The changing Seasons
| Published: 30th December 2007 19:29 |
The Changing Seasons - November/December
November has come and in the blink of an eye we are nearly through it! The flowers left in the garden are few, but roses are still appearing. The climbing rose ‘New Dawn' is still sending out new blooms of silvery pink flowers with a fruity fragrance. They are much appreciated this time of year.
Am I bothered?
I've finally managed to photograph the squirrel; I was looking out of a bedroom window one morning and noticed our lilac tree shedding its leaves at an alarming rate, what I thought was a bird in its branches turned out to be a squirrel. It suddenly launched itself from the tree and landed on the rose trellis. I rushed to get the camera but when I came back it had vanished. After an impatient few minutes waiting I spotted it again on the corner of our conservatory roof. It too had seen me and for a few seconds we looked at each other. I looked through the lens and clicked. It still looked at me as if to say. ‘Am I bothered'!
As I took more photographs he suddenly rushed off and with great agility ran along our neighbour's conservatory and garage and disappeared over a fence further along the gardens. I have a friend who dislikes squirrels greatly after discovering one in her loft. It had chewed all the wiring and several items stored there. I hope we don't have a similar experience and I will continue to put out nuts for our squirrel during the winter months but if he turns into a vandal then that's the end of our welcome!
Bathtime!
One Sunday morning a blackbird visited the garden for a quick ‘wash and brush up'. It looked around nervously, before stepping into the bath but then proceeded to give its toilette full attention. It dipped its head under the water and tossed its head back causing droplets to rain down over its wings. It fanned out its feathers and thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of the water as it trickled over its body. Then it dipped its beak into the water and shook it backwards and forwards vigorously. It appeared to listen, for it cocked its head on one side before flying off.
We have noticed more birds coming into the garden this month, the warmer town gardens and available food is a big attraction to them, as the colder winds and frosts make searching for food more difficult and country living less desirable.
Solitary Starling
One solitary starling appeared to greedily peck at the balls of fat strung up in the tree. The feather markings are very striking, they are handsome birds but seem aggressive with each other, always quarrelling and noisy like unruly teenagers. Perhaps this one got fed up and branched out on its own for a few moments.
One late afternoon I happened to look up at the sky and was rewarded by the sight of gulls flying high above me. Probably returning to Draycote Water to rest for the night after an exciting day out. That's the trouble with November, from here onwards the daylight fades quickly bringing dark afternoons. Early mornings are also dark and make us feel we should still be in bed. Perhaps it's Nature's way of telling us we should hibernate with our nuts!
What do you think?
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