A Journey of Many Pounds Starts With a Single Penny

Suffolk_lass

I would be more concerned about the crows and magpies if it were me. Here, they are gradually eradicating the other smaller native birds and one of the women in the village has taken to feeding them. This means the last two years they have evicted the smaller jackdaws (in and of themselves they can be a nuisance, but until the others were encouraged they were under control). Now the crows and magpies are a real nuisance and last summer we were "treated' to them hunting the fledging thrush young and literally tearing them to pieces on our lawn ahead of feeding their young flock of 6. We had never seen more than 2 in the village until they were encouraged and it will come to a head at some point.

themadvix

That sounds awful SL. Can’t understand why you’d feed corvids - they’ve got plenty of food and are largely bullies (small exception for jackdaws and jays).

LadyGnome

We aren't seeing problems with the corvids and I have a soft spot for crows (sorry) - they recognise your face so I sometimes get them calling as I walk down the street.  The young magpies fall foul of the cats around here so there is some population control.  I suspect the difference is that they are in quite an urban environment so the population can't grow beyond a certain point due to a limit on nesting and roosting sites and it hasn't noticeably changed in the years I have been here.  The biggest risk to the small birds is my next door neighbours cat judging by the feathers I find on the lawn sometimes.  

I can see how, in a more rural environment, where the population could expand it would become a problem.

LadyGnome

Mr Gnome has submitted his tax return hurrah! and NI contribs paid too.  My info is with my accountant and I am waiting for a painful tax calc.  I am expecting a large shortfall as my tax code was almost certainly wrong at one point.  I ran the numbers through an online tax calculator so I have a reasonable idea of what I should have paid and I've saved the difference between that and the actual amount shown on my P60.  The gap should be smaller because the calculator didn't allow for pension contribs, professional expenses, gift aid, WFH allowance etc.

edinburgher

We have far too many magpies, they seem to crowd out a lot of the smaller birds, even visiting seagulls don't get a look in as they work together and we have "families" of 3-4 absolute bruisers in the area around the house. Tabby cat fancies her chances, but is far too small to catch a magpie. Maine Coon kitten on the other hand? It's only a matter of time.

LadyGnome

The magpies are really nervous around here for some reason.  They tend to grab and go in the garden.  One was trying to steal peanuts from a pile and the squirrels chased it off.  A jay on the other hand just piled in and took one.  It tends to be the newly fledged magpies that get caught - the one's that haven't yet worked out that a cat is a problem (or work it out slightly too late).

Is the Maine Coon bigger than the tabby already?  I could see a MC taking on anything - crows, seagulls, small antelope...

LadyGnome

I'm getting there on the tax return I just need to double check one bit of the calculation tomorrow and then it can go in.  It looks like it will be about £1000 less than my worst case scenario so I will have money to repurpose.

LadyGnome

Tax Return is in and tax paid.  £1105 less than worst case scenario so I have some money to play with.  I have a big bill coming up for a course I am doing so half this money will go to that.  I will ponder what to do with the rest.  I think I will either split it between pots or reduce the 0% CC.
I am on my course tomorrow so I will sort out the Jan figures on Sunday.

debtfreeoneday

Good result on the tax return!

LABMUM

Good news on the tax return.