze into ice! Live and learn.
The chickens, peacocks and Guinea fowl do not appreciate the snow, the little Bantams have feathers on their legs which get clogged with snow, so it's probably like walking about with really heavy boots on. Peacocks just grump!!
Boris was not good yesterday, he is so old now and OH said he was really bad on his legs when he went to put him to bed last night, he thought his feet were just too cold! Who knows whether Geese and wildfowl feel the cold in their feet, the wild ones don't seem to bother standing about on the ice, but perhaps they fly off rather sit their fat backside down and don't move! He seems OK today, though the girls keep looking for somewhere odd to lay eggs. They have a lovely shed with loads of straw, but yesterday Lily got herself stuck behind an old window leaning up against the inside of the lean-to - goodness knows how long she had been there. Boris and Gracie were down on the field blithely ignoring the banging going on in the lean-to. Today it was Gracies turn to get stuck, she had wangled her way through some wire netting and barbed wire stacked in a heap and was completely stuck, so something else that had to be re-stacked to stop inquisitive beaks.

1 Mar, 2018

 

I hope the disease won't be too devastating for the bunnies. Poor little things :)

1 Mar, 2018

 

https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/11/dont-birds-legs-get-cold/
Poor Boris...getting old is no picnic. Interesting to read the attached little snippet telling me why bird's feet don't freeze. Wonderful adaptations.
Now I know where we got our wet sticky snow this month..it was intended for the UK. ;) Our temps are hovering around zero, which is slowing the run-off...that can't be a bad thing. It also means maple sugaring time..and that's too early.
I've seen rabbits closer to the big river but none up here in the hills... nor have I heard any locals commenting as to why that is. will have to bring it up in conversation at the market.
If the "girls" are looking for nests that's a sure sign that spring is sprung? even though you're getting snow?
We have lost a lot of snow in the bush, so if this warmth continues we shall see wildflowers soon. With all the crazy weather we've had lately, would it be too much to ask that we could have an early warm spring in 2018? I live in hope.

1 Mar, 2018

 

Well Hywel rabbits being rabbits they should be able to keep up with the death rate, or perhaps this is one disease too many. Hopefully we won't see the end of rabbits in the countryside, though goodness knows how they exist on Farmers crops that have been chemically treated to death themselves. Makes you wonder just what the long term effect will be on humans, all those chemicals, and is the amount of antibiotics they pump into farm animals the cause of humans now having problems with resistant strains and the antibiotics not working on us?

1 Mar, 2018

 

Worrying isn't it.

1 Mar, 2018

 

You are welcome to our dose of any more snow Lori, I think we have all had enough now. We got away with not much at all, but the winds were biting and worse today.
Back to the girls, OH came home and said Gracie had a cut on her foot, blood in the snow and all that, so I explained that she had got tangled in barbed wire and netting, and lo and behold there was an egg under the netting in the most stupid place ever! We have now concocted a goose lean-to inside the lean-to (!), a dark little shed full of straw, but who's going to put any money on her preferring to try to get round the back of it!

1 Mar, 2018

 

That comment about the rabbit made me smile ! It just looks so innocent, doesn't it !
I don't have any answer to your silver fish problem. We used to get them in the downstairs bathroom at Willow Cottage, but now we are in a lovely warm dry bungalow , no sign of them !

4 Mar, 2018

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