Friday 5 June 2020
The Noisy Squirrel Who Wanted More Food
We heard a heck of a row coming from our back garden first thing in the morning. We were immediately concerned in case an animal had been hurt.
We traced the noise to a large tree in our garden and we could see a squirrel - a grey squirrel. We weren't too sure what was wrong because of the awful noise he was making.
This finally stopped and the squirrel appeared okay as he was sitting on a branch.
We went indoors and both agreed we never realised squirrels made such loud noises.
I looked out of the window a few minutes later and there was the squirrel in our bird house, as per the photos. He seemed quite happy munching on the seeds and nuts I had left for the birds.
The food was soon devoured and the squirrel appeared to push the dish forward as if asking for more - see below - an Oliver Twist moment!
We occasionally have a grey squirrel passing through our garden as we live opposite a small wood.
I did a Google search and found the exact noise the squirrel was making on the British Library web site. It seems that they can make chattering, rasping and barking noises and can become particularly noisy when alarmed or angry. You live and learn!
According to the British Library they are highly intelligent mammals.
As I guess most people in the UK know the grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) were foolishly introduced to the UK in the 1870s from the USA. This consequently resulted in a decline of our native, more attractive, red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris).
Back in the 1870s there were an estimated 3.5 million red squirrels in the UK. Nowadays, in England, there are only an estimated 15,000. The major problem is that the grey squirrels carry the Parapoxvirus, which does not appear to affect their health but can kill red squirrels. And we all know about the danger of viruses! We shouldn't mess with nature.
Tuesday 2 June 2020
Butterflies and Flowers on a Country Walk and in My Garden
Off track there is a stream and a few rhododendrons.
Once back on the lane, within the hedgerow I saw this small butterfly on an unopened fern. Not that easy to see because of the similarity of the colours.
Unfortunately I'm not a lepidopterist as, on reaching home, there was another small butterfly on one of our garden chairs. I've tried to find - well had a quick look - but couldn't find these two butterflies on internet charts.
The next photo was taken from my front garden. On the opposite side of the road is a wood with various trees and also a nice display of rhododendrons.
A few more random garden flowers
That's it for today. All good wishes.
Saturday 30 May 2020
Pentewan Beach Cornwall and Seeing What is Sometimes Missed in Life
We walked to Pentewan Beach, Cornwall and found we were the only people enjoying the freedom, other than someone collecting shells.
Some of the rocks were covered with mussels, and other limpet like shell creatures, waiting anxiously for the tide to turn.
We walked to the cliffs where we spotted a sunflower painted on the rocks. This reminded us to look more carefully at the abundance of wild flowers growing freely - which we may otherwise have missed.
It's strange how easily we can miss all sorts of things in life. Sometimes we need a nudge to keep us focused.
Okay, I know the next bit is way off track to my normal posts, but I had been reading an old book from the 1930s. The author Dr. Paul Brunton wrote:
The great De Beer diamond fields of South Africa were discovered through a child picking out of the wall of an old Dutch farm a small coloured pebble - out of a wall which, for years, had been passed and re-passed many thousands of times by people blind to the treasure at their elbows ...
Wonder what we may have passed by. The author in the book went deeper though as he continued:
How many people have heard the gentle whisper of the inner self or felt its faint guidance, only to brush the visitants aside without understanding; how many have dismissed as mere thoughts the early intimations of diviner life?
Free seats at Pentewan for contemplation!
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Wednesday 27 May 2020
Watching the Weather on a Walk Along the Beach at Carlyon Bay, Cornwall
Ah, blue sky and sunshine, perfect for a walk along the beach and, luckily, there were only about half a dozen other people at Carlyon Bay.
The thrift pink flowers stood proudly on the cliffs against the blueness of the sky.
The weather in Cornwall can be changeable. Often you can drive along the coast and find the weather is quite different.
Looking west was a mist - even though in a northly direction there was blue sky.
We walked along the beach and enjoyed the fresh sea air - and not a footprint in sight.
The sun did it's best to shine through the clouds.
After walking the full length of the beach we traced our footsteps, back towards the mistiness.
The cliffs were still standing …
… with blue sky in the background.
Whatever the weather, it's difficult to beat walking along a beach to lift the spirits.
Sunday 24 May 2020
Back to Walking on the Beach
It felt good, the sea air filling our lungs. Yes, after so long away from the beaches, because of the coronavirus, we had a stroll along a beach. There were only a few other walkers and those we saw all respected social distancing - and to quite a degree.
It was also good to feel the damp sand beneath the feet at low tide.
There were a few dog walkers. This dog waited patiently for his ball to be thrown into the distance.
It was a little hazy over the cliffs in the morning air.
A skeleton washed up on the sand - but no treasure!
Rocks were uncovered because of the low tide. Actually there were a couple of seniors in the sea with their boards. You can just make then out in the photo beyond the rocks.
At the far end of the beach a small stream enters the sea. Two swans seemed quite contented.
After walking the length of the beach we decided to return by following paths through the sand dunes
Lots of wild flowers within the dunes ...
… including this little beauty.
We followed an often used path as we couldn't see any other walkers.
The green hills came into view and also a few people, in the distance.
We spotted one lady sitting comfortably on her beach chair amongst the flowers.
The end of our walk and we headed back to the car. All in all very pleasant. It made a change from walking from home.
I feel that as long as beaches are reasonably empty it's quite easy to comply with the coronavirus rules. We actually do it to extreme as we leave well more than the suggested two meters / six feet and 6.7 inches from other people.
If a beach looked busy we would move on to somewhere else.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Stay safe.
Thursday 21 May 2020
Wandering and Wondering
The photo above, just because the flowers looked so great when I saw them.
Below are valerian. I find these interesting as they seem happy to grow out of stone walls with very little soil. I have seen pink, red and white varieties all clustered together.
Just to confuse things this wall loving valerian is different to the herbal plant of the same name - the one Hippocrates believed was a remedy for insomnia.
This shady path reminded me of my father, who liked to sing. One of his favourites was "In A Shady Nook, By A Babbling Brook ..." but I'll refrain from singing! Strange though what comes to mind when you walk.
A pleasantish view with trees and houses.
Nice rambling through the lanes. There was a vapour trail in the sky. We don't see many of them. If we do it is usually from flights to and from Newquay airport.
Of course there are various chemtrail conspiracy theories. For example, to quote from Wikipedia, "they consist of chemical or biological agents left in the sky by high-flying aircraft, sprayed for nefarious purposes undisclosed to the general public."
But, getting back to the real world, we passed by these old buildings now deserted.
The cottages are crying out to be converted and even have there own supply of valerian growing from one of the boundary walls.
Back home, a quiet corner in the garden. Must be time for tea!
There is a Japanese Proverb: If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.
Cheers!
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A Walk to Pentewan Village, Beach and Harbour
It was a sunshine day so we decided on a walk to Pentewan along the Pentewan Trail starting from the bridge as shown above. ...