Teatime sightings

There's always plenty of action in the garden. I took these pictures in between swallowing mouthfuls of Egg and Lentil Curry with Coconut and Pickled Lime (courtesy of Delia), through the closed kitchen window - so a bit blurry, unfocused and far off.

Rabbits, pretending they're not edging too close to the house for their own good 

A young Great Spotted Woodpecker, pretending to drill holes in the tree

Rabbit in clover - for the moment!

Robin, contemplating  - worms; garden forks; Christmas cards?

Surge of rabbits 

The Buckfast Abbey walk

The actual walking (and talking) began and ended at the tiny village of Scorriton. However, the refectory at Buckfast Abbey was the meeting point and focus of morning coffee and afternoon tea. The walkers also used a picnic as an excuse for a rest on the long uphill climb which resulted in impressive views. The sky looks threatening, but it hasn't actually rained for weeks and weeks.

A typical view from the top of a long uphill trudge

The path, with a pig run to the left of the fence

The handsome, very happy, intelligent (!), spotted pig which demolished leftover sandwiches.

A perfect picnic spot for another time

Distant views

This walk had everything - even its own chocolate box thatched cottage.

Looking out from the nest

This could be confusing, especially if you didn't read what I wrote yesterday. As I've stayed in the nest all day, I had to find something of interest to photograph. Lurking by the new shiny kitchen tap and looking out into the garden, I saw the noteworthy sight of many Woodpigeons engaging in a long lunch of seeds out back (not in the Outback). The above is the best of many pictures taken. Unfortunately the ones including a rabbit, didn't show the birds off to best advantage. I'm including a single bird for those of you who would like a closer look.

This was the best I could do, but as I need to keep my one official follower (so far) keen and interested, I am including a picture of a colourful Great Spotted Woodpecker which we ringed in the same patch out back on 1st May 2008.

Looking out

A still January day had me in its grip. It is very cold and still and there was no excuse to say indoors. I ventured out to de-frost the bird baths; get in some coal; visit the garden to capture the mood in photographs; put kitchen waste in appropriate bin; drive to shop for provisions - all totalling about an hour. It hasn't been a dull day but without noticeable sunlight, it has felt like being frozen in time. I noticed that it was still light at 5.00pm, which means that Spring is on the way.

Images are such a straightforward way of capturing the day, although it is challenging having to choose just the one. I could allow myself the luxury of more than one per day, but I relish having to whittle it down to one. It's a pity that you can't hear the birds singing in the above trees, which they were, but I'll try capturing this in a video and see how it works. I photographed a buzzard in the tree, where it usually sits, right at the bottom of the garden but it was a long way off and too small to notice. There's a lot going on in the garden in January, and yesterday I looked out of a window and watched a little group of Long-tailed Tits. The day before, I watched a pretty fox with a whitish face, from one of the upstairs windows. Now that we have begun feeding the birds since getting back from Down Under, close to the house activities are getting back to normal. Great spotted woodpecker and nuthatch were both seen today.