Monday 7th March 2016

A stunning day, plenty of sun and blue sky, chilly and again no rain.
Day spent out with Janet and Colin visiting the Royal Air Force memorial at Runnymede. Only a few miles away and yet I did not know this memorial existed. An emotional place to visit, had no idea so many airmen were lost with no known grave. Over 20,000 casualties, job to comprehend such a number.
Finished the day with a meal and a pint at the Bell, Runnymede.

Sunday 6th March 2016

Loved today, chilly, sunny and most importantly it was dry.
Day spent in the garden. Skylark ceanothus planted and area tidied up. More clearing in the area reserved for the igloo. Today sieving a huge heap of wormery compost, great stuff to use for replanting all the larger pots in the garden. Another day of sieving to finish this heap.
No wildlife news as busy working as described above. Plenty of food eaten so birds were certainly about.

Picture is the area being cleared for the Igloo.

Saturday 5th March 2016

A good day. Cold, sunny and a little breezy this afternoon.
Henry Street this morning to purchase a replacement ceanothus (skylark). Took all the afternoon to dig out the 30 year old root of the dying (dead) ceanothus. So deep rooted, took some digging out. Will be placed on the stumpery tomorrow, will also plant skylark and hopefully this will give me and the bees pleasure for the next 30 years?
              Spawk was busy in the garden again in between me working in the garden. She/he watches from next doors ash tree. Good to see so many long tailed tits today, a colourful sight along with the goldfinches, greenfinches and chaffinches .

Wednesday 2nd March 2016

What an awful day. Cold and wet all day. Was going out today for a canal walk, will have to hope for improved weather tomorrow now.
Due to the weather it meant a day indoors. Made a good start on my next book, history of 479. This is going to be some project, making sure I have the correct information for each decade. Have made lots of notes to help me searching for certain photographs. Will be meeting up with Gordon tomorrow who was the grandson of the previous owner of 479 and who live in the house for many years due to family issues. Will be an interesting get together.

Friday 4th March 2016

Another good day, lots of sun, chilly but temp' reaching 12c this afternoon in the sun.
Day spent in the garden. This morning dividing and planting 250 snowdrops. Can't wait until next Spring, should be a good showing.
This afternoon split my time between the hide and a little more clearing where the igloo will be constructed.
From the hide it was very interesting to note the blackbird, starling, woody, robin and goldcrest sharing the peanut butter.

Thursday 3rd March 2016

A pretty good day with it being on the chilly side but with a fair amount of sun.
             Amazing morning watching the sparrowhawk. Returned time and again but each time was chased off by either the magpie or the crow. Never fights back, just flies away but as happened today just kept returning.
Both the male and female woody were about today feeding from the peanut feeder, not taking so many monkey nuts these days.
What has been missing from the garden recently are the jays, no sign for a couple of weeks now.
                Enjoyed a short walk beside the Kennet & Avon canal this afternoon at Theale, very muddy under foot. The lock at Theale is undergoing engineering work replacing brickwork mostly. This lock is only one of two in the country that has scalloped walls. Most impressive.
Also met up with Gordon who confirmed certain dates I required to help me with my book project.
                  Tonight enjoyed an evening out with Nigel and Lyn eating at Browns in town. Put the world to right with strong opinions expressed over in or out of Europe. Interesting debate.
Pictures are of Aldermaston Lock, Theale.

Tuesday 1st March 2016

Miserable day. Very mild with showers all day. Was a little better this afternoon.
Today was all about the cousins. It was our turn to host the cousins day out, held here as they were so interested in the garden wildlife I spout about so much. Wildlife did not disappoint, first out was the male sparrowhawk quickly followed by a crow dive bombing the Spawk. Cousins were somewhat shocked as never seen a Spawk before let alone be five bombed. Then the female great spotted appeared on the feeder, another bird they had not seen as the green woodpecker is mostly seen in Oxfordshire gardens. The female Spawk appeared this afternoon ducking and diving as they do. Very dramatic to those who have not seen before. At dusk the blue tit arrived in its roosting box, something else not seen by the cousins before. As I explained, nor had I until I invested in the camera system. Just as visitors were thinking of going home the mice appeared in the woodstack also caught on camera. Cousins in a frenzy by now, they could not believe what they had seen today and appreciated a little more why I am so passionate about my garden wildlife.
It was a good day, for all the above reasons and also catching up with family news.