Weekend Wonderment?
Having had a good weekend I still thought how uneventful it had been… really?
I mean aside from finding a dead vole on my path on Saturday, which I initially thought was a mole minus ‘big hands’ as my husband put it.
I’ll share what I have seen… in two days, well one and half really. You decide if it is uneventful or not….
I’ll set the scene, this is where most of the action takes place.
Then I shall show you ‘events’.
Can you see all the exciting things! You should see a rabbit, two birds and a squirrel, hanging upside down from the bird feeder.
Ok, the next photographs are not the kind of thing I like to show… don’t worry. I don’t think the blackbird felt a thing. (That’s what I told my daughter anyway…) We thought we had seen the back of the Sparrowhawk, (Who gets a capital ‘S’) but he was back today!
My husband started the hawk and she flew off, blackbird grasped between her claws.
We should end on a happy note though. A photo from what really should have an entire blog entry for itself!
The washing of my dads dog Tess. I’ll just show you how shiny she is now….
Well I still have another few hours of the weekend left… perhaps something will happen!!
April 19, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I am tempted to repeat the old adage, “Exciting as watching paint dry.” but I won’t.
Such a neat and tidy yard. You certainly don’t have pigs for pets.
I actually did see the squirrel and rabbit right away. It took a moment to see the birds.
There is nothing wrong with quiet observation. This is meditation time. I feel this way when I wash dishes and gaze out the window toward the neighbour, 1/4 mile away. My mind is busy,busy , busy. Never a quiet and still moment.
Gee! by now you might have fallen down, broken you leg, been rushed to hospital and got infected with one of those antibiotic resistant bugs hospital harbour these days. Lying think I bet you are wishing you were enjoying a quiet moment in the back yard!
April 19, 2009 at 3:50 pm
very busy back yard. Your doves look very similar to mine. Perhaps with just a touch more blue around the shoulders.
Somewhere, in my collection of ‘animal’ pictures I have a three-shot sequence of an eagle snatching up a small rabbit. It’s life, it happens
At 13 my daughter shot, killed, and field dressed her first Elk. It was very tasty. Some days you get the bear, some days it gets you.
Bill
April 19, 2009 at 3:53 pm
It’s a great weekend, lovely weather, lovely green everywhere. Be grateful for the small jewels you see…it’s nature. Hope you’ve enjoyed yourself xx
April 19, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Hi Philip. No, haha No pigs… although it isn’t always this tidy. My husband only did the lawn yesterday.
Things didn’t get much more exciting I ‘m afraid… just a trip to the local blockbusters to take a dvd back. (Yes Man, it was realy good, much better than the book)
I am of course only joking, I have to pinch myself to realise I really live here and have all of these lovely visitors. I could meditate here for hours! x
.
Hi Bill, it’s such a shame but as you say, part of life. The hawk is huge!
Your daughter is brave!
.
Loving the sunshine Sonrisa! Really nice here today. It took a while but it’s super nice now. xx
April 19, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Seen a load of bunnies this afternoon out on my buggy, went into the churchyard and there’s loads….
Nice tidy looking garden there too Gal….
April 19, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I think you see an amazing lot of nature in your garden.
I love the picture of Tess she looks like she giving you a thank you smile
April 19, 2009 at 5:22 pm
ooohhh, the squirrel is sooo cute
You always have beautiful pictures on your blog.
Thanks Daffy for your comments on my blog , they were very motivating.
April 19, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Well maybe not that uneventful with plenty happening and seen!
I think that you’re so lucky seeing both a jay and sparrowhawk.
I’d of thought that after washing Tess that you rather the rest of your weekend was peaceful and relaxing!
It’s been sunny here so I’ve spent most of it plotting, where it’s been very uneventful! xx
April 19, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Flighty, bathing Tess was hard work! We then dried her off in the sun. She played ball for a while and then I took her home of clean and fresh!
I’m going to add a few more pics tomorrow, uploading takes so long. I’ll add a better one of the Jay and a couple more of Tess. So be sure to call back! xx
.
Violet, you are so welcome and well done! I thought you would be a sleep! I think my squirrel may have just had babies or be due some. I caught sight of her belly area and she look pretty swollen! I might get pics of babies!
.
Chris Tess is adorable, she was so good. We washed her twice and rinsed her and then she shook! xx
.
Hi Chippy, all credit to the husband for the garden ;o) I supervise though! Nice day to be out on the buggy Chippy! Good for you!
April 19, 2009 at 6:12 pm
We saw the remains of a hawk kill just down the street yesterday. It must be the weekend for it.
Beautiful job on the dog shampoo.
April 19, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Ruth can you see the shine from there?
She was good. I did feel a bit horrible getting pics of the hawk but it’s difficult to capture him on film. He’s quite a size and to see him fly off with the blackbird was impressive.
Hope you are ok. x
April 19, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Sparrowhawks are certainly impressive birds, but I have to say poor blackbird! Glad you finished off your post on a happier note, with the lovely shiny and fluffy Tess. x
April 19, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Louise, she is sparkling. My dad sent me text after I took her back home and he said someone had stopped him when they were out walking and asked if he had been getting a new dog! hehe.
The hawk is very impressive but he’s scared off the rest of my bird visitors! It’s been like a ghost town since he came by! xx
April 19, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Actually, the bravest thing my daughter did was to spend a whole week up in the Colorado Rockies with seven old farts with rifles. That, and eating our food.
Your squirrels look slightly different than ours too – more grey with a tan head. Ours are kind of tan all over.
Bill
April 19, 2009 at 7:54 pm
That is the strangest colored squirrel I have ever seen. Is it typical for the area? I mean the color. Really unique.
April 19, 2009 at 8:04 pm
As far as I know Steve, these are typical for the grey squirrels we have here. I love the red squirrels but I think I’d have better chance of seeing them in Scotland. (I’m not far from Scotland) Perhaps this is a result from a red and grey mating? ;o)
)
.
Bill you probably have the red squirrels…
click on the link for Steve, below your comment and have a look at his visitors.
Your daughter is very guttsy! I’d be terrified!
April 19, 2009 at 9:03 pm
The dog looks beautiful. Our dog always hated baths so, she’d hide wherever she could when she saw me getting out the dog washing stuff. Tess looks happy to be so clean and fluffy.
April 20, 2009 at 12:19 am
Probably we should see a picture of you after the bath of Tess hahaha!!! Glad to see you back!!! Love all the pictures…nature is so wonderful.
April 20, 2009 at 12:44 am
Sooooo cool all the fun things right outside your window! I laughed when I saw the squirrel hanging on the birdfeeder. And the little guy with his mouth and hands full of goodies. You did a fine job with Tess! She’s glossy and looking happy….. maybe just happy the bath is over!
April 20, 2009 at 12:53 am
See, there’s excitement happening in your yard!
That bun is trying really hard to be ADORABLE. That takes a lot of effort (or so Bailey says).
You’re apt at catching the action, most of ours come out like blurs.
As far at the blackbird/Sparrowhawk deal, hey, we all gots to eat…
April 20, 2009 at 1:11 am
oh the CARNAGE! daffy, darling, you slay me. i’m crying over that little creature. i’m going vegan starting immediately! lol. xoxo
April 20, 2009 at 1:35 am
That’s quite a nature preserve. Thanks for the glimpse.
April 20, 2009 at 6:10 am
Well, what a weekend of wonderment with wabbits, widdle and wild winged wonders… whilst wearing wellies, washing willing wet woofies
April 20, 2009 at 1:57 pm
This blog was bought to you by the letter ‘W’
Good one Glo….
April 20, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Daffy, Red and Gray mating makes sense to me.
April 20, 2009 at 5:35 pm
I call that action packed! Thanks for the beautiful pictures…I can’t believe you get to have little bunnies visiting you. I’m so jealous.
And Tess does look happy
April 20, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Philips comment made me smile,I was on the weekend enjoying a few hours in the garden when a trip to hospital (with a luckily not broken leg but badly sprained ankle) the joys of parenthood.
very lovely pictures,our rabbit wont keep still to have her picture taken I have lots of blurry shots x
April 20, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Definitely better than watching paint dry!
At least for someone like me. I sat in the yard yesterday and watched the birds flitting back and forth between my trees. Very enjoyable.
No sparrowhawks in my yard though. It’s usually a red-tailed hawk.
April 20, 2009 at 10:27 pm
well hope it stays for thurs when i get back up north!
April 21, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Sonrisa.. rain on Thursday… hehe only joking! It’ll be glorious!
.
Hi Rene, I came over to see you today and the pics seemed to take a while to load so I’ll head off there now. The sparrowhawk is becoming a nuisance! ;o)
.
Fraggle, Philip is good at making us smile! Blurry shots are my speciality too! Take it easy on that ankle! xx
.
Laura, we have baby bunnies too.. two that I have seen. You should see them darting out the ground and then mum sending them back in! Too funny.
.
Steve, *nods* In certain lights the head looks very red! I hadn’t thought it strange until recently. Not many reds in our region though.
.
Chippy *smiles*
.
Glo – Well What Wonderous Way With Words Wou Wave!
.
AC Anytime, it’s the least I can do for all those lovely pics of your lovely lot!
.
Nat – Vegan! Go for it, I’ll let the blackbirds family know so they will feel they loved one did not just become Sparrowhawks dinner! He left a legacy! ;o) hehe
.
Circle of life Stephanie. I googled haws the other day and I came across eagles preying on wolves! Amazing! That would need to be some big old eagle! Lots of my pics are blurry… lots and lots!
.
Nikki – Tess smells like one of your roses! Bootiful! The squirrel is indeed very flexable! Bendy squirrels?
.
Connie I was knee deep in soap suds! My husband got the worst though. Might have something to do with my bad shot with the hose…. *whistles*
Oh Connie, Dishy tells me you like flamingos so go back one entry and see the lovely pink beauties we saw!
.
Tracie – Tess isn’t too impressed with this bathing lark either! She seemed to like the fact that three of us were massaging soap into her fur! So much attention! Then she went to play footbal…..
April 21, 2009 at 4:07 pm
It was isaacs ankle that got sprained, and he won’t sit still so is limping around.(way I typed it sounded like mine sorry) x
April 21, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Fraggle, aww, that’s even worse! *gasps* Give him a cuddle from his not-real-aunt-daffy! x
April 21, 2009 at 5:00 pm
You get BUNNIES at your feeder?! I can’t even get these Yankee birds to eat at ours. They’re FILLED TO THE BRIM – just sitting there for the taking. Not a one. Maybe I should get a reeeeaaallly long ladder (we are on the 2nd flr) and see if I could wrangle a bunny up) Hmm?
PS: Tess looks gorgeous. Max would love her. Especially w/ the soccer ball (his favorite). Glad you had a good weekend!
April 21, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Phenomenal pictures of the hawk. All I have ever seen them kill in my neighborhood are sparrows.
April 21, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Dishy! It’s always lovely to see your smiling face here! I think the ladder idea is a fine idea… it could work. Should we set Tess and Max up for a doggy-date? She’d be the older woman I think… she’s cute and shiny but very barky… yap yap yap.. just like a woman… (I heard a man say!)
.
Driver, hello, lovely to see you here. The sparrowhaw is so quick! I’ve seen him make a couple of kills now. It seems our feeding haven for our birds is a feeding him for him too as he catches them unaware… He’s had a couple of blue tits and sparrows but I’ve never know him go for the slightly bigger birds before. I hope he doesn’t try his luck with the two baby rabbits in the garden!
April 22, 2009 at 12:50 am
Hello Daffy! Thanks so much for the visit and kind words
I love all these photos, I have a bunch of cotton tails in my yard, they are too fun. I love feeding the creatures around here. I put out quail blocks for the… quail. I used to have a ton of bird feeders, unfortunately I’ve had to take them down due to the rats
April 22, 2009 at 12:53 am
By the way, congrats on those photos of the hawk. I’ve only seen them around here (Phoenix) when I go to the mountain preserve. I really love black birds, they are so intelligent, but, the laws of nature, what can you do…
April 22, 2009 at 6:06 am
Hi Seb, seems to me you have more exotic birds than we do here. I live on the verge of a wood so we occasioally have a rat problem. I’d feed them too but my hubby draws the line! ;o)
I managed to capture the hawk whilst sitting on top of my kitchen work top on a Sunday morning… as you do…
hope to see you again Seb! Thanks for the return visit!
April 22, 2009 at 7:03 am
Wuvved wure wesponse!
April 22, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Hah! Not sure Max’d qualify as a “younger man.” I can hardly get him up the stairs these days – Plus, he’s chewed his butt off so much, half of it’s bald. But he’s quiet. Perhaps she wouldn’t notice?
April 22, 2009 at 5:35 pm
How wonderful to have so much wildlife visit your garden.
April 22, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Howdy Glo! I’ve ran out of Wubble u’s.
)
.
Dishlady! There you are again! How’s Sven… We could create the Golden Oldies Dog Dating Service!
.
Re, Hello there, I remember the first time we saw our ‘new’ house, it was run down and needed alot of work, but that garden! Well it sold us! I’ve had hedgehogs visit, lots and lots of rabbits, most of which have eaten every flower that dared to show a shoot, and more birds that the sparrowhawk could eat in a month! Thanks for the visit!
April 22, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Wonderful photos, Daffy! I believe that you had the kind of weekend I enjoy.
When I saw your comment on my blog this morning, my heart leaped (for joy)! Daffy! Where has she been? I have soooooo missed her. Or, more realistically, where have I been? Why didn’t I come here looking for her?
Simply put, dear Daffy, it’s grand to be in contact!
April 22, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Nick, I couldn’t agree more! *said nodding* I do still try and send the jokes through but I haven’t been getting as many lately. I know you have had some ‘puter problems too. I am loving the rabbit saga though! What a great story…. can’t wait for the next bit! You take care Nick and I won’t be such a stranger. Promise xx
April 24, 2009 at 11:05 pm
wonderful pic’s im so happy i can enjoy your blog agian
April 25, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Tiffany! So lovely to see you back again! I’ll try and comment later on your new entry but the pics are lovely! Your kids are getting so big! xx
April 27, 2009 at 3:31 pm
That’s a bit of excitement, some of which I wouldn’t want to be part of. Your dad’s dog looks like my friend Debbie’s dog Cleo. Does Tess have the silkiest of ears?
May 2, 2009 at 7:15 pm
She does Dawn! and she is soooo very cute! I’m not just saying that because she loves my bones! (She does though) She doesn’t leave my side when I’m around. Bless her. x