Winter appreciation

Love the dogs, HATE the 'sport'. Disgusting and pointless activity.

Beautiful indeed - an amazing sight. Having witnessed 'cubbing' once- I can never see a hunt without thinking about that awful sight.

I remember stopping on a country road in East Leics, and walking to a hill to watch the Quorn go about its business. A very haughty woman stood next to me and said 'what a wonderful viewpoint' and I replied 'that depends on your point of view'- if looks could kill...

We bumped into the Percy Hunt when we travelled oop north the other week. I know hunting is an emotive subject but I was surrounded by these huge dogs with big brown eyes pushing each other out of the way wanting a stroke. I even looked up 'foxhounds as pets' I was so taken with them [the advice was; don't!]. They were beautiful beyond belief.

Today the Hunt met at the pub next door but one, and then trotted up the road, past our house to start their activities. It was a marvellous sight, all those beautiful horses and their riders and the hunt dogs. I am used to them now but first time around I was amazed how big the dogs are.

If UK probably a Robin, they have a lovely 'winter' song.

I left the house at 6.30 this morning. It was inky black, and deadly quiet, and just as I reached my car, a bird started out with most glorious song. I have no idea what kind of bird it was, but it stopped me in my tracks, and I just stood for a moment relishing it. Magical!

Love Teal, dainty little things.

I am enjoying seeing a little flock of Teal. I had not encountered these beautiful, tiny ducks before.

I appreciate lots of things about winter but not the gale force winds and rain we are getting tonight in Brum - it's quite scary.

It is a very dark day here today. We undertook one of our traditional Christmas activities today. The Buying of the Christmas Trees. We drive across the Berkshire Downs, grey and sodden under heavy skies, and along the Pang valley to a huge Christmas tree yard on a big estate that grows all their own. After selecting the trees and having them bagged and tying them onto the car we drove to a pub deep in the countryside, at the end of a dead end road for The Tree Lunch. This pub specialises in game and we dined on venison and partridge respectively. As we drove home at 2.30 the light was already fading, but the first tree is up with the lights on it and over our mid-afternoon cup of tea we have had the official switching on of the lights.

Landscapes of beautifully plowed fields. It's been good plowing weather for the farmers today. Some fields of winter wheat peeping through. Dusky late afternoon horizons with gradations of grey in the sky. Buzzards perched on old fence posts.
Everything settling down.

Redpolls on the silver birch

Should have been guilty

One thing I like about winter is the fact that it gets dark so early and I HAVE to stop working in the garden and can go and put mt feet up without feeling -guilty-. Not sure what word I should use there as guilt is not in my vocabulary !

How lovely, Flowerthewest. We used to see similar numbers of hares here(N DEVON)but not in recent years. We do get the odd one, but I've not seen one recently. We have had fieldfares this year though.
It's a real pleasure watching even the most common birds, I hope your friend's bird table attracts things soon, petra. Perhaps they want a change of diet.

Over 60 brown hare last winter on snow covered fields. 49 in one field and the rest in another. Amazing sight.

Petra it may take a while for them to get used to the new table.

We have had 1 fieldfare this year, we are hoping that the small flock of waxwings remember out berries this winter and pop by.
We have had around 10 or 11 reed buntings visiting our garden for the last 4 years. Beautiful little things.

The daffodils are growing up through the grass already here in East Sussex.

petra, is there a cat in the vicinity? I often have a crowd of tits at my feeder. Then the all disappear - a moment later, my neighbour's cat comes strolling up the garden path.

We had a small flock of fieldfares in the rowan tree at the end of the garden this morning. It's the first time I've seen them this year and I don't remember seeing any last year.

Many of you have mentioned birds. A friend of mine has built a lovely new bird table. It has been up now for about a month and not one bird has landed on it. They get close ( about 5ft ) and just look at it.
He had a bird table there before, a metal one, this one is wood. It's become a big joke now.
Any ideas.

Wonderful misty drizzle over the straits today - and I got to walk along the top of the sea wall. (It's ok, no waves)
Noticed some cotoneasters in gardens on which every tiny leaf had turned scarlet to match its berries.

The strong winds last night very helpfully 'swept' the lawn & patio of leaves & put them in deep, concentrated piles. So I've been out today in the sunshine & crisp air gathering them all up so much more easily than usual.

I noticed this morning during a little amble round the garden my Hellebore that my daughter bought for Mothers Day last year has masses of pink buds hiding among the leaves , can't wait to see it flower.. also my Winter flowering Jasmine is now in full flow... so pretty.

I have a usual clutch of nine collared doves, millions of sparrows, robins and half a dozen jackdaws. Huge things are jackdaws but other birds do not seem to mind them. They do mind however the resident sparrow hawk. The bird table has five star dining and as the garden is all dug ready for winter there are live worms aplenty.

The robins and blackbirds have been enjoying an afternoon jacuzzi after I cleaned and refilled the bird bath with lukewarm water. After half an hour I filled it up again and back they came. It's great to see them splashing around like kids. There's water all over the place.