I seem to be a honeypot for single ladies. The phone rings:
“Oh, hello do you take single ladies? It’s just that I’m on my own and after reading a “glossy” magazine with amazing photographs of orchards, bunting, tables laid with linen, and afternoon tea and sheep and cattle grazing in the background, I thought to myself that’s what I need …. a holiday on a farm”.
I explained that we were a working farm and magazines often depict life in the countryside as a dream to be realised, but things are not always so perfect. Oh, my goodness she even …
[Read more...]
Visit the Countryside…it’s idyllic
Paul’s Nature Notes August-September 2021
With more people feeding birds these days it is easy to forget that attracting large numbers creates the danger of disease. Last May Nigel in Cheriton told us about Trichomonosis, which can prove deadly to Chaffinches. Despite regularly moving and cleaning the feeders and changing the water daily he and his neighbours stopped feeding for a period which happily resolved matters. More recently Colin and Lyn here in the village had casualties, even after daily cleanliness checks. When visiting Cern Abbass in August they were disgusted by the …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes July-August 2021
After the really bad start to the year we are seeing the return of a sense of normality. Nature has started to play catch-up - the cycle of life differs every year but it appears to remains intact despite all the obvious signs of global warming..
On 31 May we welcomed the return of the Spotted Flycatchers, which successfully raised a family again. Our bees have done less well. We lost four colonies last winter but thanks to friends and capturing some swarms we are now back to full strength, but it has not been a good year for honey. In fact, …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes June-July 2021
Many folk seem to have their pet loves and hates when it comes down to birds. Some people I know disparage House Sparrows, calling them Spugs, many others loathe Wood Pigeons especially in farming areas and some dislike Starlings, despite them looking really beautiful close up. When Bill Oddy recently announced that House Martins are the 10th most disliked bird in the UK I was truly amazed. Ours returned on April 30th only for last year’s nest to come crashing to the ground. Undeterred they soon built another with the help of a third bird – …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes May – June 2021
The low moth counts continued right into June and unfortunately there are many species which may now not appear at all this year, notable amongst which is the Puss Moth. This is such a truly glorious moth and one which surely should be a firm favourite of all the cat owners in the village. I have it on authority that this has been the worst spring for insects since records began. Reports have come in from all over the country of Blue Tit broods failing due to lack of food. Oak trees came into leaf at least a month late and this meant that there …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes – April/May 2021
Sorry about my typo last month when I confused months with moths. On the other hand, perhaps I should have been talking about moths. In almost two decades of monitoring moth populations I have been really shocked by how few there have been during April and early May. The constant frosty nights have held back the emergence of so many early spring species and I am left wondering if they will actually appear at all this season. During that lovely warm period at the end of March numbers peaked at around 50 but since then I have been able to count …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes – March/April 2021
Having lived for most of my life in the home counties and London and watched the decline in so many species it is easy here in Devon to take for granted what is quite rare in other parts of the country. We were involved with breeding bird surveys and although Sussex is very rich in birdlife it simply does not compare with Payhembury, where we are blessed with an abundance of nature in all its glorious forms. Despite the really cold patch in April, many old favourites have returned to breed: male blackcaps and chiffchaffs are vocal in setting up …
[Read more...]
Yellingham Farm – March 2021
What I really don’t understand is why ewes, who at the present time have at least 12 beautiful hours of daylight, decide that the best time to lamb is between the hours of 10pm and 4am. Totally ridiculous in my book, but then I suppose all is quiet, Classic FM is playing softly in the background …….and just like us humans, it’s the body which makes the ultimate decision.
Whilst we don’t keep a vigil all night (because our numbers are relatively low), we check every few hours, as every ewe deserves the same chance as those who lamb during the …
[Read more...]
Paul’s Nature Notes February – March 2021
The warm spell at the end of February came as a blessed relief and certainly boosted my spirits, which had flagged somewhat during all those wet, grey days. Butterflies emerged from hibernation, Great Spotted Woodpeckers started to drum at the bottom of the garden and the gentler sound of Nuthatches tapping was heard with Treecreepers also putting in an appearance on the birch trees.
One of the best times for us to watch our garden birds is over breakfast, as some of our bird feeders are just outside the dining room. We delighted in watching …
[Read more...]
Yellingham Farm – February 2021
A year ago, we couldn’t have hordes of visitors to the farm for lambing and in 2021 we still can’t. It is so disappointing as it’s just a wonderful time of the year.
The weather has been a blinking nightmare, but we haven’t had the snow thank goodness and if we didn’t have the weather to talk about, what would we talk about. With some 8 days to go before we start lambing, I am starting to get excited, a tad apprehensive as always, but at the end of the day if you’ve put everything in place and are organised, there isn’t a lot more you can do. …
[Read more...]