two faalow Bucks smiling for the camera

Bluetit

Coaltit
Nuthatches like nuts!
and so do marsh tits

Its been a while

since I last posted. I have had the flu that has been sweeping across England and have really been under the weather. I had a new lense for Christmas a Nikon 70-300mm and i really haven't had a chance to use it. Today I slipped down to Eyeworth pond for a little while but the light was not good. Every morning the long tailed tits are coming to the feeders in the gardens . I do like these little birds, they are so pretty but it is so hard to get a photo of them.

A few Bird Shots

Merry Christmas

Raffles

Raffles has not been very well recently and has had to have some tests. At one point he had a very low platelet count.....but xrays have shown that he has bladder stones and with the right diet he is doing well. We think hs immune system caused him to attack his own platelets and hopefully we have now got this under control.

Sika Deer at Arne

A few pictures of the Sika Deer during the rut at Arne.
At first the sun shone but then we had a very heavy down pour. Fortunately we were in a hide at the time and so we stayed dried and eventually the sun came out again.

Stourhead

John has a few days holiday so we took a trip to Stourhead (national trust property) Some beautiful autumn colours in the sunshine. Of course just after we arrived it poured with rain! However the sun did reappear for a while and we were able to walk around the lake.

Protests in the Forest

At the end of August the National Park Authority published their Draft documents for the future of the New Forest. 300 pages of gobbledegook! They propose sweeping changes to the way people use the Forest. Horse owners face many restrictions on how they keep their animals , dog walkers will be barred from parts of the Forest.They talk about Road Pricing and the closure of more car parks,also closing many minor roads to car users, the list is endless. If the proposals go ahead much of the forest will be a no go area and people will no longer be able to use it. Their argument is that the Forest must be preserved. For 1000 years the Forest has survived and people have enjoyed it If these proposals go ahead, very few will continue to enjoy it .
Today about 1000 people joined a protest organised by the Horse riders, where both our elected Members of Parliament pledge their support and called for the abolition of the Authority. Next week the Dog walkers are arranging an all day meeting to help people fill in the complicated objection forms.
Other protests will follow as we fight for our rights to enjoy the Forest

Marsh Gentians

On our walk today we found some Marsh Gentians. These beautiful little flowers are not very common and it is several yeas since I have seen any.It was worth getting soggy knees to get the photos

Staunton Country Park

Finally Summer seems to have arrived in England We have had a few days of beautiful Sunshine. Yesterday we went to Staunton country park. I took the new camera and practiced with it. It is taking a bit of getting use to, but I am slowly getting to know it. The Country Park has a wide variety of animals and a walled garden with hothouses. Plenty to photograph and it was a very pleasant trip.

Staunnton Country Park

Historical Buildings in Southampton

Reading Quacky Pete's Blog I learned that English heritage were holding open days and went to check to see if there was anything happening near by.
The Tudor House in Southampton has been closed for a couple of years as it is undergoing major restoration, however it was open to the public for the weekend. It is not expected to be fully open until 2011 as there is still a lot of work to be done. So far they have been spending a lot of time and money simply to keep the building from collapsing. We spent an hour touring the building with a local architect who has been involved in the work. The building was rebuilt in the 15th century on the foundations of four medieval buildings. it has seen many changes and by the 1900s it was in a bad state of repair. It was restored at this time and became a museum. but some of the work weaken the timbers and this has had to be repaired. At the moment you can see the concrete and steel reinforcements , but this will eventually be hidden from view as they work on repairing the plasterwork.
Opposite the House is the Church of St Michaesl which is said to be the oldest building still in regular use in Southampton. Although you can see the original Norman Structure, it has a very modern feel with recent stained glass.
Our final building was the Medieval Merchants House which was originally built in 1290

The Tudor House in Southamton

The medieval merchants House
Stained Glass from St Michaels Southampton

All This Rain is Good for Something!

Our wet summer has produced a bumper apple crop! A friend asked us to help pick the apples today and we came home with 5 big bags from just two of her trees. I am going to be doing a lot of cooking this week. I do like baked apples, stuffed with golden syrup and stem ginger , a little sugar and smothered in custard. So many people seem to just leave the apple to rot on the trees, it's such a shame.

Dorset Heavy Horse Centre

This is Henry one of the Heavy Horses at the Dorset Heavy Horse Centre. We spent a few hours here today dodging the heavy showers. The centre is quite small but has a variety of animals besides the heavy horses . Many of the horses have been rescued and all are well cared for. We had a short wagon ride and then wandered around the various pens making friends with the animals. In the afternoon they gave a short talk about the horses and also a little bit about the Gypsy Vardos (Caravans) that they restore here. We left just before it starte to rain yet again.
It was good to get out and take the camera. Summer has still not arrived in the UK and it really has been a wet and dismal season.