In the face of all this global misery the world keeps turning, the seasons come and go and we are entering one of the most magical times of the year. The dawn chorus has started - and there is nothing finer than to be woken up to the sweet song of a blackbird. Nest building will soon be in full sway. For me this is a truly uplifting time of year and one I always look forwards to with great anticipation. As with so many others I have been self-isolating, except for one occasion when I walked the lane to Upton and back. Imagine my surprise to …
[Read more...]

I have a new mission in life, which is try to cheer everyone up. First we had endless Brexit, then came the winter of unrelenting rainfall and now we have to endure coronavirus – all this negativity is having an adverse effect on us all, so now seems an excellent time to get closer to nature. I am saddened to report the death of a young male Sparrowhawk in early March. It had chased a pigeon twice its size into the shop’s annex and broken its neck when it crashed into the wall. It came as a great surprise to me just how small and light the …
[Read more...]

I have just come indoors and lit a lovely log fire, after a productive morning (which started in the wee hours) down in my lambing yard, sorting out ewes and lambs, moving new-borns and their mums into individual pens to mother up and generally appreciating the wonder of new life – even if it is just sheep. As I write, I am fully aware that there is so much grief and turmoil in the world, but for me I make it my mission every morning to be positive, to smile, not to tell Edward off too much and, as we all used to say at Brownies,…”to do my …
[Read more...]

We have enjoyed a second awe-inspiring trip to Colombia, returning with so many wonderful memories: hummingbirds galore, magnificent mountain scenery, Bogota with its fantastic street art and Gold Museum and most remarkable of all incredible numbers of macaws and parrots all around us in the Amazonian jungles of Mitu. One day we were at 4,000 meters above sea level in the high Paramo with its beautiful vegetation and Andean Ducks, the next at sea level in intense heat and humidity alive with colourful birds all around us. All hummingbirds are …
[Read more...]

Last spring I mentioned that a pair of Nuthatches had turned up at the garden feeders. These were the first we had seen since we moved into the village just over three years before. Now reports are coming in of regular sightings of these lovely birds: Brian has told me he sees them most days on his feeders in Markers Park, Mary in Luton has also been enjoying the sight of them on hers, and they are also being seen on the feeders in Brian’s garden in Colestocks. I suspect that the pair we saw last year may have had a good breeding season and it …
[Read more...]

What a truly dreadful autumn it has been. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of days when it has not rained. This has reminded me when we travelled around New Zealand almost twenty years ago and in particular Doubtful Sound, which can suffer between ten and twenty feet of rainfall a year. We were blessed the day we visited, which was fine and clear. Of the few souvenirs we brought back with us was this poem: It rained and rained and rained The average fall was well maintained And when the tracks were simply bogs It …
[Read more...]

Yellingham Farm With the rest of the world going crazy at the moment preparing for Christmas, life on the farm is actually quiet and serene. The rams have done their job and are back resting until next autumn, this year’s lambs are growing on nicely as are the cattle. The constant rain has put a lot of pressure on the fields, with the river Tale rising and falling daily. Fortunately, we are not overstocked and all of our stock including the cattle are still out. With the warm, damp weather, pneumonia is always a threat so we try not to house …
[Read more...]

Toby Buckland has been telling everyone on Radio Devon that this has been the best year for holly berries in 20 years and suggests there will be plenty for Christmas decorations. Some hopes! The winter, or Scandinavian, thrushes have arrived here to over winter and are busy stripping the berries as fast as they can. I anticipate that there will be none left within a few days. I have tried hard to photograph Redwings on the holly berries, but the moment they sense my camera, they are off in a flash. Despite all the rain (a whole bucketful in a …
[Read more...]