Post Furlough Return To Work....

OK, yes I've been a bit absent the last couple of weeks, and with genuine reasons. Normally I pop on on a Wednesday afternoon after my weekly hospital visit, but with the current climate, I'm at work until the hospital appointments resume, and, working has been variable days and times, which means fitting in shopping and other tasks around my work hours, oh and not forgetting the HS2 road closures, narrow lanes etc as they ramp up their work!

So, I'm well, and I hope you're all well?

Any gossip, please tag it here.....

My local reserve I understand has been overwhelmed with visitors, so I've kept away, because in places, social distancing is not practicable. That's nature, not a fault of the reserve, making some paths very narrow. Long term, it doesn't look like things will get much better quickly, especially as a nearby town is experiencing uncontrolled Covid-19 cases, but not deaths, and if Leicester is anything to go by, if a localised lockdown does occur, then i will be impacted.

Lets hope not.

I've not been too busy with the camera, but here's a few, and some interesting rare visitors included....

A large white butterfly enjoying one of the new lavender plants

A peach of a sunrise....

The next two sunrise pics were taken about two mins apart.

A hiding pond lily

And a blooming nice lily

The newly planted erysimum and lavender plants are filling out nicely,

And the big surprise visitors, long tailed tits, of which at one point, we had at least ten on one feeder!

This pic below, there were two just out of the the image, which I didn't see til afterwards.

One cutely waiting its turn...

This one gave up waiting and found another feeder...

And once the feeding frenzy had died off, this one came back....

Take care and stay safe and I'll hopefully catch up with more posts over the weekend.

STOP PRESS!

More LTT's this afternoon!

  • Apologies for the delayed for the absence, things have been a bit busy, in a positive fashion.

    Mrs PR is making good recovery, and we both detest online shopping where food is picked  with less than a days use before/best before dates on, battered and bruised fruit and veg, so last weekend we were playing catchup now she feels able to push a shopping trolley for short periods.

    My retirement has been knocked back, so I'll be back to work early Jan, which I have to confess, I was warming to the idea of retirement, but hey-ho, "Que Sera Sera" etc....

    The garden has been busy, though weather and poor light hasn't leant to many photos, so here's a few;

    The fish are still quite active, which is good to see.

    An urban sunset

    Another urban sunset, but with HS2 works (before the buildings block out the view) just the other side of the bushes.

    Yesterday's offerings, a squirrel looking at a feeder and thinking, ''BREAKFAST'.....

    A robin having a mealie for breakie....

    A rather eager squirrel racing off to get somewhere before another nearby squirrel gets there!

    I wonder if it was in training for the new Milk Tray adverts.....

    and back to base.....

    A rather annoyed squirrel making loud clicking noises and flicking its body, because a cat had wandered in the garden disturbing the squirrels lunch....

    Moving position to check where the cat has moved to

    The cats has gone, time to get back to feeding again....

    Stay safe everyone

  • Lovely set Mike and fabulous photo captures of both sunset and early morning breakfast !
  • Oh well looks like back to work then Mike! Hushed
    Them pesky squirrels up no good as usual...least your always guaranteed a good pic or 2 of them lol...Lovely sunset pics.
    Great to hear Mrs PR is doing well.
  • Good to hear Mrs PB is making a good recovery and now able to battle with the shopping trolley! Shame about having to go back to work in the new year after getting used to the idea of retirement, it will only be for a short while hopefully. Lovely photos, love the mischievous squirrel.
  • I think I feel the same about on-line food shopping, although I've never actually tried it. Mind you, more stuff is pre-packed now than it was so maybe there's not much difference.
    Excellent action shots of the Cyril
  • Unknown said:
    Lovely set Mike and fabulous photo captures of both sunset and early morning breakfast !

    Thank you Hazel.

    We're lucky to have the garden we have, and there are still some trees close by for wildlife to inhabit, though I see yesterday (Monday 21st), more trees have been felled just outside the nearby woods.....

  • Linda257 said:
    Oh well looks like back to work then Mike!


    Them pesky squirrels up no good as usual...least your always guaranteed a good pic or 2 of them lol...Lovely sunset pics.
    Great to hear Mrs PR is doing well.

    Yep.

    Someone's got to help pay for the govt's Furlough schemes and loans from the IMF!  LOL

    As for the squiggles, definitely guaranteed a laugh....

  • Lynn L said:
    Good to hear Mrs PB is making a good recovery and now able to battle with the shopping trolley! Shame about having to go back to work in the new year after getting used to the idea of retirement, it will only be for a short while hopefully. Lovely photos, love the mischievous squirrel.

    Thanks CL.

    Que sera sera as the old phrase goes.... But at least I'm still contributing to the pension pot, so it will accrue a wee bit more in the kitty.... LOL

  • Right.

    I'm on my Xmas hols, and the garden just keeps delivering, even on the dullest and wettest of days, which yesterday (Monday) was. I had to resort to standing in the kitchen and getting in Mrs PR's way while she was trying to prepare dinner, though she didn't complain, especially when she had the opportunity to watch as well.....

    First, one from Sunday 20th, a few bulbs, and should be the snow bells, showing their way through, which is quite normal at this time of year....

    Also the never ending chasing of the squirrels around the garden, the cherry tree and anywhere else they get to....

    From Monday 21st;

    Blue tits enjoying the coconut shell of mealies...

    A robin on the pellet feeder, having a good nibble for a good long while,....

    It wasn't intended to photo this squirrel, it just photobombed its way in, frightening off a great tit!

    A robin eyeing up lunch....

    Which turned out to be a worm....

    "Now, how do I eat this?"

    "Going"

    "Going"

    "Gone"

    Regular visitors to the garden, a pair of crows, though the other one was up in the cherry tree out of the way. These crows are so gentle the way they goa about their daily business, but are more the ready to exert authority on annoying squirrels or magpies....

    What had caught the eye of this one,

    couldn't have been edible, or accessible, it went away without even trying....

    Possibly the same robin, though there are others that frequent the garden,  and the coconut shell with mealies in....


    A satisfied robin, perhaps....

    More blue tit action....

    And some messy house sparrows.....

    I did say messy.....

    A blackbird contemplating the mealies, but never tried....

    And finally, a wood pigeon getting in on the act, eating mealies!

    Were they a bit bitter or sour in taste!

    Click on the photo and look at the eye

    Incidentally, dinner was up to Mrs PR's usual high standards, even with me getting in the way.... LOL

    Stay safe everyone.

  • Thank you for the fun and frolics in your garden. Messy sparrows indeed. How do you keep the coconut shell upright on the post, so that it does not tip over and the mealies come out?