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Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 13984

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 22 6:47 am Post subject:

Managed to get the one taking off really well. The other one shows your feeding area well.

Sunday evening I was in the garden and heard a couple of blackbirds yelling at each other. One has a territory in our garden, and by the sounds of it, the other is a garden or two away. One year the territorial boundary was the middle of our garden, so we had to put food out both sides.

In the woods yesterday we heard a sort of wheezing objecting noise. Saw two squirrels running up a tree, so not sure if it was one of them seeing off the other, or if they were after a birds nest and the mother was threatening them. If the latter, I hope the squirrels got well pecked.

Sadly it seems to be a bad year for squirrels. There is bark all over the ground in some places, so they have attacked a lot of trees. Means there are too many adolescent ones about. We are thinking of rigging up a bird feeder lure and thinning them out a bit with the air rifle.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 42259
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Jun 14, 22 11:55 am Post subject:
the jackdaw pair who are regulars, like firehouse pork trim

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7262
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Wed Jun 15, 22 8:34 am Post subject:

We've let our front garden go wild this year and it's interesting to see some of the flowers that have turned up. There is foxgloves, wild strawberries, daisy's, valerian, ragwort and a few others I'm not sure about.

It was also interesting when I was down the allotment yesterday, the parsnip flowers were covered in honey bee's and the herbs were covered in bumble bee's but there was neither on the other. I've never seen that before, it was a bit like Westside story.

Great photos DPack. That first pigeon shot is brilliant.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 13984

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 22 6:45 am Post subject:

Sounds nice Sgt. Colon. Odd there being only one type of bee on each.

We had a red admiral butterfly around the place we sit in our 'yard' yesterday, and it sat on the back of son's chair. I managed to get a picture, although not brilliant, then it sat on his knee. He managed to get a few seconds video. I think it landed on his back later, but we couldn't see it until he got up and it flew off. Rather nice.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7262
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 22 7:55 am Post subject:
That does sound nice MR. I've not seen a red admiral for quite a few years now. They used to be quite common when I was a kid. I do see quite a few cabbage butterflies and some small white ones with orange tipped wings, I don't know what they are though.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 13984

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 22 7:51 am Post subject:

They are called orange tips, Sgt. Colon. I haven't seen an awful lot of butterflies yet. July tends to be the best time in the woods as we get silver washed fritillaries, and sometimes a purple emperor or white admiral. We also see speckled woods, peacocks and the red admirals. When the buddhlia comes out in the garden we get quite a lot round that too. Painted ladies sometimes as well as the others, and occasionally we have had a hummingbird hawk moth.

Forgot to say that yesterday I was sitting in the 'yard' when a small bird flew past. It wasn't a wren or firecrest I dont' think, and from the way it was flying, low and short distances, and the way it landed on the tractor , I think it might have been a robin or something newly out of the nest. Rather nice to see.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7262
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 22 10:32 am Post subject:

Thanks for that MR.

Wow! That is quite a selection of butterflies you get there. I've been re-wilding one of the beds down the allotment, so hopefully with the seeds I've scattered I'll get plenty of bee's and butterflies. Oddly, after saying about not seeing a red admiral for many a year, one flew past me when I was on my way back from the allotment yesterday. I wonder if it's the warmer weather?

That is nice.

Our birdfeeder has gone a lot quieter at the moment. Not sure if it's because the young ones have flown the nest or of they are just staying out of the midday sun.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 42259
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 22 11:33 pm Post subject:
for more butterflies and moths a few nettle patches are good the birds now know about that and eat them

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7262
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 22 7:58 am Post subject:
I have a few patches down the allotment DPack, as I use a few of them to feed my nettle and comfrey plant food bucket.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 13984

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 22 7:59 am Post subject:

We were at a show in a downland valley this weekend, and the birds were making the most of the wind, except when it got to impossible (as it did at times), and using it for lift. A number of gulls (unidentified) and red kites. Otherwise some rather interesting sheep bred by a local man which he called 'Harting blacks', but no idea of their pedigree. They have superb fleece; long staple and soft, mostly black of course, but look chunky enough for meat too. He had 4 pet lambs and a ewe with twins, who were still feeding from her, although a reasonable size. Plenty of dogs about too, including the one from the next door stand that decided I was a friend.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 42259
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 22 9:35 am Post subject:

sgt.colon wrote:

I have a few patches down the allotment DPack, as I use a few of them to feed my nettle and comfrey plant food bucket.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 42259
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jun 23, 22 7:13 am Post subject:

whack a snake

25 yrs ago a 10 footer was considered more disturbing than gators and snapping turtles by the fairly hardcore swamp folk i knew

that was a big lass, they can get bigger

florida seems ideal for them, but they are not ideal for the locals, human or critter

anything that adapts that well as an apex predator is disturbing for those already there

iirc released pets were not as much of a vector than a pet farm that lost 7000 of them during a flood a few decades ago

ace snakes, a few would be fine, lots gets messy for everything else

ps i recon they might be good eating as well as nice boots and belts should there be a glut of them

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 13984

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 22 8:14 am Post subject:
I believe that at the start of WWII one from one of the London zoos was tried by some of the staff and not considered worth eating again.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 42259
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 22 10:02 am Post subject:

Poached Python steaks with curried garlic and lemon grass sauce
INGREDIENTS

Python Steaks (1 kg)
Shallots (4-5 peeled and sliced)
Turmeric powder (1 tablespoon)
Garlic cloves (5-7 cloves, peeled and pounded)
Ginger (2-3 inches long, peeled and pounded)
Lime wedges
Lemon grass (ten stems, peeled; tender parts finely chopped and pounded)
Paprika (2 tablespoons)
White rice wine Salt (2 tablespoons)
Peanut oil (2 tablespoons)
Spring water (2 quarts)
METHOD

First boil and poach the steaks with lemon peel, rought lemon grass stems, adn skins of shallots, garlic and ginger in the quart of spring water. When the flesh is soft, take the Python steaks out and let cool. Next, sauteâ€™ shallots on low heat until lightly brown and add the ginger, garlic and all other spices. Next turn up the heat until the toasted aroma arise from the pot. Add flaked Python, rice wine, and more spring water and reduce heat for 10 minutes. Serve with hot steamed rice and greens and cold crisp Chardonnay wine.
----------------------------------------------------------------

that looks promising

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 42259
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 22 10:18 am Post subject:
fried in garlic butter is rather nice with smaller ones i suspect the zoo staff were not cooks and maybe their snake was not fresh or sufficiently "softened" in broth there are ace Asian snake recipes, there are probably ones from other snaky places

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