More homes for wildlife

I have a lot of hedgehogs visiting my  garden since I started to put food out for them at night.  I put dried kitten food out which they seem to like.  I don't put a lot out as I think their natural food of insects, worm, caterpillars and such like are better for them.  In winter when the ground is frozen they will not be able to find these so it is good to supply an alternative for them.  They do hibernate in winter but they may wake and feel like a snack so it's good to provide something and also water.   The milder winters mean they might not be hibernating for as long.  I watch the feeding station with a trail camera at night so I can see when they are around.  If I don't see them for a few night I don't always put food out as it attracts the cats and sometimes rats.

This is a video of a rat visiting the feeding station a couple of years ago.

I've had a hedgehog house for a few years now but don't think there has been a resident staying in there. I have seem prospective tenants taking in nesting material but don't think they have stayed.  There is some nesting material in there now so I will keep watch on it.

The Garden Pond

I love my pond it is a great place for wildlife.  It has been a breeding place for frogs, toads and newts over the years. For the past  8 or 9 years the numbers of these has been reduced by the takeover of the pond by dragonflies.  There have been so many and their young, which are called nymphs have been eating all the tadpoles for quite a number of years and now there doesn't seem to be any amphibians around to breed in it any more.  With no tadpoles there is no food for the dragonfly nymph so maybe there will be no dragonflies now. 

This is the pond in March 2011 when it had been emptied and relined.  Luckily it didn't stop the frogs and there was spawn later in the month. By July it was flourishing again.  There were damselflies, frogs and newts to name but a few.  Below is a young newt. The grandchildren loved pond dipping to see what lived in there. 

I would recommend a wildlife pond to anybody if you have space.  Very little maintenance involved and lots of pleasure.  It provides water to lots of other creatures including our cat! 

A home for wildlife .

My large garden is too big for me to manage now so rather than be a gardener I manage  accommodation for wildlife.  

For many years I have had bird boxes which have gradually increased in number.  I have a wildlife pond which has  been home to amphibians, insects and other small pond creatures. 

I have many mature trees and a big hedge which provide food and shelter for birds, insects and small mammals.  Also I like to plant flowers which are good for insects and birds.

This week has been bird box maintenance week with the help of Richard https://www.projectnestbox.co.uk/  

Box number one is an old box which needed replacing.  When Richard opened it a great tit flew out and surprised him.  There was already a nest in there but no eggs yet. Instead of replacing it he just fixed it more securely to the fence and left it.  This box had been used by great tits last year but sadly the eggs didn't hatch.  Something must have happened to the adults to make them abandon the nest. 

Box number 2 is a couple of years old and was used by a pair of bluetits last year and I sat on my patio and watched them fledge.  There was no new nesting material in it now so Richard emptied it and left it.  Hopefully it isn't too late for another pair of bluetits to find it.  This box was used by hornets a few years ago.

Box number 3 is newly fitted on a fence post at the end of the hedge.  So many small birds in and out of the hedge all the time so hope they find it and like it. 

Box number 4 was new last year when  it was a replacement for a broken one.  It's a very good site as it has had great tits using it for a few years. Not in use yet but old nest removed, so finger crossed it will be used again.  I really should have cleaned them out earlier. 

Box number 5 has been in this position for several years but never been used. Will leave it for this year and see what happens

Box number 6 is high up in an oak tree where I can't see in it. Richard had his ladder and checked it out. It has the start of a new bluetit nest inside. Apparently it has small feathers in it, which  great tits don't use as nesting material, so must be bluetits. The previous box on this tree was home to honeybees one summer and when they left it there were several honeycombs in it.  The following winter it was full of leopard slugs YUCK! This is a replacement box fitted last year.

Box number 7 has been a successful one having great tits in it for a few years now.  this year they have already started building a lovely nest so shouldn't bee long before there are eggs in it.  It is lined with sheep's wool and some kind of fur.  Looks like  ginger cat to me but no way they would find cat fur in that quantity.  Maybe someone has been grooming a dog and thrown the fur out. 

Boxes 8 and 9 are open front boxes which are preferred by robins,  They like their boxes to be more secluded than the tits do so they have been moved to more suitable positions. 

Box number 10 is a new one fitted high up on the fence.

I think that's enough for today.  I will be writing again tomorrow about more home in my garden! 

 

 Catering for wildlife in the garden. 

It's time to start thinking about the birds and bees in the garden again.

The insects are easily taken care of with lots of wild flowers which I have in abundance, especially dandelions which are an essential first food for the bees and other insects.  They feed on the nectar and in the case of bees they use it to produce honey.  They also pollinate the flowers so they produce seeds and fruit.  Lots of seeds are food for the birds, and in my garden I have a lot of goldfinches that feed on my birdfeeders but once spring comes they make a beeline for the dandelion seeds. I have so many primroses growing all over the garden, the seeds of which were probably spread by the birds. 

I have had bird nest boxes for many years which give me great pleasure. I like watching the birds building their nest and feeding their young.

I am a bit late this year to empty them ready for this years nesting time.  As usual I had some help from Richard Lloyd Evans https://www.projectnestbox.co.uk/ who make and supplies nest boxes. He supplied me with two new nest boxes suitable for great tits and bluetits. He also emptied some of last years boxes and moved two robin boxes to more suitable positions.   

I though it time to branch out a bit so this year Richard has fitted a bat box for me.  Can't wait to see if the bats find it and like it. 

It is such a stylish home and there's a picture of a bat on it so they will know it's for them. 

I have done enough blogging for today but I will hopefully be back tomorrow to tell you about my bird boxes. 

Catalogue of my treasures

May seem a strange idea but I have lots of "treasures" that I have collected over the years.  They are mainly from charity shops but not all of them. Some were gifted to me.  As I am getting older I worry about what will happen to them all when I am no longer here.  I doubt my family will want any and I doubt any are worth very much but if the family know what they are they can find out if any are valuable and then possibly sell them.  I tried to do this is a word document but I couldn't get to grips with my word processing programme, when I tried to add photos they were all upside down and I didn't know how to rotate them. I have therefore resorted to using my blog as I am used to that.  Here is my first listing. 😁

 Davidson's vintage Art Deco 1930s Pink Pressed glass chevron design vase

This vase was made by the Davidson Glassware company in the 1930s.  It is pink depression glass in an art deco design called Chevron.  This was called Elegant glass which was a higher quality than regular pressed glass of the depression era. According to the article below it was created in United States but Davidson's was a British company so must have followed United States. 

George Davidson founded the Teams Flint Glass Works in 1867, which later became known as George Davidson & Co. In the 1880's the company began producing pressed glass tableware. During the 1920's designs changed to reflect the new Art Deco trends. The factory closed in 1987.

Elegant glass is high quality glassware created in the United States during the Depression Era. It was sold for high prices in department stores and given as wedding gifts.^[1] Although part of the Depression Era, it is considered by most to be a separate category or sub category of Depression glass.^[2] When new, Elegant glass would cost more than standard Depression glass, because it was at least partially handmade, had a cleaner finish, and more vibrant colors. From the 1920s through the 1950s, Elegant glass was an alternative to fine china. Most of the Elegant glassware manufacturers closed by the end of the 1950s, and cheap glassware and imported china took its place.

Autumn

 AUTUMN

Swirling early morning mist and the

Hazy platinum sun,

The noticeable chill in the morning air

Tell us that autumn has come.

 

Underfoot the crunch of leaves

Brings with it the scent of autumn.

That nutty aroma of crushed acorns,

Evoking childhood memories

Of collecting autumn treasures.

Acorns, conkers and hazelnuts,

That could fill a squirrel’s winter store.

Soft plump blackberries and sour crab apples

For making jam and golden pies.

Sycamore keys floating down like helicopters

Coming to rest amongst the crumpled leaves.

Fluffy old man’s beard covers the hedgerows which are hung

With scarlet chains of black bryony berries

And delicate webs laced with dewdrops in the still morning air.

The smell of autumn bonfires fills the air

Reminding us of the cold that winter will bring.

Changing the mellow autumnal days

Into cold grey ones, awaiting the arrival of spring.

Where have all the Sheila gone?

  I  don't know where all the time has gone, it's over 5 years since I last blogged so I hope I remember how to do it.   First I need to add a picture I think, it makes blogs more interesting if you have a picture.  Okay that's fine, it is a rather big one but the subject of my blog today.  

 

Where have all the Sheilas gone?

                             I have noticed over the years that not many young girls are called Sheila any more. I knew a few when I was a child and recently, on face-book, I have met a few while playing online games. In fact I have collected quite a few as online friends and must say that they are a lovely group of friends. The above photo shows many of them. This makes me think it must have been quite a popular name in the post World War 2 era. Time for a bit of research to keep me busy, better than housework.

    Over the past 20 years or more I have researched my family history so while I have hit a bit of a hiatus in that research I moved on to this. The place I decided was a good place to start is the births, marriages and deaths site FreeBMD. This has records of births in the UK from 1837.

    I started in 1837 searching for all the children registered with the name Sheila which also includes the different spellings of the name. The first record I found was in the September quarter of 1861. This doesn't mean there were none before her but to find those would mean searching the parish registers which aren't a full record and were only filled in if the child was baptised and many of the records have been lost over the years.

    I got waylaid in my research here because the first record I found turned out not to be a Sheila after all. Someone must have transcribed it wrong from the original record and as usual I went off at a tangent looking into the name it should have been which was Thulia. But that upset me because Thulia died in their month of birth and I put their because the record said gender unknown.

    The next names in the birth record are not until March quarter of 1877 and there were 2 babies given the name in the birth records but on researching them there are more transcription errors. Sheila Louise Hill was Theilia according to the 1881 census and Sheila William Lathbury was Charles William when I checked the original record. This make me wonder how many of the records I have found in the past are wrongly transcribed.

    The next Sheilas are in the 1870s and there are 5 between 1877 and 1880. I'm not going to investigate whether they are really Sheilas as I might be here forever. Between 1881 and 1890 there were 27 Sheilas listed and from then on the number went up dramatically. In the 1920s there were 30,844 and even more dramatic rises in the 1930s and 1940s with more than 50,000 in each of these two decades (including me!). This is when the name Sheila piqued in popularity. By the 1950s there was a big drop to 29,272 and the 1960s it was down to 8,746.

    This trend continued towards the end of the century and the name is now on the list of girls names that are at risk of disappearing all together. Not sure how true this is but this is the list I found:

Annette, Beryl, Brenda, Carolyn, Cheryl, Dawn, Debbie, Debra, Denise, Diane, Donna, Doris, Edna, Freda, Geraldine, Gladys, Gwendoline, Hilda, Janet, Janice, Jean, Jordan, Kirsty, Lindsey, Lorraine, Lynda, Lynn, Marian, Marion, Marjorie, Marlene, Maud, Mildred, Norma, Pamela, Pauline, Sheila, Shirley, Suzanne, Thelma, Tracey, Tracy, Toni and Yvonne.

    As the tradition of naming children after their parents seems to have ended all these Sheilas have obviously not named the children after themselves, maybe the name wasn't so popular with those who were named Sheila.

    The name Sheila is thought to be derived from the Irish name Sile which is believed to be from the Gaelic form of the Latin name Cecilia. Cecilia is the patron saint of music. Different meaning I have found for the name are heavenly, musical and blind one.   

Getting ready for Spring in the Garden

After doing the Big Garden Birdwatch yesterday I decided it was time to  get ready for when the birds in my garden start nesting.  I have had bird nesting boxes in the garden for many years now and they need to be emptied every year so they are ready for new occupants.  Also after a while of being exposed to the elements they often need to be repaired or replaced.  Two of mine were damaged last year, one fell down and the roof tore away from the box and I think the squirrels broke the side off one and emptied the nesting material on the lawn.  Not sure if it was occupied at the time or not.

I turned to Richard, who is a very keen bird enthusiast and conservationist. He has supplied me with boxes in the past.  You can see what great work he does by going to his website, Project Birdbox

He came round today with 2 very sturdy looking new boxes and as well as erecting them for me he emptied last years boxes and moved a couple too.

The boxes are suitable for bluetits and great tits. The hole is too small for other birds to get through.  The nests are mainly made of moss but they find lots of other soft materials to line them. This has sheep's wool in white, pink and blue wool which may have come from sheep at the nearby farm (coloured by the farmer for identification.)  At the bottom the bright green/yellow is probably from a tennis ball according Richard.  In the past I have found the filter tips off cigarettes in them and horse hair. This also had bits of tissue in it.

This is my robin box. They like an open front box that is well hidden in the shrubs.  This was really well hidden by the honeysuckle last year but that has been cut back. I am sure it will soon grow and cover it again.  Robin's main nesting material seem to be moss as well. After having this box for 4 or 5 years last year was the first time it was used.  I saw it when it had 3 eggs in. Don't know if the robin laid any more after that.  Hope they come back and use it again.

This box below is the one I can watch easily from my kitchen, it had a nest in from last year so is has now been emptied for this years prospective residents. 

This one was way to far up the tree so Richard has moved it down where is is easier to see. The nest in the photo was from this one. 

 This box is in my front garden and was on the other side of the tree. On this side I will be able to watch it from my armchair in the sitting room. 

One of the new boxes from Richard. It is bigger then the others and very sturdy. Above it you can the one that was emptied by the squirrels last year.  The side is missing off it. 

The second new box fitted today.  I can see both of these from the house but might need to use binoculars to spot any birds going in and out as they are both at the bottom of the garden. 

Finally a  look at the signs of spring approaching.  Crocuses, snowdrops and daffodils. Also winter flowering jasmine and heather which will provide food for any early bees.