Prince Charming

On the 17th February a new red squirrel initiative was launched by Prince Charles. The launch, Red Squirrels Northern England was held in the beautiful grounds of Hutton in the Forest, the home of Lord & Lady Inglewood   
The Prince took his time to talk to everyone there, including me and was very interested in all that was said. The Prince is a lover of red squirrels and believes that control of grey squirrels is an unfortunate necessity. It was a very exciting day as I have never met any royalty before although seen them on a variety of occasions. I am sure that this will stay in my memory for quite a while and am sure that the involvement of the Prince, will help raise awareness to the plight of our native reds



 

The Prince circulating - I'm the one in grey

With Robin Day Patron of Save our Squirrels

The Prince speaks about his love of red squirrels


Am I Getting Old or was it My Day Out?

Friday 21st Jan 2011
I've just got up to re-fill my glass of wine and it took me a few seconds to straighten up! Is it my age, I am in my 60th year or was it all the walking I did today when I went out?

It's cold day today, sunny but a sharp frost and I really wanted to be outside. So, I went to Gosforth Park Nature Reserve which is a about 15mins away. I did the usual jobs including taking the small one for a walk and set off just before noon. I had only been to the reserve twice since my stroke but I was really looking forward to going again.I decided to go 'anit-clockwise' as I always got lost when I went the other way.

So off I went and the first thing I noticed was a lot of standing water around some of the trees. It was frozen of course.

As I walked on I realised that I didn't need to watch where my feet were, as I had done before. I still had to watch were I was going every now and then but this was definitely an improvement! I could hear birds singing and saw blue and great tits and a little wren who landed on a log near me. momentarily before disappearing into the undergrowth.

The path, which at times was difficult to follow, runs for a while alongside Newcastle Racecourse.

You need to walk up a slight bank to get this view

A fence post and the grass made some interesting images.

There was no way I could be quiet walking on the frosted leaves - they crackled, so my hope of seeing any of the Roe deer that inhabit the reserve was fairly slim. Roe deer have good hearing, listening out for predators and they hear you, if not see you, before you see them. However, I was in luck and saw three foraging in amongst the frozen undergrowth before they saw me. It was not too last and they soon saw movement and watched cautiously before dashing into the safety of the forest. The white of their rumps was very noticeable against their dark flanks.

However, I then saw a single buck across the racecourse in the sunshine, niggling at the grass. Aha! I thought, I will be able to get closer as I didn't think he would hear me scrunching across the dead leaves. It works, until another deer who I hadn't seen, spots me and gives the alarm.













There may not have been a lot of wildlife around but there was still many photo opportunities.



Moss



Frosted fungus growing from some dead wood



The reserve is a great place for seeing all forms of wildlife and is especially magical when covered with such a frost. Walking on the rough ground was easier than it has been but narrow paths still proved a little tricky for me. Board walks cover many of the boggy areas but still need careful negotiating. In some areas, the paths had turned to mud which in turn froze solid, making negotiating them a bit of a task.

There are several hides in the reserve with a vista over the lake.



Roy Pearce Memorial Hide



Extensive Reed Beds

I was out for about 3 hours and was pretty tired but had a great day. Whilst I was there I saw Blue and Great Tit, Blackbird, Wren, Crows, Wood Pigeon, Whooper Swans, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese, Common Seagull. I deserved that glass if wine!

 

Yes I'm guilty!

Yes guilty of not 'doing' my blog more regularly. The truth is, if you feel you do not have much to write about then, well, you don't write. Understand?
I do have a bit of an update for anyone who may be interested! Quite a bit of an update really I guess. I am now back at work 3 days a week, Mon, Wed and Fri. On Tues and Thurs, I work half a day at home. In the mornings of those two days, I go with my extremely patient big brother, to a healthy living centre in Dudley (about 2 miles away) to the dreaded gym. I don't like the gym but understand that it will help. I've been very lucky and I know it but you could ask, was I 'lucky' or 'unlucky' to have a stroke in the first place?

What Next?

I was looking at my blog trying to work out how I changed the layout for something more personal when I read the comment under the title 'The story of me and what life has thrown at me good and bad and where I go from here' - Mmh I thought - that's the question, where do I go from here? Truly I have no idea. I am still recovering from the stroke, unable to drive (yet) and still wobbly and a bit dizzy but able to sit behind a computer all day if I have to! Until I am fit and well again, or at least as well as I am going to be, which could in reality take years rather than months for all I know, I will just have to wait and think and dream about what may or may not happen to me. It is said that people make their own luck. Well, I'm not so sure cos I certainly have tried, believe me. But back to 'where I go from here'. My ambition is to travel. I devour the programmes on the telly which show you far off places which you know in your heart you are never going to get to. However, there are a lot of very accessible places now, lots of them off the beaten track and and available to those who have the drive and of course, not forgetting, the money. I have the drive!
Strangely enough money is not at the top of my list, it's second. A companion to go travelling with is at the top. I have a very good, lifelong friend who lives in Denmark. We are of a similar age, have similar baggage and similar tastes. We both want to travel. She has been to many countries in the world already, either luxurious or not. She is always a possibility.
A great book for the would be traveller is 1001 Natural Wonders You Must See Before You Die by Michael Bright.

I have ticked off about 20!!
Well back to work for me, but it's nice to dream.

Something to Write About

The days can be long here even though I am working from home 2 days per week. Because I cannot drive, I have to rely on others to take me 'out' for the day. One such friend is Denise who runs a farming contract and very busy livery yard with her husband, about 7 miles away. She bought a beautiful cottage in the tiny, undisturbed village of Alwinton, north Northumberland which she lets out during the year to paying guests. You can visit the cottage at http://www.fellsidecottcheviots.co.uk/index.html Alwinton is the most awe inspiring area with its peaceful, lazy attitude to life and is well worth a visit, especially if you love walking. I travelled up there with her on Saturday so she could tidy and change the beds for her next incoming couple but I also had another reason for going. Recently, she had discovered a red squirrel had been visiting her garden and I was looking forward to trying to catch a glimpse of this shy creature. Denise took along a feeding box and some feed which for once, was especially designed for red squirrels and not their insidious cousins that are relentlessly creeping north. The garden is a delight with its many shrubs and the red squirrel feeder was quickly attached to a tree along with the bird feeder. Many birds visited that day - robin, dunnock, sparrow, blackbird, blue tit, coal tit, great tit and in the field pigeons, herons, and crows. Although I sat in the dining room watching intently for the red squirrel I was to be disappointed but Denise walked into the room and saw a glimpse of red tail disappearing into the foliage. I had been thwarted but the neighbours confirmed that the red had been seen running along the fence on several occasions. I guess Denise has to add 'red squirrel sightings possible' to her website now.
Apart from a lovely day at the cottage, the countryside around was spectacular with the trees changing colour, especially beech trees which range from vivid yellow to a glorious orange.
Meanwhile back at home, I was thrilled to see a robin in my garden on two occasions today. I had a visit a few weeks ago on the one and only miniature conifer I have in the front garden, but the robin's visit was fleeting. Today it had a short feed before being scared off by something. I have had the usual starlings and sparrows along with a blue tit and collared doves but am now hoping the robin will continue to call. It may not seem so special to many people but it is many many years since I had a robin in the garden so, despite 5 cats and a small dog, I don't think I am doing too bad!

Birthday and Butterflies

Well yesterday was my birthday and I reached 57! So hard to believe that I am on my way to 60 but due to recent events I am really glad I got here. All I have to do now is get better and I do seem to be improving all the time. I am hoping to start doing some work from home next week so please keep sending your sightings of red squirrels wherever you live and grey ones if you live in the greater north east regions, particularly Northumberland and Cumbria. http://www.saveoursquirrels.org/sightings/index.html
I guess I had better change my profile now!
A last note about my buddleja is that I counted 7 butterflies on it a day or so ago which consisted of Red Admirals and Peacocks. Including Large White and Tortoiseshell, I have had 4 varietes which is one less than my neighbour. The flower spikes are all but finished with a few small ones near the base. We've had so much rain the last few days that I do not think I will see so many butterflies now but roll on next year.

Success at Last.

Over the past few days my neighbours buddleja has diminished somewhat although I still counted 8 butterflies. My rather smaller one has started to blossom in earnest and at last has had some butterflies on it! I have seen large white, red admirals and peacocks plus some very large bees, a wasp and various other insects. The purple one continues to die off without an insect in sight!

My advice to anyone wanting an 'instant' wildlife garden is to invest in a Buddleja davidii White Profusion.

http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/buddleja-davidii-white-profusion/itemno.PL00000890/