April 2020

We're still living in strange times, but I think we are now feeling a bit more settled into a routine of when to order food, collect food, applauding all the

key workers every Thursday evening, home schooling (ahem), texting, and phoning friends and family more often. And really meaning it when we ask,

‘How are you?’

My daughter and I created a love heart rainbow to display in our front window.

We love our rainbow and hope others do too as they pass by. Amber has also coloured in and made posters for the window, spotted by postal workers and binmen so far.

Amber also writes letters to her Granny, which I know are gratefully

received even though my Mam opens them wearing disposable gloves!

As a family we are getting up in the morning as normal and my theory is

to keep super busy and the weeks will pass more quickly. So many jobs are

getting done outside (if we have the materials that is), My partner Clive

is busy creating an amazing fire pit area, which Wildlife club will use too.

He’s been helped by our son Jake.

There have been tears, laughter, sadness and silliness in this house – and

lots and lots of music played everyday, inside and outside. Personally I

think health and wellbeing are so important right now.

Jake is still in training mode, ready for when his bike competitions start

up again. He is practising on obstacle courses built in the garden, and of

course he is missing friends and his girlfriend, but he's also enjoyed baking/cooking, walking the dog and painting.

Amber is spending most of her time with the ponies, drawing, baking,

reading, looking after her chickens and just being outside.

Both she and Jake are learning life skills, hanging out washing, baking,

hoovering, washing dishes, and so on.

It was my birthday too last week and it was such a fab day with sunshine,

ponies and prosecco. I checked the owl box and found three chicks, watched

a film, then to finish off a mouse ran across the floor. It was an absolutely gorgeous wee thing. I managed to catch it and put back outside then made

a note to self – ‘Don't leave door open on warm days as mice come in.‘

The weather has been wonderful, our April has been filled with so much

nature as everything is thriving and bouncing into the Spring season.

From primroses to lizards, blossom to bunnies, swallows and swifts,

cuckoos to forget-me-nots, owlets to bees and so much more.

There has been so much variety of nature and wildlife to discover and

enjoy recently, From our garden we have loved seeing lambs being born

at the neighbouring farm, then watching lamb racing live later in the

afternoon, where they all gang together and just run, and bounce about.

In our garden there’s purple Heather, daffodils are still out, primroses,

blossom on the trees, leaves bursting open on trees and shrubs,

forget-me-nots, the bluebells opened their flowers just a few days ago,

and wood anemone, to name just a few.

Birds are nesting everywhere, wrens in the ivy that surrounds our window, woodpecker in the oak, blue tits using a bird box, robins in an old den, tree creeper in an old pine, swallows are back, I heard and saw the cuckoo, but

my favourite visitor has to be my owl box in my garden. Our resident

tawny owl laid four eggs and the three that hatched are doing well. As soon

as the sun goes down both adults work so hard bringing mice and voles in

to feed their young.

After I put the ponies to bed I sit in my garden and wait. The quietness

of the night is broken by the adults calling to each other as they begin

the feeding frenzy, the chicks call to the adults as they wait impatiently

for their next mouthful. It's such an amazing feeling to watch them, I

will keep you all posted with their progress.

I'm delighted to see the swallows are back, they have built several nests,

three or four in the stables, and a few in the archway at the house. This is

the first year we've been getting oyster catchers coming into the field

feeding, and I think the heron has eaten all the tadpoles.

Things to spot on your daily exercise

● Bluebells

●Swallows

●Rainbows in Windows

●Green leaves

●Lambs

●Forget-me-nots

●Primroses

Wildlife carries on and so will we.

Till next month -

Happy wildlife watching