Our garden

More baby birds

Last year we discovered hidden guests in our garden, i.e. two baby pigeons.
Proof of our hospitality is that this year we have two baby starlings with protective parents in tow.

Long may this continue!

The changing seasons

Slowly but surely we are coming to the end of a lovely summer. I say that because some of the days we are still having are so lovely that they still feel like summer.
However, most of the harvests are in, the soil has been turned over and the hay bailed.
 This year we had especially beautiful displays of rapeseed around us and this is the before and after view.

 Our garden however is still a little confused. We still have strawberries sprouting

 and our rose bushes are still exploding in new growth

So it feels like there is still a lot of life […]

A new (hopefully permanent) visitor

For the last ten days we have had a daily visitor.
 A beautiful robin who is not at all shy or afraid of humans. He/she is more than content to peck around the garden less than two yards from us.
He/she is currently tucking into the ripening grapes.
We bought and installed a nesting box for them complete with sawdust and we are hoping that they will stay permanently.
We are dreaming of a robin and snow for Christmas!

Hidden guests

Following on from our previous post, starting up a new B&B can obviously be challenging with many different issues coming fast and furious.

So far everything is going very well with our B&B in Shipston-On-Stour however we have recently discovered residents who have snuck in unannounced and made themselves comfortable. Whilst pruning one of our Jack-In-The-Beanstalk creepers, I found that the pigeons have built a very cosy little nest and have produced two large handsome offspring sitting quietly and probably demanding food. Although we are not set up to host children, I think I am going to have a problem […]

Bird camaraderie

This week my husband witnessed something truly remarkable especially for us ex city dwellers. We have worked hard to make our garden as bird and insect friendly as possible and the delightful result of this is being able to witness the unending antics of a variety of birds.

The birds have also taken advantage of our good nature and, where a full feeder used to last a week, a feeder now lasts a maximum of three days. Fortunately they cannot reach up to ring the doorbell when it is empty but I get the feeling that they will eventually find […]