Hello Dear Reader,
I would have liked to have joined in with Amy's "Five on Friday" (At Love Made my Home), but somehow I wasn't ready in time, so these are my Saturday's Five.
One
I took these photos whilst we were blackberrying a few weeks back.
We are very lucky to have lots of animals around us, of one sort or another!
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| They are such good buddies! |
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| A little grooming. |
It was lovely to watch them drinking and grooming.
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| This one looks like he is saying, "Who are you looking at!" |
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| This little chap is a Jacob sheep, looks like he was feeling a little left out! |
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| Our footpath was alongside the hedge, behind the electrified fence. |
They can look a bit frightening, but they are OK and are often put in fields that have footpaths going through them.
I sometimes worry about the dog walkers that use these paths, some of whom don't seem to bother to put their dog on a lead - and, if challenged, would say "oh my dog wouldn't chase them"!!!!
Two
A few weeks later we saw these guys who are quite a lot younger (and, as the sign says, are Weaned Calves) not very far from our home.
Luckily this year we didn't keep hearing them, worrying that there was something wrong with them, as they were further away from our house. When we first heard them on a previous year it was quite distressing as we thought they were in trouble, however they were just (just!?!) missing their mothers.
This year the Rangers have put up signs to let walkers know that the calves had recently been weaned from their mothers, and that they would be noisy for a couple of days, and that that is completely normal, and they will soon settle down. There is also a telephone number to ring in case passers-by spot any problems.
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| Resting quietly together. |
Three
Then another evening, Darling Hubbie went up on the common in the early evening and saw these young wild deer grazing on the field just across the road from our house. He had time to run back home, get the camera and take two shots in the fading light, before they spotted him and trotted off. If you enbiggen the photos you will be able to see the deer a little better.
And then we have had the badger digging the lawn again.
Then another evening, Darling Hubbie went up on the common in the early evening and saw these young wild deer grazing on the field just across the road from our house. He had time to run back home, get the camera and take two shots in the fading light, before they spotted him and trotted off. If you enbiggen the photos you will be able to see the deer a little better.
Four
That same evening DH went down the garden to our shed and nearly trod on this cute little newt who was sitting happily on the floor just inside the door.
The second photo shows that DH had picked up the cardboard the newt was resting on and left it outside the shed, in waddling distance to the pond.
Five
And then we have had the badger digging the lawn again.
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| A little more badger action |
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| It isn't too much damage, but we hadn't planned on having to reseed the lawn! |
About a week ago we were lucky enough to spot a pheasant in a neighbour's front garden, but didn't have the camera to hand to take a picture as we were dashing to catch a train at the time.
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I hope you are having a great weekend, and next time I intend to have some stitching to show you!
Hugs,
Barbara xx
10 comments:
Love your pictures. I'm comparing how laid back the area you live in is compared to mine. Farmers fence their land and you just don't walk through it here. I had never heard of a badger living in Northern Indiana. Apparently there are a few living on the prairies. But we have ground hogs and they can cause a lot of damage to the yard too. My dogs dig for them all the time!
xx, Carol
Lovely photographs Barbara.... it is always lovely to see some native wildlife along side the cows in the fields! Christine x
Sorry you didn't make it to Five On Friday, this would have been a great post! It is open until 7 pm on Saturday in that helps in future! I don't keep it open longer as otherwise I cannot be sure to get round everyones posts. I hope that you had a great weekend and thank you for thinking of joining in! xx
We have some weaned calve near us and they are very noisy! I feel sorry for them and the cows too, who aren't that far away. We have an injured pheasant staying with our hens until he (hopefully) recovers and can go on his way again. His plumage is so beautiful and I didn't realize just how long their tail feathers are!
Great photos - I always felt so sorry for the calves and their mommas when they were separated. I know it's necessary that they be parted at some point, but it doesn't make it any less sad!
Hi Carol,
Opposite to where we live we are fortunate enough to have what is known as a City of London Common. I understand that at least 100 years ago The City of London authority was wise enough to buy several areas around London in order to ensure that as London, inevitably expanded, there would be several "Green Lungs" for the population to visit and relax. Within our particular common there is a historic airfield, and the Rangers also graze cattle and sheep on the open ground in order to keep the shrub down, as well as manage the land in order to ensure as many wild flowers and traditional foliage grow as possible, whilst creating suitable areas for wildlife to live.
We are adjacent to Kenley Common and also within easy walking distance of Riddlesdown, hence, although technically living within the Greater London area we have a great deal of green open space within easy reach.
Also, within England there are many public rights of way (footpaths) that criss cross farmers private land, and must be accessible at all times for walking (styles are provided in order to cross boundary fences).
I tried to find a suitable link, but if you google Kenley Common and look at the second item down there is a little more information.
I hope that's not too much information now!
Gosh, I just googled groundhogs - they must be a real worry!
Barbara xx
Thank you Christine! We've had more native wildlife activity overnight! The badgers have visited again, and are now digging under the slabs beneath the bird feeders! We keep filling in the holes, but they still come back. Oh well, just hope they tire of it soon!
Barbara xx
Thanks Amy, It must take you ages to visit everyone's blogs. Great to hear from you, much appreciated! I hope you are having a super week! xx
Hi Gillian, I'm glad to say the mothers of "our" calves are kept quite a distance away, so at least I don't think they could possibly hear each other! I hope the pheasant recovers, it would be so great to see him go on his way! xx
Thanks, Mary Anne. I try not to think about how they must miss each other. I agree with you, it's just so sad! I like to think that at least we can see they have great living conditions on the common. xx
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