Friday ... and appreciating what we are surrounded by

Lockdown for us is watching nature carry on undisturbed and we know we are lucky. I have to write and tell you  about this little blackbird. As much as I dont like blackbirds when they have robbed me of fruit in the garden.  The nursery rhythm of 4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie , doesn't sound like a bad idea on these days. .But this little character doesn't just sing from the roof top he sings from the highest point which is on the top of the  chimney pot.  He sings from morning till night.  Here you see him getting ready for bed as his song isn't quite a trill. He is obviously tired and looking to going to his bed .The second little snip shows him flying off to bed. He preens and prunes between his trills and has a look around. You could actually sit in the garden for ages just listening to him and how he is part of a choir that all have their own parts to play. Or even sit in the shade in the porch by the front door and watch the other birds and their activities around the garden. One lady has noted 32 species of birds in 24 hours. There is the green woodpecker which very rarely comes before May and likes to have the length of the drive as his own race track. Were as the black and white woodpecker is a visitor to the garden most days through out the year. bringing a splash and dash of red with him .  We have seen the swallows, they can a few weeks ago and I worry this cold snap will be detrimental to the breeding pattern with the lack of tiny insects they feed on and catch while in flight.  Unfortunately we haven't heard the cuckoo near the house. I always think this makes Summer but it has been heard  a field away.
The Live Cam is back on, but not always on to the bird table now as it in the winter ,but over the countryside so you can enjoy the scenery even though we cant be open yet to guests . You can find this on the right hand side on the home page of www.carrhousefarm.co.uk

Walking from Our Doorstep through the countryside

As we are having our road mended in a big way... I took to walking to the farm today with my basket on my arm. I tend to take food over for my Dad even though he is able to cook his own .It is always nice to eat what someone else has cooked or baked too. Apparently the cake I made him this week needed"a bit more oven" and wasn't as good as last weeks. So if anyone feels they want to make him one, I wont feel offended and just leave it on top of the post box near the back door and all efforts will be gratefully received.

We like to go out and eat and I think this is the thing I miss most about the Lockdown. So there I go I bake another chocolate cake to compensate for this small inconvenience.  So what better way to burn off the calories than to do a bit of walking.
It is lovely to see the animals in the fields. The grass is so green and the trees are bursting into leaf now. Despite the frost we had last night all is good in the countryside.   The frost nipped off the top of 3 rows of potatoes my Dad had got in his garden. One row was what Rubi and her Daddy had planted and were well up .

The elderflowers, give it another couple of weeks will soon be out as I am running my supply short on elderflower cordial. I am  ready with washed out milk containers to put it in for this years harvest.  It has kept remarkably well and as well as being delicious it also has health benefits too. I will come back in a later blog with the recipe and you can see how I go along with making it .

So I hope you like the little video of the cattle in the field . The bull with his harem of wives and their offspring.

And remember if you are coming to stay with us and would like to take one of our dogs with you for company on a local walk you are very welcome.