Feed the Birds

Despite the awful weather conditions we have experienced on the Hill in the past week (severe gales, lashing rain...) the garden birds have been out in full force feeding from our various seed holders, peanut boxes, fat ball feeders & bird table. Granted the gales have blown a lot of them off and we've had to launch a reconnaissance mission to retrieve them, and the bounty has fallen on the floor from the constant swinging, but the Robins, Wrens and Tits seem to love that even more, foraging on the ground for extra bits and bobs!
I only wish I could capture them on camera enjoying my garden, I can't wait until Santa has been and hopefully Mr G.T & I will be able to afford a nice SLR camera, as sadly my little point and shoot fails miserably at things like this, sigh!
So far this Autumn on our feeders we have seen;
Great Tits
Blue Tits
Goldfinch
Blackbirds
Starlings
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Dunnocks
Wrens
Robins
Chaffinch
Collared Doves
Black Redstart
and even an occasional Sparrowhawk that tries it luck at grabbing an unsuspecting bird whilst they are munching away, cunningly evil but gorgeous creature!

I am hoping my passion for wildlife and feeding my garden birds will filter through naturally to GS, he loves being picked up to peek out of the window at whats on the feeders, he even points at our newly erected bird nestbox and says "Birdies make house have babies Mummy!" awww, well that's the hope anyway son!

There are 3 important things to remember when feeding garden birds, patience (it can take a while before the birds suss out the food and make sure the area is safe for feeding before they become regular visitors) and keep feeding throughout the year, it's bad news for birds if you stop feeding in the Spring or forget one year to put them things out, once they have sourced you out as a regular pit stop they will keep coming back looking for that lovely stuff you put out, so you have to take it on as a commitment, and finally water, the need this as much as food and it's vital to have a bird bath or just a tub of water for them to drink/bathe in. The RSPB have some terrific advice on feeding and encouraging birds to come in to your garden here http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/

Stay tuned for winter bird pics hopefully after Christmas, fingers crossed!

Is Winter here?

I am not sure what day Winter officially arrives, but it's certainly got colder, wetter and darker here in the last few days. Although as you can see above, last week we had a beautiful sunny day, it was mild enough to be out without a coat on, November definitely seems to have been a milder than average month!

I am gobsmacked there is only 6 weeks left until Christmas, but thankfully I am organised this year after promising myself faithfully, and have done all of my Xmas shopping, just a few homemade items and baking left to do now, I am super chuffed with this, I am never usually this organised although in fairness the past 3 years have been very hectic around November/December so this probably is why. It seems more special this year also as it's GS' first real year of getting excited about Christmas and Santa as he is noticing all the fuss and trimmings this year already, I am hoping his meeting with Santa goes better than last year (he cried and refused to go anywhere near the grotto!) as we have a Christmas party with his toddler group planned as well as hopefully visiting here http://www.midlandrailwaycentre.co.uk/public/specialtrains.html#ttsx combining Santa and trains- I'm hoping thats going to win him over surely?!!

I've been a bit naughty really and bought quite a few non-eco/commercial plastic toys for GS' xmas presents, he has a new found love in Toy Story so a Buzz and Woody it is! Toddler boys are so tricky to actually craft things for, anyone have any ideas what I could possibly try, I'm struggling to think of anything durable and exciting enough to be suitable for him?!

Work has been quite busy lately, I have found that I have probably agreed to do too many extra hours as we have been short staffed and plenty were on offer, thankfully in the next 2 weeks it quietens off so I think I'll keep it to a few extra days a month from now on, otherwise i've found I just don't have enough time to get things done at home or my projects, not to mention spending quality time with GS, vital as we are currently potty training. I do love my job, it gives me the independent time I need to do my own thing, be a professional, help the community, but I also love being a Mummy and finding the balance isn't easy, even when you work part-time, I am incredibly lucky to have Granny Nanny here with us to take care of GS when I am at work, it does ease the guilt just a little bit.

Humbling...

I haven't posted for a while again, naughty me, my head is full of a cold at the moment so not much sense is coming out so I'll refrain from trying really.

I want to link to my dear friend Neffy's blog, http://whatneffydidnext.blogspot.com/ who is volunteering in Uganda and not only doing amazing things for such a wonderful community, but experiencing the time of her life, definitely a gripping blog to read!