Another visit from a bird of prey.

We had a visit from a Sparrowhawk this week. I called Luke to see it, sitting bold as brass on the back of one of my steamer chairs. Are they coming into the garden because there is so much life in it whilst the birds use the feeders? We had conflicting advice on whether a buzzard would take a chicken when Luke spoke to his step father who is an expert on wildfowling. He's seen buzzards pick up pheasants. Back to worrying about our bantam chicks then!

Cold enough?

Okay, we're done with the cold weather now. The birds are flocking to feed from the peanut feeders which I had to fill twice yesterday! I don't blame them for not wanting to search for food when there is a ready supply here. In fact if I didn't have to go out to work I would happily stay home and eat all day. Even so, those little green shoots are still pushing their way through the frozen earth, amazing how they do it really, isn't it? Soon all this freezing weather (worse still, it's minus 45 - 50 degrees with the wind chill in parts of Canada and America) will be a distant memory as lights grow longer and nights are shorter. Just imagine how wonderful those balmy evenings will be when you can sit outside till 10 at night and still be warm? Hard to imagine, I know but it's there, just around the corner. For now I'm wrapped up in all my clothes, my dressing gown, a pair of socks and furry slippers, sitting by the wood burner and my toes are still like blocks of ice. Warm milk and brandy, anyone??