Slow Living - Doing It Old Style!

Brie

Well I wanted to have a slow day and nicely slept in as I don't have to be at work until 2 pm.  But then it all kicked off.  I'd had my shower and him indoors shouts up to me that he can see the baby birds.  Now I thought this meant he could see them in their little nest but no.  One had come out to have a look about.  But the time I was dressed and down to have a look for myself the little fluffbrain was sitting on a paint pot sitting by the water butt and peeping away like a mad thing.  I was thinking "wonder where the neighbourhood cats are" when a second fledgling appeared on the shelf above it.  And promptly threw itself out and tried to defy gravity and failed.  So 2 fluffies peeping and parent robin was ignoring them both and going in to the next with little worms to feed up the slow developers.  

In between trying to get breakfast we were to-ing and fro-ing giving each other reports.  1st bird had moved to higher ground, 3 birds on the ground now including 1 under my car, another appeared at the shelf edge ready to fly gracefully and failed just like it's sibling.  Parent(s) still popping in to the nest which appeared to have at least another 2 in situ.  We tried to keep our distance (& patience) and had our breakfast (boiled eggs seem a bit inappropriate) and then checked again on their progress.  5 spotted in one instance with 1 up on the 6 foot fence fairly safe from everything.  Poked my head out the window some distance away and could see fluffs bouncing about, fluttering and kicking up a right racket.  

Under 3 hours from first sighting and they all seem to have taken off (quite literally).  I did spot a fledgling and parent on the other side of the house.  Whether it's the same family or not I can't tell but it's all dreadfully exciting.

Just so you know the level of cuteness....


@leftatthetrafficlights - thought you'd enjoy this in particular.

leftatthetrafficlights

@Valli - your London trip sounds lovely!! 😁 I always visit Covent Garden when I go to London - it's one of my favourite things to do, a bottle of sparkly wine, lunch and free opera - what's not to love?! 😁

@Wednesday2000 - I wasn't impressed with the desserts either! I've made panacotta a few times and it was pleasant but nothing special and I don't do cake at all (plus the cake looked like a car crash!! 🤦‍♀️😂) They all seem like lovely people though so I hope it really boosts their profiles 😁 

@Brie - I think I'd have had a breakdown with all that commotion!! 😳 I'm so impressed that you kept so calm and just observed rather than messing it up by interfering (I'm pretty sure I'd have done something stupid if I was in the same position! 🤦‍♀️) thank you so much for the piccie- it's just the cutest thing I've seen for ages!! 🥰😁 

We've had a lovely day - we spent the majority of it actually building and painting the new bug hotel (yep, the one we were meant to do in April! 😳), my grandbaby has been loving helping dh with cutting wood, drilling in screws, collecting twigs etc to fill it. Tomorrow we will complete it by filling it with all the stuff we've collected and putting the mesh on - my grandbaby already loves it and we've had so much fun putting it together 😁 

Puy lentil bolognese, wholewheat pasta and salad for dinner - had iceberg lettuce as thats what my grandbaby is used to...never again!! 🤦‍♀️ I'm really not sure why anyone eats something so utterly tasteless!! 🤔😂 Anyway, there's probably enough bolognese and pasta for tomorrow lunchtime - I'll be having a rocket salad with mine though! 😉 

Slow evening planned - kitchen is sorted so a glass of wine, early night and sleep music on YouTube is the way forward 😁

Cherryfudge

Thanks for the gorgeous picture, @Brie! I hope all the babies do well.

Today has been full but relaxingly so: a few sessions of weeding and cutting back the garden, which is growing incredibly fast, a wander round local charity shops in search of a book I couldn't find, but I ended up buying another which I'm happy with. Then DH has taken my grandfather clock for repair, which will not be very MS, but I look forward to that slow tick and bright chime that have survived a couple of hundred years or more and which have been lacking recently.

I made a batch of coffee and walnut muffins yesterday, and they seem to have taken the edge of the 'need' for coffee (and they're decaf), but baking also used up some ingredients so I enjoyed getting some more today.

Have a peaceful Sunday, everyone.

Brie

re the little fledglings.....no sign of them at all including no little feathers wafting about.  I take this as a good sign frankly but old softie was nearly in tears about it wondering where they might be and why couldn't we see them.  I assured him they are likely up in the huge tangle of climbing roses that all the birds love keeping nice and safe from predators from below or above.  The roses are on a long arbor about 20 feet long, 5 feet wide and go about 8 feet above the actual arbor.  So lots of room for unruly youngsters and no doubt full of aphids and all sorts of yummy bird treats.  

KajiKita

I have some really lovely, curly, red lettuce in my greenhouse which I have grown all through the winter and it still hasn’t bolted. I’ve been using in in my work lunch salad for weeks now. I thought, oh I can stop buying supermarket lettuce then … nuhuh … Mr KK is like ‘’Why is there no lettuce?’ I pointed out the lettuce in the greenhouse and he flinched … 🙄🤷‍♀️ Sigh ….

To be honest, I think a lot of it is the texture thing - he likes the crunch of an iceberg and you don’t get that with curly lettuce. 

KK

leftatthetrafficlights

@Cherryfudge - sounds like a lovely day! The grandfather clock sounds great - I love the look of them 😁 

@Brie - I'd be exactly the same as old softie! 😉 They are definitely in your climbing roses in my head now! 😂 

@KajiKita - I'm impressed that your lettuce hasn't bolted with it being in your greenhouse!! 🙌 My dh likes those bags of salad that have iceberg, red cabbage and shreds of carrot in them 🤦‍♀️ I think you're right about the texture thing but I prefer flavour!! 😂 

Yesterday was lovely- we have almost finished the bug hotel (just need some more pine/fir cones as we ran out - we'll mesh that part of it once we get some more) my grandbaby loves it and was desperate to show mummy and daddy when they came to pick him up 😍😁 



Last night's dinner was just bits and pieces of leftovers and stuff in the fridge and we had an early night.

Today I've got some housework and laundry to do and I am going to dehydrate some of my herbs - I've got quite a bit of various basils and mints to do and I may well do a mix of some other herbs while the dehydrator is running. 

I'm looking forward to this week - I'm starting to feel more normal now - the pain/bruising in most of my body has almost gone now and I'm able to move a lot easier so I'm looking forward to getting back into a routine. It will be a while before I can get back to normal asana practice but I should be able to do some 'hands free' stuff within the next couple of days 🥳 

Time to get my first chamomile tea I think - have a lovely slow day 😁 

Cherryfudge

That's a lovely bug hotel! 

It's good to hear you're recovering from your injury. I overdid the gardening yesterday and seem to have strained a muscle but it's easing as I get moving. Today isn't going to be particularly slow as I'm covering for someone else in a voluntary job over the next few weeks (just Monday for a couple of hours) then have my normal work this evening. I've also got some prep to do for an activity tomorrow, but none of this is rushed and it's lovely to have mild weather and the ability to potter in the garden.

I've also been online discovering Dorset buttons and they are so pretty, and such a good way of using up odds and ends of yarn, that I will be mulling that over and one of these days I might have a go at making one.

The above came from an idea added to this forum on an old thread about saving pennies: it's a mixture of ingenious and hilarious, and every now and then something that I just might try. I've added the link in case anyone has a spare half hour.  

joedenise

@leftatthetrafficlights - the bug hotel looks brilliant!  I'm sure the bugs are going to love it as much as your grand baby does!

Floss

When I moved into this house almost 5 years ago, I had a large bug apartment complex (much bigger than your hotel!) in my garden, built by the previous owner. It was huge - the width of a pallet, knee high and had held several mouse families but had then been used as a squat by rats. Once the council were happy they'd been "evicted", I dismantled it & recovered 2 terracotta pots, 15 bricks & 2 pallets worth of wood, and reclaimed a big bit of garden.

KajiKita

I’m amazed that they’ve not bolted, but I’ll take them! 😉

KK