No I do not mean going out on a date I mean Wednesday the Fourth of June is a special date and I will tell you why on that day.
1st.
I know it was only a month ago that I showed you a Pine Martin but this one is a lot darker and an even bigger tail that that one , so I think that is a good enough excuse to put another one up. This one was here at eight thirty this morning and had a real good feed before scampering off, frightened a few birds and the male Blackbird was getting fairly close singing a warning song to the two newly fledged young who are feasting on the sultanas we put out for them.
A fairly rare bird to our garden ( according to my notes I have not seen one in the garden since two thousand and twenty-two) and this is a Yellowhammer. Beautiful little bird that stayed for about five minutes and I have not seen it since, lucky the wife managed to get my camera before it flew off and I got it through the double glazing.
4th.
So this is a special day because I have just looked back through my blog and I started this blog exactly eight years ago today all thanks to my daughter in law encouraging me to put my photos up onto something that all my friends can enjoy. So here it is edition number two hundred and sixty two and surprising enough I still love producing it.
Though the name may need to change soon as from this week as we have put this wonderful haven of wildlife that has been our home for twenty years, up for sale. My wife does a wonderful job of looking after our garden that as you are aware has given me some great shots to put on here. My job has been to keep this fifty year old home in good condition and as we both approach the magical eighty years old, that has become a bit to much for us. So we intend to move across to Ayrshire to be nearer our son and his partner and a bit more modern accommodation. So “Ayrshire Life” might suddenly appear on my blog.
5th.
Went for a walk today up in the hills just to see what bI could capture in a half hour walk and below are the results, first the birds I saw.
A Raven croaking away very high above me.
Then an Oyster Catcher a long way from any Oysters.
A Lapwing , there were two and they kept flying across the moorland trying to distract me from their nest , which I never saw.
Again a fair distance away but a Crow just sitting on the fence passing the time of day. The brown bird on the ground to the right I did not see until I put the photo on here, not sure if it is a female Pheasant or a Curlew just know it was brown.
Next the Deer.
On the way up the moorlands I saw this scruffy male Roe Deer, obviously just loosing it’s winter coat.
On the way back down I saw maybe half a mile away some movement, captured it on my camera to see it was a pair of deer, then ……..
Noticed that in fact there was three of them in the follow up shot.
The hillside at the moment is covered in these beautiful wild Pansies such vibrant colours.
Of course the scenery up on these moors is incredible and below are a few of the images I captured on the walk.
Not been this far along this particular path before and to come across this reminded me of a fairway on a golf course an awkward drive between the trees .
A beautiful tree with views to the distant hills.
A lonely cottage with the ruins of another building nearby, isolated, but what a retreat .
Blair Castle nestled down amongst the trees in the valley below.
12th.
A warm lovely day today, so I thought I would wonder around the garden and show you some of the many plants in the garden.
These are grasses that come up every year, except the first year we were here when we thought it was just ordinary grass and we snipped it off. The flowers individually only last a day and the fall off and another appears the next day, minute little plant but really enjoyable.
A very pale lilac Iris, growing in the pond and has been a faithful for many years.
Buttercups beside the pond that my wife says “They make me smile every time I look out the window”.
Just love the deep purple , with many more heads yet to flower.
These Primula are through out the garden and certainly give a splash of colour.
here are the seAt the top of the garden is our “mini” meadow in which there are (deliberately ) many of the parasite plant called Rattle, it kills off grass and allows wild flowers to come up which previously would have been smothered out by the grass. These are the seed heads just forming following the yellow flowers.
13th.
The Geranium’s are going to seed and the Greenfinches seem to know when they are ripe and though the plants are tall and flimsy they seem able to balance and eat them all.
14th.
A rare thing happened this morning and I apologise that the shots I have taken of it were rushed and through the double glazing with lots of reflection, but it needed recording as it has never happened before.
One on the ground, second on the feeder.
Third on the wood trough, four eating sunflower seed.
The fifth one in the mug feeder. Shocking out of focus shot but it is just for the record.
Yes we had FIVE Reds in the garden all at once, never seen more that three before so I presume that some of must be the young which are normally born Jan/Feb , such enjoyment, though they did fight for places.