quidnovis61

Actually

I am at a loss for words...Yeah, you never thought you would hear ME say that, now did you?? Well it is nevertheless true! For once I actually am...

It was Elizabeth's turn to mow the lawn yesterday and on coming in she says:

Mummy, I think  the babies have come. I heard tiny chirping from Cranberry Cottage when I was in the garden...

No, I did not believe her

And in the late afternoon I sat in the Sun Lounge drinking coffee and I was delighted to see Tweety and Chirpy flying at mach speeds in and out, round about, over and under, back and forth and I was of course pleased to see such activities going on.- because it has been rather Quiet on the Western Front there for a while And if course I went and got my ever faithful friend The Canon. (My camera, not the local cathedral priest!) And so there was a Whole Lotta Clickin' Goin' On...

And then I realised that the stuff in their beaks and all that feverish flying about was not moss, twigs and feathers! IT WAS FOOD!! And when both Tweety and Chirp flew away for a split second, I crept gingerly up to the Cottage and would you believe it?

Elizabeth was RIGHT!!! There were tiny tiny Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep-s coming from within... It was amazing and wonderful and absolutely enthralling.

Nope, I shan't write more.

I cant write more.

It is too amazing!

And although I have no pictures and wont ever have any of the Tiny Tots in there - I have heard them and I see Tweety and Chirp flying in and out with delicious yummy protein diet of worms, larva (VERY GREEN and JUICY!) and insects for the young ones. Soon they will be strong enough to fly, soar and reach for the stars...

I will let the pictures speak for themselves

Signing off for now, with a tweet and a chirp!
C.S

I don't know if you know this or not but we have a cottage in our garden this year. We put it up last autumn and I hammered and nailed away, Per held the ladder and Elizabeth did the camera documentation.... Oh, it was such fun. We chose the best spot in the garden so it would have a great Room with a View. In the early spring we had one or two couples who were interested but it didn't suit their purposes it seems and so we waited. It is Spring/Summer and one really does not need to advertise. If one is patient, it will soon be rented out. And so we waited a few days and soon we had Mr and Mrs Blau who were very interested in the cottage and made a few trips back and forth to have a good look at it. And finally decided that it was a lovely cottage indeed and that they would be very happy here and they didn't mind the proximity to us - we are living quite close to each other here.

And so we signed a contract. We have now officially rented out Cranberry Cottage for the entire season. The rent, we decided, would be paid on an "As and When" basis. It actually works out rather well. We are being paid very handsomely indeed and so happy about the extra joys this rent brings to our family. We certainly could do with this little extra income...

And we are indeed grateful to Mr and Mrs Blau. They are such a lovley sweet couple.

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And so it came about that one very bright spring day we noticed Chirp and Tweety flying about, back and forth, in the bushes around the Cottage quite excitedly. Chirp would sit on the Cottage roof or the branches and chirp very loudly indeed and Tweety would reply and then they would change places... sometimes they were there together...and this continued for a few days. I think they were deciding on whether to rent the cottage after all... and if so, where to buy the furniture and go shopping etc. IKEA for a good soft bed of moss and feathers and leaves and twigs? The garden supermarket for worms and tiny insects? The Jönsson's Restaurant where there is a variety of grains to be had? The kitchen garden for a fresh feast of coniferous seeds and delicious new cones?

They finally decided that this really would be a good place to give birth to young ones and raise them up to be good kind decent citizens of Aves.  And so the feverish activity of "moving in" started.

Chirp and Tweety are a species, of Cyanistes caeruleus (Latin)  - but most unfortunately -  called Blue Tits in the Queen's Lingo, Yes, I know. I feel my face twitch with silent laughter as well but then there it is. Absolutely NOTHING to do with Pamela Anderson I assure you - the only thing in common is their ancestry: Both have Scandinavian ancestors!! But then this certainly is proof that Language is not static. Meanings change constantly. Etymologically Tits, as a nomenclature for these intelligent denizens of our natural world is from the 14^th century! There are Marsh Tits and Blue Tits (yes we have a number of both in the garden) and Great Tits (no, don't smile, it is not supposed to be a Pamela-pun).

So Tweety and Chirp moved in...many many days of flying back and forth with moss and twigs and feathers. A lot of loud chirping and excitement - well, in all fairness, wouldn't you too - if you were deciding on a new sofa set and matching curtains and crockery and cutlery for your new home? It is a joy to sit in the Sun Lounge and watch them slowly build up the nest inside and hear them discussing and debating. Lately the activity has abated and so I suppose they are happy with their purchases.

The "cottage" (named Cranberry Cottage because our address is Cranberry Path) cannot be opened and one cannot and of course should not look in either. It has a metal protection around the window (hole) so that bigger birds cannot peck at the wood and make the hole bigger and get in. Woodpeckers around here are adept at it, I can tell you! The hole has a particular dimension too, that enables only this size of birds to comfortably fly in/out.

And fly in and out they certainly do.

There is a lot to be learnt from these tiny intelligent creatures if one just quietly watches them. I protest loudly to the term
Birdbrained meaning stupid or daft. The person who coined it most certainly didn't watch the birds and see the intelligence in their eyes or the hard working ambitious characteristics in their lives nor their resilient tenacity.

The neighbour's cat I think knows that Chirp and Tweety live there...but cats are really daft! I have seen him pouncing and chasing wasps, butterflies and bumble bees...but they fly away or rather they ZAP! away from him and he is left looking so surprised and rather indignant. Likewise with the birds - they are so swift. And I hope they will continue to be so.

The photos tell their entire story. I hope to hear the chirping of little babies (or the tiny patter of feet as we would say!) and finally I hope to be able to see them fly out of the cottage and soar into the blue blue sky of our brave new world.

These last three pictures are from the Internet where they have been able to take these marvellous pictures and monitor their activities with a webcam fitted inside the bird house. I don't have these hi tech facilities at Cranberry Cottage but I am grateful for the photos The Blau Family offers and generously shares with me.





Signing off for now with a tweet and a chirp!
C.S

And so the saga of my Prickles continues...

This year we are really getting spoilt by gorgeous beautiful spring weather - all of April and a few days in May. And I am out on my early morning walks everyday....Everyday there are new things to see in the forest. It is bursting with new life. Have you seen Disney's Bambi? Here is a conversation between Owl and Bambi Flower, Thumper that sums it all up!

Flower: [about two birds fluttering around] Well! What's the matter with them?
Thumper: Why are they acting that way?
Friend Owl: Why, don't you know? They're twitterpated.
Flower, Bambi, Thumper: Twitterpated?
Friend Owl: Yes. Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime. For example: You're walking along, minding your own business. You're looking neither to the left, nor to the right, when all of a sudden you run smack into a pretty face. Woo-woo! You begin to get weak in the knees. Your head's in a whirl. And then you feel light as a feather, and before you know it, you're walking on air. And then you know what? You're knocked for a loop, and you completely lose your head!
Thumper: Gosh, that's awful.
Flower: Gee whiz.
Bambi: Terrible!
Friend Owl: And that ain't all. It could happen to anyone, so you'd better be careful.
[points at Bambi]
Friend Owl: It could happen to you...
[points at Thumper]
Friend Owl: ... or you, or even...
[Flower looks at Owl shyly]
Friend Owl: Yes, it could even happen to you!
Thumper: Well, it's not gonna happen to me.
Bambi: Me neither.
Flower: Me neither.

Friend Owl: Same thing every spring. "Tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet! Tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet!" Love's sweet song. H´rrrmph! Pain in the pinfeathers, I call it!

So now you know...as Owl knows best:  Its all going TWITTERPATED!

And so has Prickles!

After my morning walk I came in to the house by way of the garden, looking for signs of Nature's Twitterpat and there was plenty of that! It was 7.30 am and the sun was warm and bright and there at the bottom of the garden I heard a faint rustle and then a distinctive khoff-khofff-khof sound. Surprised I turned around and guess WHO was there?

Yup, Prickles and in pure Spring Twitterpat fashion he had a GIRLFRIEND with him! And Prickles looked cheekily at me as if to say: I did good, huh? She is pretty, huh? You like her too, huh?

Prickles by now feels quite comfortable around the house I guess because he did not roll up into a tight prickly ball as all hedgehogs do at the slightest disturbance. His girlfriend did - but not Prickles. Not even when I took out my mobile phone to take pictures at close range.

After a short debate over names, Elizabeth and I decided her name would be Pretty. So now Pretty and Prickles are somewhere around... either in the forest or in the garden or... who knows?

And then...a few days later...he was back in our garage, this time by Elizabeth's cycle. He really feels good around here and likes the "homey" feeling I think. And once again, even when we - all three -were bustling around him taking pictures, getting my camera, talking loudly he was not afraid and didn't roll into a ball. We have deliberately left last years Autumn Leaves in the corners of our open garage (a car port) and maybe he likes it there. Hedgehogs simply love rustling leaves and thickets and like the sense of camouflage and safety it gives them. But doesn't he look naughty, cheeky, impish, mischievous?? Just look at his expression!

I wonder where Pretty is? Did he ditch her already (I hope not, she looked very beautiful and kind indeed!) or is she somewhere making a home and waiting for tiny baby hedgehogs? Well Time will tell and if we find them - by chance. No, we don't feed them or go looking for Prickles or try to tame them. If we see them its fine. If they feel safe they will come out. They are wild things and should be allowed to sharpen their instincts and sense of survival. They have so few natural enemies now a days and I am afraid The Car is their biggest enemy.

Well, I have bloggered about

Prickles I: The Hibernating Hedgehog,

Prickles II: Awake Now!

Prickles III: Growing Up

And let us see if there will be a blog on Prickles IV - The Dad.
Time will tell.

Signing off

C.S