Monday, February 14, 2011

Pheasant for lunch anyone ?....

This juvenile male pheasant flew into the grounds at our house from Aspenwood and was glad to eat on the sunflower hearts placed upon the logs for ground feeding birds - whatever their size - before having a paddle and a welcome drink in the  'designer' bath which has now defrosted after the harsh snowy weather over the weekend.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Spring clean.



We have had a thorough spring clean of Aspenwood during our maintenance month and we were very lucky to employ this local lass to help us out with the more challenging tasks in the cottage as she is well sought after in the area.
Keeping an eye on her made us really exhausted so we escaped as soon as we politely could for a lunch at The Snow Goose in Inverness followed by an afternoon matinee of 'The King's Speech' to recover. A very fine film with excellent acting and we came out feeling refreshed.
As soon as the temperatures rise a bit more we shall do some outdoor jobs at the cottage but just too chilly right now.Still snow on the mountains opposite and zero temperatures some nights but it is staying lighter longer. The birds are starting to sing in the mornings and as well as providing food here we walk up every day to feed them at Aspenwood Cottage so everyone is happy.

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Long Tailed Tits.

We have had noisy gangs of long tailed tits around recently and they have been returning every winter.They are easily identifiable by their black,white and light pink plumage and small black button like eyes.Their prominent black tail with white edges is longer than the body and is used for balance.They feed mainly on insects and spiders but in winter when this source is scarce they visit the garden feeders for vital nourishment.Because of their small size they often huddle in groups at night to keep warm.
We had a flurry of snow last Friday just when we thought we were safe although it did lay on higher ground and is still on the mountains opposite. These little birds had better huddle up tonight as it is still chilly and zero degrees are forecast.