Tag: house martins

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Stable Mats

William and Toby inspecting a new mat before it goes into the stable. The cobwebs and dust have been brushed away, the straw removed and the floor washed and disinfected. Hopefully three new mats will mean the donkeys will be able to lie down without a straw bed and William’s cut will stay clean and continue to heal. The house martins are back and have started building nests, breeding pairs stay together for life and with nest building this early in the year there should be two broods produced before they fly south again. A cold, breezy, day with snow showers.

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Ouessants

Running up the paddock in the sunshine for a handful of treats, they spent most of the day in the shade under their shelter, another reason to run is to be alongside the donkeys when they come back to the stable for the night. The first house martins swooped round the stable eating the insects, no sign of the swallows which must be here as well. A hard frost overnight helped form a ribbon of fog down in the vale which took a couple of hours to lift, the morning was warm and sunny with temperatures dropping as the chilly wind from the east moved in.

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Giant Scabious

The bees love this nectar rich scabious, it does well in the wind swept border even if it’s not staked.  Fog in the valley this morning, turned into a very hot day.  Watered the hedge and all the veg, water butts nearly empty.  House Martins are flying in and around the garden and stable block at low level catching flies, not sure where they are nesting.  The pair of thrushes are back collecting worms, not seen them for a couple of days. Sheep are happy in the lower paddock where there’s lots of shade if they want it, and there’s a rabbit that likes to sleep in the buttercups, only know it’s there when it makes its escape.