The sad tale of the Blue tits

 Earlier this year, we put up a nest box. We were quite excited when, in the early part of spring, we saw a couple of Blue tits going in and out of the nest box with all their nesting materials. I assume they laid eggs, which hatched into chicks, as later on we saw them taking food into the nest and if you stood in the garden, you would hear noises from the nest box.

Anyway, one evening last week, I saw the black and white cat (who is a regular visitor to our garden and likes to use one of the raised beds as a litter tray). The cat had managed to get on top of the workshop (which has the nest box on the side), then climb onto the top of the nest box & reach inside with a paw. At this point, I went out and shouted at the the cat to 'go away', which it did. I had a quick look around, but couldn't see any dead birds or feathers on the ground, so I'd hoped the Blue tits were ok.

The next morning, I saw one of the Blue tits leave the nest box, flap around in the garden for a while, and then fly off somwhere. It did not return. I haven't seen either of the adult Blue tits or any sign of the chicks since. I think the nest was abandoned. I'm really sad about this. A small part of me hopes that they fledged when I wasn't looking, but I am dreading the day in the autumn when we have to clean out the nest box.

Nature Writing/Blogging...maybe.

 I'm changing what I use this blog for, I think. I haven't actually used it at all for ages! Anyway, I want to start writing/blogging again. So, I think this may become more of a nature blog....so I can have a record of some kind of all the nature and wildlife we see now, mainly in our garden.

My son has become quite a keen birdwatcher, which is a lovely hobby to see and enjoy with him. We're seeing a lot of young/baby birds at the moment, along with the odd mouse and shrew, which is quite exciting! We're trying to keep the garden as wildlife-friendly as possible. One of the advantages of living somewhere slightly more rural, is that we get badgers and foxes visiting the garden sometimes. I don't think I will ever get over how amazing it is to see them (usually on a wildlife camera we put outside, but at one point I did actually wake up and watch the badger from my bedroom window).

Unfortunately, I'm not as good at identifying all the different birds and creatures as I'd like to be. I'm trying to learn as we go along. I don't know the names of all the wild flowers yet, and I can't identify birdsong. Hopefully I will be able to do these things, eventually. 

Badger in the garden!

 Haven't blogged in ages (mainly because the world is in too much chaos at the moment and it's too stressful), but we've had a visitor coming into our garden for the last few nights and stealing the bird food. Last night, we set up a camera to see what was going on....it was a badger! I am so excited about this!

I think the Sett is at the end of our lane. Unfortunately, the field next to it has recently been sold for development. So now I'm concerned about the badgers there.

Anyway, here's a link to the video of the badger (I've decided to name him George), stealing the bird food hung on the fence: Badger stealing bird food

 

We have moved!

 We finally managed to move house at the end of August! 

It's now the end of October and the house is still in chaos, as we are in the middle of having it re-wired. We also still have loads of unpacking to do, not even contemplating re-decorating until after Christmas. We got heaters in and working last week, which is brilliant as it is getting cold (I feel the cold a lot, so was basically freezing all day!) We also have a wood burner, which I love.

There are about a thousand things to sort out/fix/replace in the house, but we can't get everything done at once. So a lot of it will probably have to wait until next year. The next big things to sort are the gutters, the plumbing (we have hot water sometimes, not as often as I'd like) and the leak in the conservatory roof.

There is a lovely field next to our garden, which sometimes has horses in! We also see rabbits and pheasants in it fairly regularly. I still find it quite exciting to see these animals just outside the window. I met the farmer who owns the horses, he seems nice. We are also very close to the New Forest, which is really lovely.

Most importantly, the bath in the garden was not actually a bath. It was just a wierd pond. The pond has now been drained, but we need to actually get rid of it at some point.

Despite all the chaos & mess everywhere at the moment, I'm glad we're here.

It's been a while.

I haven't posted anything here for a while, mainly because things have been a bit difficult and I couldn't really think of anything positive to say. I didn't want to write a post that was mainly a big moan about how awful everything is. But then I thought, why does it matter? Sometimes things are difficult, especially in the current situation we are all in. The point is to try to adapt as much as we can and get though it.

Basically, although lockdown has been technically been eased, it hasn't changed much for us as we are shielding. It's starting to get to everyone a bit. We are all stessed, but still trying to homeschool, work, keep on top of housework , shopping etc. and move house (hopefully).

The house move was put on hold as our buyer works for an airline, which means he isn't sure he will still have a job in the next few months. Apparently, he should find out in the next week or so. If he keeps his job, he can still buy our house and we can actually move, so we are currently just waiting around to find out. It's very frustrating, as most of our belongings are packed in boxes, which are piled up around the house. I'm really hoping for a positive outcome! If we can't move, we'll end up staying where we are for at least a couple more years.

My Mum and sister, along with my sister's family, are all moving to Scotland in a couple of weeks. I have seen my Mum twice since March, at a distance. I haven't seen my sister or her family at all since then. We speak on the phone regularly, so that's something. But it's not the same as meeting up for a coffee and a chat like we used to. I probably won't see any of them again before they move. I'm happy for them, but I'm going to miss them. We have vaguely planned to go up to Scotland and see them early next year, but it will very much depend on the situation at the time.

So, that's where we are with everything right now. Hopefully, the next post will be a bit more positive!

Learning

Lockdown has been slightly eased, but due to various health reasons, we (my family) have chosen to stay in isolation. Nothing has changed/progressed with our house move, which is frustrating but understandable. Hopefully there will be some kind of progress in the next few weeks, but we'll just have to wait and see.

As my son seems quite interested in history at the moment (and we are still homeschooling), I decided that I would try to do a short course or something to gain more knowledge on the subject. I found loads of free, short history courses online, and I really want to do quite a few of them. I've started with one on Scottish Highland Clans, as I don't know much about Scottish history. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy history, so I'm pleased to have an opportunity to study it a bit more. It's nice that it's a subject we can learn about together.

Before all this, I was doing an OU degree in Primary Education. I was about half way through, but deferred so that we could move house and sort out everything that goes along with that. Also, to try to start some freelance copywriting work. Well, moving house and freelance work have all been put on hold now. Homeschooling and trying to stay healthy has taken priority, but it is quite nice to be studying something again. I also don't know what will happen with my degree now. I was meant to be going back to it in October, but I'm not sure I want to do that degree anymore. I don't even know if I'll be able to (depending on circumstances). The aim was to go into teaching, but I don't know if I want to now. I'm trying not to think about it too much, as I don't even know where we'll be living in October.

Difficulties now and things to look forward to

Lockdown is harder than I expected. Sometimes it's fine, I can see why we have to do it and it all makes sense. I can even see some positives about it - more family time, homeschooling, time to read and write, slowing down a bit, no deadlines or rushing around. But, there are other times when all I want to do is have a bit of a cry, because it feels like the end of the world and nothing is certain anymore. I know this is probably (hopefully) normal in these circumstances, and everyone is just trying to get through a day at a time.

I'm trying to write a bit, but sometimes I don't really want to do that...and I can't really think of anything to say that hasn't already been said a thousand times by a thousand other people. Just trying to be vaguely productive sometimes feels like hard work.

As hard as lockdown is, the thought of it being lifted is quite terrifying (to me, anyway). Basically, until we have a proper vaccine, I feel I should stay away from everyone. I suppose that if/when lockdown is lifted (even if it's just partial), we should be able to move to the new house. So that will be good. I'm really looking forward to being somewhere rural...especially in the autumn. Everything always looks more beautiful in the autumn, it's my favourite season.

I am really hoping to still be homeschooling in autumn, we could do some amazing nature-art, look at wildlife, go for long walks etc. I love all that sort of thing. Of course, we could do those things in any season, but they seem more fun in the autumn...I don't know why.