Had first one and then a second male blackcap in the garden this morning. This is unusual for the time of the year (and the weather, it was raining quite hard), I wonder if they are returning early due to the mild weather?
Category: Wildlife/Nature
Leap Day Wildlife
I started the leap day off right with a buzzard sighting at the Fort. One (large) buzzard flew overhead as I was walking the dogs this morning, pursued by 2 crows. Strangely all 3 birds were silent, and if I hadn’t been looking at the time, I probably would have missed them.
Normally the crows call out and harass a buzzard they are trying to drive away, so that it draws attention to what they perceive as the interloper.
The buzzard gracefully slipped through the upper branches of the trees to shake off it’s pursuers.
A few steps later, I also saw some fresh deer prints in the mud, another good sign.
Ruby Looses Her Ball, Finds it Again
One of our regular walks (almost daily while the wet weather has been about) is around Fort Fareham. Built to defend us from French invasion, it’s now a light industrial site and area for recreation.
As the trees have lost their leaves Ruby has started to notice the squirrels, particularly as they have been so active in the mild weather. A few days ago she saw one and went on a chase, although the pursuit was short lived (she hasn’t worked out the whole tree climbing thing), she dropped her ball. The video below shows what happened next.
My Review of 2015
As 2015 winds its way into 2016, I thought I would sit and review a few bits of my year.
Work
On the work front it’s been a significant year for me. About 12 months ago, I was working out numbers and calculating where I might end up if I accepted a voluntary redundancy offer. By the end of July I had gone from being an employee to being self-employed and my own boss. I wasn’t quite planning things that way, but so far my new business has been going well enough to keep me working and provide an income, as well as allow me to do some other development work, but there is still much more for me to do, and whilst I need to sit and do some planning for 2016 and how this is going to work for me, I don’t really know what next year will bring on the work front.
This change in my work, although probably one of the biggest steps I’ve taken in my life, and potentially very stressful, has given me a much better work / life balance than I had before and maybe have ever had. I don’t know how it’s going to work out in the longer term, but I feel like I’m generally moving in the right direction.
Allotment
This year has been one of my best years on the allotment. We’ve pretty much been self-sufficient for vegetables from late spring, all through the summer and into autumn, only have to buy things like mushrooms and peppers, which I didn’t grow. Next year, I’m planning on growing peppers, so that should change as well. I’ve also enjoyed my plot more than I ever have. I know that sounds a little odd, but I’ve really gotten engaged in what I’ve been doing and been keeping much better records than ever before in a pocket notebook, so that I can look back and see how things have been. As the winter has approached I’ve kept a few things going and we’ve had a supply of winter vegetables as well. I’m now looking forward to next year, with even bigger plans.
Books
Last year was a poor year for me, finding time to read, and at the start of this year, I set my sights relatively low, not anticipating reading many books. In the end I’ve ended up reading nearly 50 books (I might actually achieve 50 before the year is out), which has quite surprised me. You can see what I’ve been reading on GoodReads, here.
My book of the year has to be Common Ground by Rob Cowen it’s an incredible book, which I’ve now read twice, and still dip into again and again. It’s made me reconnect much more with urban wildlife, as Rob tells the story of his “edgelands” and the wildlife near Bilton in Harrogate. It’s full of vivid descriptions, and stories putting the reader in the place of the wildlife as well as being a really personal account. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.
My other highlights are also all natural history books, including H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald, The Peregrine by J A Baker, Claxton by Mark Cocker, and Notes From Walnut Tree Farm & Wildwood by the late Roger Deakin. I could name more, and probably I’ve enjoyed nearly everything I’ve read this year. I just hope that 2016 brings more of the same. We’ll see.
Films & TV
I can’t say that I there was anything really memorable to write about here. I enjoyed the final Hobbit movie, but otherwise I don’t really remember what else I’ve watched this year. On the TV side there have been a few things, but the one that I really want to mention is Bosch which has been available on Amazon Video. This has bought Michael Connelly’s character from over 20 books to the small screen – Harry Bosch. It’s been a great series and I’m pleased that there is going to be a second season, probably early next year.
2016?
As for next year, I don’t know what I want from the year yet. I need to sit and do some planning, both professionally and personally. Set myself some targets and goals. I might come back and share this in due course.
Roasted Chestnuts
It’s the time of year when you can forage for Sweet Chestnuts either to eat now or to save for Christmas time. They can be used as a tasty snack or for stuffing in the turkey on Christmas Day.
As with all foraged food if you don’t know what something is, don’t eat it!
Sweet Chestnuts are very different to Horse Chestnuts (Conkers) which are poisonous. They have a much thinner and spikier outer casing than the Horse Chestnut.
If in any doubt, leave them be!
We gathered ours and brought them home. There they were washed, their skins nicked (to allow them to expand a little without exploding in the oven!), and roasted on a baking tray in an oven at 200ºC (180ºC Fan), 400F, Gas 6. For about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how large the chestnuts are.
They can also be eaten without roasting, however beware that under the harder outer case there is a thinner membrane that surrounds the nut kernel. This can be quite bitter when they’re raw, so you may want to remove this too.
Once cooked, allow to cool and then simply remove the outer case (remember they still might be hot to touch, so don’t burn yourself!) and eat. They should be soft and crumbly and slightly sweet.
Enjoy!
Autumn Leaves and Morning Walks
I walk the dogs every morning (& evening). Sometimes it feels the same as the previous day, often we meet the same people each morning. Sometimes something happens that’s different. Wilson found a falling autumn leaf this morning, in a rather unorthodox manner. A different aspect to my morning walk.
And Then There Were Two (Well Three Actually)
I wrote yesterday about our Resident Magpie. Well he’s obviously been telling his chums, because this afternoon there were three of them in the garden. Two on the bird feeder and a third on the suet block which is in the tree just behind. Unforunately I wasn’t quick enough with my phone to get a picture of all three together. The one on the lower platform of the feeder is the one I refer to as our resident, and has the discoloured feathers.
Allotment Update & Swimming With Dogs
I’ve been a little slack posting here, so by way of a couple of videos, here’s an update on some of what I’ve been up to. I hope to have some news on the job front soon, and will cover that separately when I do.
We took the dogs to Emsworth for a swim yesterday. Only really the first time that Ruby has properly been swimming. The video is fairly low quality as I didn’t want to take my expensive camera out over the water with me, so I was using an older one, that I was less worried about dropping, but the quality isn’t as good.
Our garden seems to have become quite popular with a certain juvenile magpie, he’s taken a shine to one of the fatball feeders (rain or shine) and his acrobatics trying to get to the fastballs is quite entertaining. He’s fascinating to watch, particularly recently as he’s been trying to work out if he can dislodge the feeder from the tree branch to forgo his acrobatics (he hasn’t succeeded yet).
Electronic Scrapbook 