Bees, Animals & Wildlife

We’ve started clicker training the horses.  These photos are from Day 2, when we began teaching them to play football!

Ayla died yesterday, of severe colic.  She’d gone to a new home a few months ago, but I feel her loss hugely.

You can run free now my beautiful girl xxxx

It’s looking very likely that Hannah Dawson will be coming here in November for 4-5 days to offer Equine Touch for horses and VHT for humans.  Please let me know if you are interested, for you and/or your horse.

This puppy turned up a couple days ago. We think he may stay, but can’t decide on a name for him.
Anyone?

Another bloody annoying wildlife sound – that of a hoopoe waking you up at 6am and then keeping you awake for the next 2 hours with its irritatingly repetitive noise (I thought the cuckoos were bad, at least they don’t seem to be early risers). Don’t let anyone tell you it’s all peace and quiet in the countryside …

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/h/hoopoe

New Holland European Bird Guide – More than 500 bird species, including all those that commonly breed, pass through or winter in Britain and Europe, plus a number of regular vagrants. It has 70 beautifully illustrated and very accurate full-page colour plates illustrating a variety of plumages and poses for most species. In total the book contains 1,700 bird images. The concise text is packed with essential information on the identification, calls, distribution and status of each species and the account for each species is on the page opposite its illustration.

This is what we’re hearing every night.

http://www.angelfire.com/ar2/thefoxden/call.wav

We’ve lost so many chickens, ducks and geese lately that we’re now (as well as shutting them in their shed at night) electrifying the chicken wire fence of their run every night. Don’t worry, it’s only 12v electric, we’re not out to kill the foxes – just make them think the chicken run is something they definitely don’t want to be going anywhere near!

Lots more fox sounds at - http://www.angelfire.com/ar2/thefoxden/sounds.html

HEN AND THE ART OF CHICKEN MAINTENANCE
Martin Gurdon
Forget motorcycles, this is a reflection on keeping chickens. Little did the author realise that a small flock of chickens could change his life (and his lawn) so much. For those that already keep chickens or those that think they might like to keep chickens – a lovely gentle book well worth a read.

My compost heap is absolutely heaving with life. First I almost cut 2 frogs or toads in half with my spade, then I disturbed a mouse that our big ginger tomcat wolfed down, and then this beautiful slow worm stuck his head out of where I was digging.

Wriggly, wriggly slow worm!

So we put her back into the heap, but in the ‘new’ end, that is being added to now – nice and safe. Hopefully sheand those frogs will eat lots of slugs for us.

What’s in that tiny box?

Oooh, aren’t they cute?

A visit to market, and we come home with 5 new ducklings – but luckily not the new puppy that Sophie and Beth were looking at.

And they’re out, into the corner first.

Then, back towards the doorway.

Here they come, out into the sunshine and a first look at their new home.

And they’re off.

Is that step too big?

No, they’ve met up with the other ducklings.

The swarm of 9 ducklings follows mother goose.