Welcome 2018 . .
My Christmas decorations are packed and tucked away, even though
the weather outside is the perfect Christmas card setting.
I hope you all enjoyed a happy and content time , however you planned
your festive break.
I might risk being described as a wee bit anti-social, but for me the best thing
of all at Christmas is just being at home with my family. We ate and drank
far too much , and even managed a bit of sledging before the kids headed
back to school.
We enjoyed some lovely walks through the woods, and over the moorland.
We followed some roe deer tracks, and collected badger hair attached
to wire fencing.
My daughter Amber has been busy doing a daily bird watch, sitting outside
in her favourite bush! Equipped with pen, notepad and birdbook, she spies
on the feeding station and scribbles down her findings.
We are having to top up the feeders more often as the temperature keeps
dropping, and as always the sparrow hawk is never far away... We are
also being treated to almost daily sightings of a couple of kestrel too,
beautiful birds of prey.
The ground may seem rock hard, but Mr Mole is still managing to make
patterns all over my lawn.
Our tawny owls are very active just now, communicating throughout the
night. I'm keeping my fingers crossed they nest in our owl box again.
Our witch hazel has burst into it flowers, bringing a splash of much needed
colour to the winter monochrome, and our snowdrops were doing really
well until they disappeared beneath a thick blanket of snow. Many of our
trees and shrubs are beginning to bud up, so it seems spring really is
around the corner.
We were also really excited to spot a stunning wee stoat, in his winter coat
- he's a real beaut.
In between all of the Christmas and winter activity I have been hard at
work doing some more artwork - especially pencil drawings.
See what you think...
THINGS WE CAN DO FOR WILDLIFE
* Continue feeding the birds, check their water for freezing * If you own a cat consider putting a wee bell on his collar, this will give
birds a bit of warning and help them take flight before the cat pounces. * This is a good time to join a wildlife conservation organisation * We ALL need to really start to minimize the amount of PLASTIC we use.
As a family we are doing our very best to question the products we buy.
It's time to change . . TODAY. Keep loving nature and
join me again next month.