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| << April 2024 | May 2024 | June 2024 >> |
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1st: Thistles We have, over the years, dug up and cut back a lot of thistles! They have their place and sadly, that's not everywhere. BUT where we can, we leave them as they are great for insect life. One year, in the outer hedgerow between us and Edward, we were treated to the sight of Painted Ladies in their scores, alongside Tortoiseshell and Peacock butterflies, all feeding on the bright purple flowers of the Marsh thistle. This one is a Spear thistle - most aptly named. And who knew there were so many sorts. We also have Creeping thistles on our land too. There are apparently 14 different types in the UK!  |
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2nd: Communal pond drinking! Learning from our elders that it's better to drink from it, rather than trying to swim in it!!  |
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3rd: Home, safe and sound Thanks to Gloria and Phil, who kindly donated a no-longer-used car dog cage, Roxy and Sparrow had a comfortable and safe journey to Bristol for their eye tests today. We heard not a peep from them.  |
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4th: In the garden A huge advantage to having to take the puppies out a lot is being able to get a fair bit of gardening done whilst they are running around exploring. We are slowly reclaiming the gravel path and trying to get the odd border or two nettle free! We also get time to walk around and see what is emerging and growing as the weather (fingers crossed) continues to improve and get a lot warmer. The crab apple is just magnificent this year and today in the sunshine has been so full of bees.      |
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5th: Bees Whenever we look through into our Bee area, we think how amazing it is that we have two hives (belonging to Lynda and Andrew) full of thousands of bees, bees that spend their days making our gardens look beautiful (and productive) thanks to their pollination skills. They really are an extraordinary species.  |
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6th: Our trees are growing As detailed last month, we planted over 250 whips in our bottom 'Oak' field. The whole of this three acre field, is now being 'given' back to the wildlife (whilst our twelve sheep, goats and alpacas get to enjoy the remain seven acres - poor things 🤣). What a joy today, in the glorious sunshine, to photograph the emerging leaves of oak, hornbeam and sweet chestnut. The dandelion (such an under-rated wild flower) is there to balance the numbers... So excited to watch this field develop over the forthcoming years and to record all the plant and animal life that makes it their home.     |
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7th: At last At last we have spotted our first 'natural' oaks growing in Oak field. We see them every year but because we have had stock grazing in this field, they never normally get a chance to grow. Now we are rewilding, we are going to follow their progress with interest. These are just three, but we hope to spot more.   |
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8th: European Hornet Our first sighting this year!!! Scarier than wasps due to their size but far less likely to sting you!!!  |
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9th: The many faces of Chips!!     |
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10th: Redwing amongst the buttercups!! |
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11th: Clover, Vanilla and Oats Now over a year old and looking good! We still haven't decided whether to breed these girls this year and so have kids in Spring 24 and then go on to make cheese. We will decide over the summer - maybe!!  |
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12th: Hedgerows Red Campion and Greater Stitchwort are filling our hedgerows at the moment - we have never seem them in these numbers before. They are a pleasure to view every day as we walk round with the dogs!!   |
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13th: Bad hair day 🥰  |
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15th: Hilarious and cute One up and one down each time we took the shot! Kite is on the right and Redwing the left.   |
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16th: Taking over In the absence of poultry, the Poultry Paddock is being taken over by Lady's Smock and Buttercups - fine by us (and the wildlife no doubt).  |
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17th: The return of the sunset With the weather improving massively, we have once again been treated to the most amazing sunsets! They never, ever, fail to impress.  |
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18th: Another good year for soft fruit, we hope The allotment hasn't quite been getting the attention it was getting this time last year (from our families), but we are keeping on top of our fruit areas. The raspberries are all starting to grow very vigorously and there is masses of young fruit on the currant bushes. AND it looks as though we might be picking some of our own rhubarb this year at last!   |
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19th: The Garden Each year, we seem to be getting a little more on top of the garden. For many of the 'cultivated' plants it really is sink or swim as they have to compete with the huge variety of 'native' plants that also like living here. We leave huge numbers of the later around the edges where we can but there are always borders where we slightly despair at the numbers of nettles and docks that keep coming back. Still, it doesn't look too bad and as it has to deal with the rampaging antics of thirteen dogs and cats, it's never going to look pristine. We love it though. (And look, we did finish tidying that gravel path).     |
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20th: Oak Field Views of Oak field this week - it is 100% our favourite field. The rewilding is going well and every day we find something new to be excited about: a new plant, a new plant in flower, another oak seedling appearing... we love seeing it from so many different angles and perspectives. We so hope we are still here in another 10/20 years to see how it develops!!     |
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21st: Colours and warmth The moor was so warm today - we wore single layers for the first time this year! Bliss. And back home, the buttercups just shone in all that sunshine and heat! Every time we walk through the Gathering Area where these flowers are, we cannot but help feel uplifted!   |
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22nd: May Bugs Scary little b******, or rather big ones, but fascinating. This one spent the night in the dog room after getting stuck in there close of play last night, and a certain person (!!!) being too scared to try to get it out. It was great to find it alive this morning and in a dopey enough state to be carried outside, put on a plant and then photographed. Devon is supposedly meant to have extra high numbers of these this month but not sure we have seen any more than normal. They usually appear round the dog room lights at bedtime, which doesn't bother the dogs a jot - unlike the humans!!   |
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23rd: Not so scary We love toads. We love everything about them: their latin name: bufo bufo; their rather proud if not grumpy faces; the fact they cleverly exude a toxic substance to stop other animals eating them; the fact they are so slow when they walk but can actually jump quite long distances at some speed... This chap, a youngster from last year probably was stuck in a feeding trough so we rescued him, snapped a few shots and then sent him on his/her way.     |
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24th: Insect life is really starting... On the left a German Scorpion fly - never heard of them till we saw this one but they seem quite common in Oak field at the moment and on the right a Green-veined butterfly.. The grass is very long in Oak field just now so we hope for lots more invertebrate sightings as the summer progresses.   |
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25th: Hunt the kibble - with an extra set of paws.... |
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27th: Granddaughter and Grandmother: Kite and Roxy  |
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28th: Heath Spotted Orchid One of several found growing on the Moor today! AND after a bit of research, I found somewhere that (legally) grows them and sells them as plants. We were advised when we asked about introducing orchids on our land to find out what grows locally and to opt for those: sound advice and so this is what we are doing!  |
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29th: Mum and daughters: Kite, Redwing and Sparrow |
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31st: Running free!! The Irish doing what Irish do best: running through our fields. ❤❤ Firefly, coming up for nine this year and Otter two and a half.  |