WE SAW A STOAT

 It was a beautiful day today and so we decided to take a drive around the Sussex countryside.

Everywhere there were different hues of green with the new leaves coming out, and the lambs in the fields made it just a lovely day.

As we were driving we saw an small animal dash across the road and recognized it as a Stoat.

This is the first time we've seen one in years and it was such a joy and made my day.

It's not often you get the chance to see these little creatures.

Neither the stoat or weasel is in any real danger of extinction in the UK, they are however threatened by hunting, habitat loss, poisoning and both often get run over on the country lanes.

After reading the passage above I can well believe that they are in danger of being run over.

Spotting the Stoat made my day. 

Briony

x

5 OF THE BEST

 What were they doing this morning.

Polly was gazing out of the back door.

Princess was hoping for more biccies

Rowan was looking all innocent and lovely as usual

Rupert was snoozing in the sink.

Willow looking a bit sneaky. lol

They are all 14 years old next month and Polly with be roughly 15.

They said it was a long time since they'd been on show and so I obeyed their wishes. lol

AMBER'S JOB INTERVIEWS

 Amber my Granddaughter came to see us last week as she is home from Uni for the Easter.

She is on the final run of a three year stint and is actively looking for work.

I didn't realise quite how difficult it is for these young enthusiastic kids to get a job these days.

Apart from the fact that there a many people all after the same job when you get there, it is a whole day of interviews, exams and working for several hours on the spot to show how you perform.

All this and a scant chance that you might get the job and if you don't, going all over it again and again with different employers.

I recently had my groceries delivered by a lovely young boy who told me that he had finished Uni with a degree and just could not find a job. He had had to take this job to fill in until he was able to find something more suitable to his knowledge.

How soul destroying for these young people who are told to work hard in order to get a good job only to end doing something menial not connected to their studies.

When I was young all you had to do was buy a newspaper and browse the job column, pick a job you fancied and apply.   Nine out of ten times you just went for the interview and got the job.

How times have changed.

KEEPING MY FINGERS COOL

 

I have treated my self to a mini fan to keep my fingers cool in the summer.

I bought it from Amazon as all my attempts to support the local shops didn't work

No wonder Amazon is doing so well, the small shops just cannot compete with variety and cost. I ordered last night and its here this afternoon.

Such a shame for the small traders.

A nice sandwich of Persian Tiles with just 2 1/2 to go before I start to sew it up.

Have a good Easter

Briony

x

SOPHIES CARDIGAN IS FINISHED.

 

Here is Harry wearing his crochet cardigan costing the earth.

And here is Sophie in hers, made for a fraction of the price.

Not bad for a first attempt.

Sky's the limit I'd say.

If you are wondering about the sleeves, they are supposed to be like that.

EARLY MORNING SADNESS

 We have a pair of blackbirds nesting in a very large bush in one of the back gardens nearby.

We've watched them collecting worms from our tiny garden and enjoyed their company.

This morning I awoke to loud distress calls from these blackbirds and looking out of the bedroom window immediately  saw the reason. A magpie was darting about in the bush where the nest is.

They tried valiantly to scare it off but it went deeper into the bush.

I had to come away from the window because it was so upsetting and a short time after the noise stopped.

I have to assume that the magpie was successful and all the hard work that these beautiful birds had done was for nothing.

This made me think about the fact that once upon a time magpies were purely country birds and did not come into the built up areas.

Cats have a bad reputation for the loss of the bird population but watching this horrible scene made me realise that possibly the magpie is more of a challenge to the nesting birds than the cats are.

Not a good way to start the day.

The study found that songbird numbers were no different in places where there were many magpies from where there are few. It found no evidence that increased numbers of magpies have caused declines in songbirds and confirms that populations of prey species are not determined by the numbers of their predators. Availability of food and suitable nesting sites are probably the main factors limiting songbird populations.

So after finding this passage on rspb website this would tie in with my hatred of paved gardens. Lack of bushes and trees seem to be the main reason for the decline in birds.

DEMOLISHION DAUGHTER

 

Matt came up on Wednesday and made a start on the shed and Penny has come today to do a bit more and take some to the tip.

Such a lot of rubbish from such a tiny shed, lol

NEW TINY SHED

 

Most readers will be familiar with my bijou shed.

Sadly the old girl has seen better days and like me is falling apart at the seams, lol

We didn't want an expensive shed as sadly we are not likely to be here for many more years and so a small cheap shed is the answer, just to keep the gardening tools and such in.

The roof is rotten and the sides are pulling apart but she's done really well.

She was originally a 6 x 4 shed on our allotment and when we gave it up we cut her in half to fit the Bijou garden.

Ta Da..  here is the box of tricks to build the new one.

Just waiting for strong son to come and give me a hand to dismantle the old one.

Tom and I would have had the old one down and the new one up in a trice once upon a time but no now, boo hoo....

Will post when the new one is up.

Briony

x

I HAVE A VIRUS

 My virus checker was due for renewal and so I duly purchased one and put it on.

The next day and I am getting pornographic pop ups  regularly appearing to the side of the screen.

Where the hell have they come from, I assure you I haven't been on naughty sites and it's only happened after putting the new checker on.

I asked at the shop and apparently a virus can lie dormant for ages and then decide to appear.

Thankfully the rest of the pc is working just fine.

I've muted the sound so that the alert is not so obvious and I don't keep looking down at the corner where they are appearing.

Oh well, it looks like a visit to the shop for a clean up is inevitable.

More cash going out. 

CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK

Here is Sophie my Grand Daughter sewing up her crochet patches to make a cardigan.

She's been hard at it in her bedroom making patches every spare moment.

This is where she got the idea from. Harry Styles has one and so they must be trendy.

I bet his cost several hundred though.

I am so happy that at least one of my Grandchildren is creative.

Will post the finished item when she has sewn it all together.