Daydream fund challenge part 4

Davesnave

Rain here last night and today; the first for weeks and very welcome.

I managed to get a couple of posts in yesterday to begin defining new garden areas, but our last bag of cement is gone. We should see a delivery this week though and our local timber yard is operating. I've promised DW a scenic run to them, as she's not been out. We should be able to run the gauntlet of police interceptors, if we stay disguised as a couple of local oldies in a van.

That nest above has one egg in it now.

pink_poppy

Loving the photos 
Welcome back Fay and Lucielle. I agree there are going to be MH issues when this pandemic is over, there probably already is. I'm definitely 'simmering' and feel more on edge these days ~ my DH is definitely getting on my nerves more than usual    I do really appreciate my daily walk around here though. I too have heard a cuckoo in the last couple of days, I've also seen what I think are swallows (I always get them mixed up with swifts and housemartins  ) they've been skimming over the water. I keep seeing blackcaps too, they're obviously as common as muck around here!!
I know it's a long way into the future, but I've been 'daydreaming' about having a pond and a polytunnel when we eventually manage to buy a house. One day... 

Davesnave

pink_poppy said:

I know it's a long way into the future, but I've been 'daydreaming' about having a pond and a polytunnel when we eventually manage to buy a house. One day... 

I'm still dreaming of the pond, and as the polytunnel needs re-covering, I'm wishing it wasn't quite so large now!

Of course, we should have built the pond ages ago, but there have always been 'need to dos' rather than 'would like to dos' at the top of the list. I also wanted to build a wadi to take some of the roof water, but that was overruled as being too 'way out' even though our friends had one leading to their pond. Here it is....

Mind you, I wouldn't have made it out of concrete!

Ted_Head

A solitary swallow arrived Tuesday. Hospital appointment yesterday which was so quiet. Hospital been rearranged into green and red zones - issued with face mask and staff all kitted up which was some reassurance.
Then some shopping as we haven't been for about 3 weeks. The run over was incredibly quiet. 
I'm liking the quietness of the roads but not the having to go into the city. I wonder if people will change their shopping habits when things are eased off - whenever that will be. I'm in no rush to hang about in busy places.

pink_poppy

I think the pond and polytunnel will both be modest affairs, depending on the size of any future garden  I'd never heard of a wadi before, it's pretty impressive, even if it is made of concrete.
The hospital visit sounds grim, Ted, with red and green (danger/safe??) zones. I haven't been shopping since the start of lockdown (DH does it all now once a week), and to be honest I'm not looking forward to going back to the shops at all.
On a brighter note, I spent part of my daily walk this morning watching a young otter in the water hunting for food and bringing it to the shoreline to eat  Amazing  Just one of the reasons I love it here.

Davesnave

pink_poppy said:

I think the pond and polytunnel will both be modest affairs, depending on the size of any future garden  I'd never heard of a wadi before, it's pretty impressive, even if it is made of concrete.
The hospital visit sounds grim, Ted, with red and green (danger/safe??) zones. I haven't been shopping since the start of lockdown (DH does it all now once a week), and to be honest I'm not looking forward to going back to the shops at all.
On a brighter note, I spent part of my daily walk this morning watching a young otter in the water hunting for food and bringing it to the shoreline to eat  Amazing  Just one of the reasons I love it here.

That garden was all fairly impressive, poppy, being 4.5 acres and often open under the NGS. Concrete was necessary there, but the small wadi still inside my head could be made with a rubber lining a couple of feet wide.

I'm almost used to shopping with gloves and a builder's' mask on now, but the assistant trying to get me to use one of those scanners as well today had a thankless task. Only slightly less popular was the woman who sneezed, causing many heads to turn in her direction. The mask was handy to hide my expression.

Managed to plant  some ox eye daisies, geraniums and other wildish-looking perennials in the stream area yesterday before it rained, but sadly the goldfinch nest in the little bay tree out front was raided and all the babies went. It wasn't the cats, who couldn't get up there thanks to our netting, so whatever it was came from above. The nest was way too exposed to the elements anyway, so I expect it was built by inexperienced young birds.

The other goldfinch nest is better protected and has 4 eggs in it now.

pink_poppy

What a shame about the goldfinch nest, Dave do you have your suspicions?? Do you get magpies or sparrowhawks?? Fingers crossed the other nest survives.
No news here, I went out for a walk this morning and heard the cuckoo again. Lots of lovely little birds flitting about. I'm really appreciating the peace and quiet with there being not much traffic around 

Davesnave

I did suggest intervening to stop the goldfinches nesting there, but I was overruled. I guess they have to learn what works anyway. We get all the usual bird suspects here, but whatever it was only had to wait till we were at the rear of the property, which is most of the time. The wind and rain we've had would also have caused problems.

The other nest has 5 eggs in it now and there could well be a dunnock nesting in that large bush too.

Ted_Head

Pinkpoppy - lovely to see an otter. I occasionally see one on the shore and did once see one walking past the kitchen window.
The zones in the hospital are to keep day patients away from the rest of the hospital and the red zone is where the Covid 19 patients are. It is the quietest I've seen the place - even available car parking spaces which is most odd. I was given a face mask to wear and all the nurses were wearing those with face shields when they did bloods, checked blood pressure - were near you etc. 
I am scared that they lift lock-down and people come flooding here - tourist area. I don't know how we are going to get out of this situation. It sounds like they want to do some regions to start with but people will just head for the hills you feel.

Dave - sad about the chicks - nature is cruel sometimes. They've loads of time to start anew but I do hope they rebuild in a safer place. The young eh?
We had a lovely stripey bird about today  - unusual markings and it was almost doing acrobatics in front of the window catching insects. Odd Cleopatra style eye markings - as if it's been at the eye liner. Brown and sparrow sized. Haven't a clue what it was.
Cold and a bit wet today - we actually said - we could do with some rain.
 

in_my_wellies

Ted_Head said:

I am scared that they lift lock-down and people come flooding here - tourist area. I don't know how we are going to get out of this situation. It sounds like they want to do some regions to start with but people will just head for the hills you feel.

My brother has booked a guest house in Brixham. He doesn't want to go and knows he won't be wanted but the agent and the owner are refusing to refund his deposit so what to do?