My Garden 2020

Since the pandemic struck I've watched best part of a thousand You Tube videos of everything including what I mentioned below, I'd rather watch them than them watch me lol Jim.

Excellent, Max - you should have your own cookery show on TV!

At last a Blackbird has come to snack on rowan & hawthorn berries, if the Waxwings come they will have a feast as all the hawthorn, cherry and rowan are heaving with fruit, pity its such a faff making their jam or I'd have a go.

In last few weeks been making jams ( had some conference pears given so made pear & ginger jam for first time, it's tasty and different), also made mixed fruit jam from my fruit bushes from last year consisting of goosegobs/jostaberries and rasps, again very tasty. Got a decent crop of rasps this year so more jam to make. Also made two lots of marrow chutney after making a plea on facebook for a large marrow, the big stores only had small ones. Grown toms to make a load of tomato chutney. Also started baking again but quite a few disasters, I'll get it right!

Right back to the birds. Oct 18/19/20th had Coal, Blue and Great tits each day, plus the single juv Blackbird, far too many feral pigs, pair of Wood Pigs (the two juvs have left or been told to by mum & dad), c40 House Spugs, three Goldfinch returned along with one Greenfinch, two Dunnock, Robin, Common Gull and a BH Gull, no raptors of late, think I heard geese over other evening.

No complaints. I'm keeping out of harm's way by staying home and letting the world pass me by. Still got four friends who are happy to do my odds/ends shopping while I do online shopping. I'm not petrified to go out in car like last time but have no interest in going I can see all I want to in garden and read on here what is going on in the area.

Kind regards

Max

Sept 24th: two juv Wood Pigeon snacking on hawthorn berries while the parents looked on from the conifer.

Oct 6th: Coal, Blue & Great Tits.
Oct 8th: Same again.
Oct 11th: Same again + robin & c30 House Spuggies.

JTG

Last time I wrote there was nowt much coming but next day it certainly changed!

Sept 7th: mid morning 8 LT Tits landed on the fat ball and nut feeders, mid-afternoon 8 Blue Tit, 4 Great Tit & 1 Coal Tit landed same place, during dau also saw the Robin return along with Chaffinch. The spuggies were in good numbers c30, the Wood Pigeon family well less said the better, one juv dead on nest and the egg didn't hatch.
Sept 13th: the Dunnock returned. 17 local Jackdaw came over making a racket, the Common Gulls still come over going to roost.

All in all almost back to normal.

Regards

John

Sept 1st: adult goldfinch and what looked to be a dead or sleeping Wood Pig' juv on nest.
Sept 2nd: Coal Tit on nut feeder and confirmation of dead juv wood pig, when adult left nest spotted an egg next to dead juv.

Other than an odd goldfinch and chaffinch plus a juv Blackbird and the wood pigeon family, a single blue and great tit, all am seeing is lots of spuggys and common gulls going to roost NE direction as always.

JTG